Before Stray Dog Theatre’s enthralling production of “Lizzie” begins, handsome period dresses are displayed onstage. In full view of the audience, the performers complete their transformation into their characters by putting on the costumes designed by Corrinna Redford.

This metatheatrical touch by director Justin Been is the first indication that “Lizzie” is a not a fully realistic show but a hybrid of a rock concert and theater. The punk rock musical’s title character is the infamous Lizzie Borden. In the early 1890s, she was accused but not convicted of murdering her stepmother and her father with an axe.

“Lizzie” began as a cycle of four songs and was developed over a decade into its current form. The creators and their contributions are:

• Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer: music, lyrics, original concept
• Alan Stevens Hewitt: music, additional lyrics, orchestrations
• Tim Maner: book, lyrics, additional music, original concept

The musical assumes Lizzie’s guilt and speculates on her motives in songs performed by the four characters: Lizzie, her sister Emma, their next-door neighbor Grace, and their servant Bridget (who was sometimes called Maggie, the previous servant’s name).

The factors suggested as factors Lizzie’s crack-up include an oppressive family life, emotional and sexual abuse, and the loss of an inheritance. The songs’ irresistible drive leaves no doubt about the emotional toll of living under domestic tyranny.

The Stray Dog production feature brilliant performances by the band under music director Leah Schultz and the four singers:

• Katherine Garrett as Emma Borden
• Lisa Hinrichs as Bridget Sullivan (Maggie)
• Nadja Kapetanovich as Lizzie Borden
• Grace Seidel (the dance captain) as Alice Russell

They have inexhaustible reserves of power in the angry outbursts, and they evince affecting pathos in the inward-looking numbers. The understudies are Tori Shea Cole for Lizzie and Alice and Becky Pasley for Emma and Bridget.

Rob Lippert’s outstanding scenic design is the skeleton of a two-story New England frame house. This set makes full use of the stage’s height, creates multiple performance spaces behind windows, and works well as the background for the evocative lighting by Tyler Duenow and projections by Justin Been, who also designed the sound and the props (with Gary F. Bell and Jude Hagene).

“Lizzie” continues through October 24, 2026, at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Avenue.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo courtesy of Stray Dog Theatre
From the left, Katherine Garrett as Emma, Nadja Kapetanovich as Lizzie, Lisa Hinrichs as Bridget, and Grace Seidel as Alice in “Lizzie.”