White City Murder

‘White City Murder’ strikes again

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By John Lyle Belden

One hundred thirty-one years ago, Chicago hosted the World’s Fair. Practically everyone who was anyone at the time was there. Also, a notorious and prolific serial killer, who had his victims coming to him, which he dispatched not only for the thrill but also for cold hard cash.

You might already know about this, especially if you have read Erik Larson’s “The Devil in the White City.” Before that non-fiction bestseller was in print, Ben Asaykwee, then living and performing in Chicago, started work on a musical inspired by the brazen exploits of swindler and murderer H.H. Holmes.

Eight years ago, Asaykwee and collaborator Claire Wilcher premiered “White City Murder” in Indy’s Irvington neighborhood (just blocks where Holmes had briefly resided, killing one of his last victims). Last weekend, the duo opened the latest edition of this fascinating historical extravaganza in the black-box Basile stage at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

For such an audacious event as the shining white Fair, with the unbelievably dark deeds occurring just miles away, Asaykwee and Wilcher go big with carnival barker energy befitting a Buffalo Bill show (Bill also makes an appearance – in fact our actors portray dozens of people from simple to celebrity). Once they have grabbed our attention, they keep us fascinated and entertained by the story of tragic fates and horrible deeds, aided by a hidden keyboard and a vocal looper to reflect the inventive atmosphere of the late nineteenth century.

A large paper notepad registers the body count, climbing ever higher. It is unknown how many Holmes killed – he was convicted of just one murder and had been pursued only for insurance fraud – but this is not to celebrate that. Asaykwee gives us a snapshot of a wild time in a dynamic era, presenting those whose lives were touched and ruined as much as the man who doomed them. And for us – twenty-first century consumers of true-crime entertainment in its various forms – he gives us a show that truly kills, complete with catchy tunes and wry gallows humor.

Back when I first saw this, I noted its rough edges (now nicely polished) and wondered if this performance was only suited to Asaykwee and Wilcher’s unique style and talents. I now sense others willing to engage the gusto this show demands could do it just fine, but still, make a date to see the originators.

“White City Murder” runs through Aug. 4 at 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. Info and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.

Reiew: Duo puts on killer show

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By John Lyle Belden

To use the language of its era, “White City Murder,” by and starring Ben Asaykwee and Claire Wilcher, is a marvel and a spectacle, well worthy of your dime – well, many of them; it is 2016, after all.

But in a room of the Irvington Lodge, it’s 1893 in Chicago at the Worlds Fair, the setting for much of this musical drama by Q Artistry in which Asaykwee and Wilcher are more than 30 characters and, thanks to a keyboard and vocal loopers, the musical instruments as well.

The plot is familiar to readers of the bestselling book, “Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson (not cited as a source, but likely an influence on Asaykwee’s writing of the show). An impressive complex of buildings, known as the White City for its monochrome style, hosts the Fair while just a couple of miles away, a man known at the time as H.H. Holmes was running his hotel – popularly known as his “murder castle” for its various rooms designed for killing people and processing and disposing of their bodies. Aside from his psychopathy, Holmes killed for profit, selling skeletons to colleges and cashing in on insurance policies. This show delves into his past, and continues after the Fair closes to portray Holmes’ actions to stay ahead of Pinkerton detectives (investigating insurance fraud, not murder), ending not long after his brief stay in Irvington (just blocks away from where the musical is staged).

The story of the person regarded as America’s first serial killer (and one of the most prolific) is told in a fascinating, eccentric manner with old-time pizzazz, drawing a gasp one moment, nervous laughter the next. In the hands of these two master comic actors, it is a performance not to be missed.

And, if I must stop gushing and be a critic for a moment, that’s the show’s main flaw: It feels like a show only these two pros can do. As a musical that can be picked up, re-staged and performed by others – say, in Chicago or even off-Broadway – “White City Murder” has a lot of rough edges. Fortunately, Asaykwee is such a great showman and Wilcher an improv goddess that any goofs, flubs, lulls or moments of this-isn’t-quite-working are easily smoothed over – likely easily forgotten by most of the audience by the end. The musical interludes could use some work, and reliance on electronics does invite technical glitches. There is clever use of what look like large cardboard cutouts that stops for no reason and could be useful in more parts of the plot. I could nitpick further, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Asaykwee and Wilcher are already making tweaks for the show’s second weekend.

Still, as a sort of “beta test” of a show that’s good enough to perform but not quite perfected, this is an excellent first edition.

Remaining performances are Saturday (March 26), and Thursday through Saturday, March 31 to April 2, at 5515 E. Washington St., Indianapolis. See qartistry.org for tickets.

(Review also posted at The Word)

After TOTS triumph, Asaykwee continues dark path

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By John Lyle Belden

If you missed the recent run of the Tracy Letts drama “Killer Joe” at Theatre on the Square, it’s understandable. Sellouts were common, even with an additional performance added.

Still, you would have missed one heck of a show. The raw impact of the story of a redneck Texas family hiring a hitman to kill one of its members, with the titular character agreeing to take the young woman of the family as a “security deposit,” was enforced by a top-shelf cast – including local stage veterans Dan Scharbrough, Nate Walden, Lisa Marie Smith and Jaddy Ciucci.

But the most triumphant performance was by Ben Asaykwee as Joe. For those who only know his work with darkly comic characters – like the many he developed as founder of Q Artistry and shows like “Cabaret Poe” – his chilling transformation into the no-nonsense Texas hitman bordered on shocking. With surprisingly little effort, he projected menace and put us all on notice that his true range and depth is much greater than many ever suspected.

This weekend, TOTS, 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis, opened the classic Stephen Sondheim musical, “Passion,” playing weekends through March 26. (See www.tots.org.)

Meanwhile, Asaykwee has left downtown and set his sights on entertaining us with the story of an actual killer.

Apparently unafraid of ghosts – working as he has for the past several years in former Masonic Lodge 666 in the haunted neighborhood of Irvington – Asaykwee, with megatalent Claire Wilcher, present “White City Murder,” a new musical based on the exploits of America’s first known serial killer, H.H. Holmes, performed just blocks away from where Holmes briefly lived and is believed to have killed at least one child, who is said to still haunt the home.

The musical runs March 18-20, March 26 and March 31-April 2 at the lodge, 5515 E. Washington St., Indianapolis. It’s plot concerns the “murder hotel” where dozens of young women disappeared during the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair. The events are recounted in the book “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larson, which tells of Holmes’ many murders to collect on victims’ insurance and the building he had constructed to make the process of killing and disposal more efficient.

If anyone can set such a macabre topic to music in an entertaining fashion, it’s Asaykwee – who has already succeeded with the works of Edgar Alan Poe and writing an opera about the tragic Donner Party. And if anyone can help make such an odd show work, it’s Wilcher, who just helped co-write “Babes in Toyland,” is a comic legend with 3-Dollar Bill and ComedySportz, and gave brilliant performances in musicals including “Cabaret” and “Man of LaMancha.”

Find ticket information at www.qartistry.org, or follow “Qartistry” on Facebook.

(This story also posted on The Word.)