REVIEW: Dark, disturbing Moline musical a true thrill

Jonathan Turner
·4 min read

Like many shows at Moline’s Black Box Theatre, “Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story” is perfect for the intimate, 60-seat venue, and likely not something you’d see at any other area theater.

The taut, two-man, 90-minute musical – about the real-life homosexual couple Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, known as “thrill killers” – is certainly thrilling, and a haunting, harrowing, hypnotic meditation on murder.

Daniel Williams, left, as Nathan Leopold and Adam Cerny as Richard Loeb in “Thrill Me” at Moline’s Black Box Theatre.
Daniel Williams, left, as Nathan Leopold and Adam Cerny as Richard Loeb in “Thrill Me” at Moline’s Black Box Theatre.

The brilliant, arrogant, cold and calculating teenagers are masterfully portrayed by Adam Cerny (reprising his role as Loeb from 2016) and Daniel Williams as Leopold, with musical direction by Ron May and direction and design by BBT co-founder and artistic director Lora Adams.

The men committed the so-called “crime of the century” nearly 100 years ago in Chicago (when they were 18 and 19 then), kidnapping and killing 14-year-old Bobby Franks on May 21, 1924. The extraordinary “Thrill Me” (2003) — with a book, music, and lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff – is a fascinating character study, giving you a glimpse into the stormy relationship of this pair and what drove them to this horrendous crime.

The chilling, creepy story recreates a 1958 parole hearing for Nathan Leopold (1904-1971), and it toggles back and forth between then and 1924, as the two plot increasingly dangerous moves.

A scene from “Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story” (photo by Jonathan Turner)
A scene from “Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story” (photo by Jonathan Turner)

Richard Loeb (1905-1936), as embodied by the dashing, assured and brutally confident Cerny, is clearly the dominant one in the relationship. They’re both super smart and Loeb is obsessed with the concept of Nietzsche’s “supermen,” claiming such men are exempt from the laws of society (complete and total immunity, you might say).

Williams as Leopold is by far more sympathetic and relatable of the nattily dressed pair, constantly expressing confusion, doubt, nerves and insecurity. Nathan loves Richard and wants to be with him, but is scared at the crimes that Richard proposes committing.

One of the many mesmerizing musical numbers in “Thrill Me” is “Nothing Like a Fire,” a sultry, seductive duet in the aftermath of a warehouse fire the two set. Sitting and observing their flames, the clever lyrics play off the heat of desire metaphor, and veteran Black Box designer Roger Pavey Jr. creates one of many captivating lighting effects, reflecting the fire.

Adam Cerny in “Thrill Me” (photo by Jonathan Turner).
Adam Cerny in “Thrill Me” (photo by Jonathan Turner).

The initial scene in the show has Williams at his Joliet prison, facing the parole board (and Doug Kutzli as the unseen hearing officer), and the shadows created by Pavey are arresting, as is the fog at stage right that spookily envelops Cerny in a later scene.

From arson to murder

Leopold and Loeb quickly advance from arson, as Cerny’s Richard proposes murder – a superior crime and the only one worthy of their talents. “Don’t you want to do something important with your life?” Richard asks Nathan.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Leopold and Loeb kidnapping and killing of a 14-year-old boy in Chicago, May 21, 1924 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Leopold and Loeb kidnapping and killing of a 14-year-old boy in Chicago, May 21, 1924 (photo by Jonathan Turner).

At first Loeb wants to kill his brother John and Leopold thinks he’s a lunatic. Since we know where this tragic train his heading, it’s just a very tense journey of when the deed (which is unseen on stage) takes place. Cerny is so smooth and gently menacing as we hear the supposed phone call to his victim Bobby (“You’ll be safe inside by roadster…”)

After the murder (Loeb sat in their car back seat and struck Bobby in the head several times with a chisel, dragged him into the back seat and gagged him), we learn Leopold dropped his glasses near where police discovered the body.

A scene near the end of the 90-minute, intermission-less show (photo by Jonathan Turner).
A scene near the end of the 90-minute, intermission-less show (photo by Jonathan Turner).

In a surprise plot twist, Leopold becomes a confident mastermind and gets the upper hand. After being found and sentenced to life plus 99 years, Loeb was stabbed to death in prison (that’s not shown either), 12 years after their crime. A silhouette of jail cell bars on the floor is also a very cool touch in the show.

With characteristically expert direction by Lora Adams and piano accompaniment by Ron May, “Thrill Me” is another phenomenal piece of theater on the Black Box stage. New for the theatre this year is a three-week run of each production, as Adams said in her introduction that patrons have no excuse for missing it.

Adam Cerny, left, and Daniel Williams.
Adam Cerny, left, and Daniel Williams.

As deeply uncomfortable and unsettling the subject matter is, this intense two-man musical is indeed super, and it would be a crime to miss.

“Thrill Me” runs through Feb. 24, with all performances 7:30 p.m., except Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the BBT website HERE.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.