The notorious case of “thrill” killers Leopold and Loeb has been fodder for books, plays, and movies that have taken creative liberties with the story. But Daniel Henning, the writer and director of Dickie and Babe: The Truth About Leopold and Loeb makes it plain that he considers his production quite unlike the others. The Blank Theater’s press release for the production refers to the piece as a “documentary play” and insists that what happens on stage “all happened” in real life.
What happened in Chicago in 1924 was this: Richard “Dickie” Loeb and Nathan “Babe” Leopold, two privileged and accomplished 18 and 19-year-olds, were charged with the kidnapping and murder of 14-year old Bobby Franks. The subsequent trial was what we today would call a media circus, and the boys were represented by Clarence Darrow, who would become famous with this case and even more famous a year later for his part in the Scopes “Monkey” trial.
The case has inspired many re-tellings including the novel Compulsion (later to become a film of the same name) and the movie Swoon. A musical version of the Leopold and Loeb story called Thrill Me is also currently playing in Hollywood at the Hudson Backstage.
The Blank’s Artistic Director, Daniel Henning, wrote the play in response to the legends and myths surrounding the case, which have often overshadowed the facts. Delving deep into the historical documents, Henning based the script entirely on primary sources such as trial transcripts and medical reports about its subjects. The thorough and fascinating characterizations of Leopold and Loeb show that Henning’s homework paid off.
From the very first lines of the play, the contrast between Dickie and Babe is completely apparent. They had in common unusually high intelligence, but Dickie’s, as portrayed by Nick Nivens, is masked by his highly excitable nature, which sometimes verges on spastic. Babe (Aaron Himelstein), on the other hand is the quiet, contemplative one. The scenes recalling their earliest meetings and foray into friendship exquisitely portray the character’s mutual attraction. In Dickie, Babe found an object of desire; in Babe, Dickie gained a friend whom he believed could truly understanding him and serve as an accomplice to his schemes.
While Babe’s participation in the duo’s crime sprees was based on his interpretation of Nietzsche’s Ubermensch theory, with a little Utilitarianism thrown in for good measure, Dickie seemed swayed primarily by his obsession with detective magazines and his boastful belief that with Babe’s help, he was capable of committing the perfect crime. In fact, the boys’ early criminal escapades take on the gleeful feel of two teens partaking in activities as universal and ultimately harmless as toilet papering a neighbor’s yard. It is only during the scene in which they plot the details of the kidnapping and Dickie casually shrugs, “the victim has to die…oh, well” that the viewer is reminded how truly unlike other boys these two are.
The play does a fine job of showing the human aspects of Leopold and Loeb, but not asking the audience to give them too much sympathy. Dickie’s cruel manipulation of Babe becomes apparent early in the play, and these two best friends immediately “sold each other down the river,” to use one of Babe’s terms, under the scrutiny of police questioning.
The first act takes us through the kidnapping. Following a long intermission, the second act starts out strong, but drags a bit, perhaps because while the first act had so much ground to cover, the second act deals primarily with the trial itself. So a few scenes feel superfluous – the flapper’s testimony meant as comic relief is ultimately grating (which is not a knock against the talented actress Vicki Lewis who shines throughout the play in other roles), and the sequences providing insight into Dickie’s egoistic fantasy life are somewhat drawn out.
Still, “Dickie and Babe” is an impressive production. Beside fine performances from Niven and Himelstein, supporting actors including Michael Urie (of Ugly Betty fame) and Weston Blakesley (a stand out as Clarence Darrow) take on multiple roles with aplomb. While the costumes and dialogue ground the audience completely in the Jazz Age, the themes it raises of good and evil, emotion and reason, and the impossibility to pinpoint murder on one neat explanation are still ones of fascination in our present day.
The Blank Theater is located at 6500 Santa Monica Blvd. Dickie and Babe plays Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through March 16. Tickets are $22-28. For more information call 323.661.9827 or visit TheBlank.com
Photo by Rick Baumgartner, used with permission.
Subscribe to our RSS Feed And checkout our coffee competition to win a $30 gift voucher to your favourite coffee shop : click here
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
0 responses so far ↓
Subscribe to our RSS Feed and leave a comment to enter the commentator of the week competition and win a $20 Amazon.com gift voucher.
Leave a Comment