Luigi Mangione Musical Could Be Heading to New York
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Luigi: The Musical, the fringe production about the alleged killer Luigi Mangione, is fresh off a series of sold-out shows in San Francisco.
Now, the show's creators are reportedly eyeing up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August as well as possible future productions in Los Angeles and New York, where the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took place in December.
Newsweek has reached out to Luigi: The Musical via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Mangione, 27, is accused of shooting Thompson outside of a hotel in Manhattan in December 2024. He is charged with 11 counts, including first-degree murder "in furtherance of an act of terrorism," two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of stalking and a firearms offense.
Federal prosecutors have announced their intent to seek the death penalty in Mangione's case. He has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges as well as terrorism charges.
Mangione has become the subject of intense public fascination online, with social media users treating the 27-year-old as everything from a sex symbol to a folk hero. The case reignited a discourse about American health care, and Mangione has received a significant amount of support.
Protesters holding photos of Luigi Mangione chant and blow whistles as New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall on June 26, 2025.
Protesters holding photos of Luigi Mangione chant and blow whistles as New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a press conference at City Hall on June 26, 2025.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
What To Know
Luigi: The Musical is a surreal prison satire that follows in the footsteps of musicals like Chicago and Sweeney Todd.
The musical was created by songwriter Arielle Johnson and director Nova Bradford and features original music from Johnson and Bradford, performed by pianist Dani Macri, who also serves as associate musical director.
The synopsis for the musical reads, "Our characters reflect three institutions of modern disillusionment: healthcare, tech, and Hollywood. Each represents a pillar of American life where public trust has eroded and where people increasingly feel betrayed, exploited, or abandoned."
Mangione's two real-life inmates at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), Sean Diddy Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried, both appear as characters in the musical.
Fried is the embattled co-founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence. Combs was found guilty in his sex trafficking child of transportation to engage in prostitution in his sex trafficking trial, but not guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. He remains detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn.
The show stars Jonny Stein as Luigi, André Margatini as SBF, Janée Lucas as Diddy, and Calab Zeingue as Guard (Sgt. Delarosa).
Bradford told The Hollywood Reporter, "There is this interesting thing that these three men represent three pillars of society that people have lost a lot of trust in recent years, including health care, Hollywood and the whole tech/VC/finance ecosystem."
The Hollywood Reporter reported that the creators are looking at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, New York and Los Angeles for future possible productions.
It's not clear where the Mangione musical would be staged if it were to go to New York for a future production, but if it were to be held in the Theatre District, that would mean it would be mere blocks away from where Thompson was killed.
The musical was met with criticism and controversy when it was announced. It is described as a "comedy," in a synopsis on its website, which also notes that the show "doesn't glorify violence."
The show was first set for a handful of shows at a 49-seat San Francisco theatre, but after selling out that run, production moved to The Independent, a 350-person theatre.
What People Are Saying
A statement on the Luigi: The Musical website: "Luigi: the Musical doesn't glorify violence, it interrogates it. Beneath the absurdity and punchlines lies a serious critique of how violence is packaged, sold, and consumed in American media. The show takes aim at a culture where brutality is both entertainment and spectacle, inviting audiences to laugh while also asking why we're so quick to tune in when someone gets hurt.
"But it goes further, examining how violence is not just the act of individuals, but of elite institutions—like healthcare, Hollywood, and tech—through their neglect, indifference, and lack of accountability. Through sharp satire and irreverent humor, Luigi: the Musical uses comedy as a tool to expose just how normalized, and profitable, violence has become, challenging viewers to reckon with their own responses along the way."
What Happens Next
Further dates of the play and where it may be staged remain to be seen.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
John Krasinski Announces "A Quiet Place 3' Release Date
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors "A Quiet Place" has turned into a fantastic post-apocalyptic series, which has garnered significant praise through two movies and one prequel. Fan-favorite actor and writer John Krasinski has been behind the series' first three films, either directing, writing, or both. Now, Krasinski took to social media to announce that "A Quiet Place 3" is happening, but also to announce the release date. "A Quiet Place 3" will officially release on July 9, 2027. A further report from Deadline also indicated that Krasinski will return to write, direct, and produce. Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Emily Blunt in 'A Quiet Place Part II.' Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Emily Blunt in 'A Quiet Place Part II.' Paramount This story will be updated...
