STAGE TUBE: Lizzie Musical Debuts at TUTS Underground

TUTS Underground is a new venture and legacy for TUTS, Houston's largest nonprofit musical theatre company. Forged from the guidelines of "No revivals - No dead authors - No boundaries," TUTS Underground features productions that are edgy, captivating, rockin' and occasionally a bit risqué.

TUTS Underground hacks into its freshly announced first season with the southwest regional premier of Lizzie. Promising to deliver a "killer" performance, Lizzie is a rock-show that retells the legend of America's first and favorite axe-wielding double-murderess and Victorian hometown girl, Lizzie Borden. TUTS Underground invites Houstonians to have a bloody good time at Lizzie, which runs Oct. 10 - 20 in Hobby Center's intimate 500-seat Zilkha Hall.

The production takes place in late 19th century Fall River, Massachusetts, when a young Lizzie Borden was accused of brutally killing her father and stepmother. While staying true to the well-known jump rope rhyme, "Lizzie Borden took an axe..." this musical delves deeper into Lizzie's story by explaining her older sister's similar motives, exposing Lizzie's unexpected relationship with her neighbor, and providing a cheeky punked-out maid who takes care of the two young girls in place of their seemingly careless parents. Gathering inspiration from the great rock spectacles of Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper and Kiss along with generations of women rockers like Grace Slick, Tina Turner and Heart, Lizzie uses hard rock instrumentals and strong ballad lyrics to tell the story of Lizzie's double murders using actual dialogue from the infamous trial.

The rock maven quartet to stage Lizzie include Carrie Manolakos as Lizzie, Carrie Cimma as Bridget (the maid), Natalie Charle Ellis as Emma (Lizzie's sister) and Courtney Markowitz as Alice (the neighbor). Based on an original concept by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Tim Maner, Lizzie features a book by Maner. Music is by Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, lyrics by Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner, with additional music by Maner and orchestrations and additional lyrics by Hewitt.