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump Melts Down in Unhinged Revenge Rant: ‘They Must Pay'
President Donald Trump is once again pushing the widely disputed claim that Barack Obama attempted to stage a 'coup' after the 2016 election, and insists those involved 'must pay.' In a flurry of posts on Truth Social, the president has returned to his familiar playbook of trying to distract his MAGA base from the ongoing fallout of the Epstein files by repeating unfounded accusations against Obama and former U.S. intelligence officials who concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election. 'The Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX is now TOTALLY UNDISPUTED! THE FACTS ARE ALL THERE, IN BLACK AND WHITE,' Trump posted Friday morning. 'It is the biggest scandal in American History. The perpetrators of this CRIME must pay a big price. This can never be allowed to happen in our Country again!' He then shared a video from The Daily Signal featuring right-wing historian Victor Davis Hanson accusing Obama-era intelligence leaders of conspiring to 'destroy' Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton. 'They must pay for the crime of the Century,' Trump added. The renewed attacks stem from claims made earlier this month by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who cited newly declassified documents to allege a 'treasonous conspiracy' by Obama and senior national security officials to fabricate Russian election interference in order to undermine the legitimacy of the results. Gabbard alleged that Obama, as well as national security officials, engaged in a 'treasonous conspiracy' by manufacturing evidence of Russian interference at the 2016 election, and therefore trying to undermine the legitimacy of the results. Gabbard accused Obama and his team of trying to lay the groundwork for 'what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump' while presenting misleading information. Gabbard's claims rely heavily on an apparent contradiction regarding U.S. intelligence findings in Jan. 2017 that Russia ran an influence campaign to help Trump in 2016 and separate unfounded claims that Moscow successfully manipulated votes in favor of the Republcian. However, the Obama administration never claimed Russia changed vote totals or hacked voting machines. In 2020, a report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, which included the current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also found that Russia had tried to help Trump's 2016 campaign. 'Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes,' Obama's office said in response to Gabbard's allegations. Elsewhere, a number of Trump loyalists including Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino have reacted with glee after declassified documents showed the FBI investigated intelligence reports alleging Clinton approved a plan to try and vilify Trump by linking him to Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2016 election. However, as noted by The New York Times, an annex to a 2023 report by Special Counsel John Durham suggests that this supposed approval from Clinton may have been out together by Russian spies. The Truth Social posts from Trump attacking Obama came as the president continues to dig himself deeper into the furore about what he knows about the crimes of Epstein, the billionaire pedophile who died in Aug. 2019. After years of claiming their friendship ended over a real estate dispute, Trump now says he cut ties with Epstein because the financier 'stole' young workers from Mar-a-Lago. 'He took people. I say, 'Don't do it anymore,' you know, they work for me,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. 'He took some others. Once he did that, that was the end of him.' One of the women Trump alleged Epstein 'stole' from him was Virginia Giuffre, a sex trafficking victim of Epstein's who died via suicide in April.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ghislaine Maxwell joins famous prisoners in move to Texas prison camp
Maxwell joins Theranos founder and fellow vegan Elizabeth Holmes in the less restrictive prisonl Ghislaine Maxwell joined Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and celebrity housewife Jen Shah at a federal prison camp in Texas this week. The government hasn't said why they transferred the convicted sex trafficker and confidante to Jeffrey Epstein from a low-security prison in Florida to a less restrictive minimum-security prison near Texas A & M University. The former British socialite, 63, is one of the most powerful prisoners in American history. The transfer comes as Maxwell's attorneys are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction while also seeking a pardon or commutation for her from President Donald Trump in exchange for her cooperation in the Epstein investigation and broader sex trafficking matters. Maxwell spent two days last week talking to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche – Trump's former personal defense lawyer – at a courthouse near the Tallahassee prison where she was serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking linked to Epstein. Officials would only confirm that they had transferred Maxwell to the federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, not why. Typically, prisoners are moved due to a change in supervisory or medical needs or as a security measure to keep an inmate safe, says Donald Murphy, a Bureau of Prisons spokesman. Moving from a low-security to a minimum-security prison typically provides more freedom within the prison. This could mean more free time for recreational activities or work. Minimum-security facilities typically house nonviolent, first-time offenders or those who have worked their way down from a higher-security prison due to good behavior, according to a prison consultant. Ghislaine Maxwell From a life of privilege to prison Maxwell attorney David Oscar Markus told USA TODAY that 'Ghislaine was moved to Bryan, Texas, but we have no other comment' as to why the transfer was made and who requested it. Both facilities are federal prisons. The Texas prison is slightly smaller and holds about 600 women. Low-security prisons typically serve people sentenced to 10 years or less, making Maxwell an exception. Her release date is 2037. In Florida, Maxwell taught yoga and etiquette classes and worked in the library. The Texas facility holds a call center that employs inmates. It also offers classes such as horticulture and plumbing and cosmetology. The cosmetology may include massage. Maxwell's convictions came from her recruitment of underage girls to give Epstein massages. He then sexually abused them. Holmes, who is serving an 11-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy linked to the collapse of Theranos, earns 31 cents an hour helping soon-to-be released women write résumés and apply for government benefits at the Texas prison camp, according to an article in People magazine. Holmes has been able to keep a mostly vegan diet in prison. Maxwell is also a vegan, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals lobbied to ensure that she had vegan meals in prison. Josh Meyer contributed to this report.
