Luigi Mangione Musical Eyes More Cities After Sold-Out San Francisco Run
The new fringe production Luigi: The Musical, has been selling out shows in San Francisco, as it satirizes the real-life circumstances of Mangione, who is accused of killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO, being housed in the same Brooklyn jail as Diddy and Bankman-Fried, who were charged with sex trafficking and crypto fraud, respectively.
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While it keeps extending its current run, the show's creators are also aiming for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August and exploring possible future productions in New York and Los Angeles.
It's a comedy that was created by four stand-up comedians after seeing the headlines about the bunkmates, and pokes fun at actual details of the alleged crimes, such as Mangione's stop for hashbrowns at McDonald's, which led to his arrest and is told here through a ballad. There's also a tap dance number featuring Diddy and Bankman-Fried and a love story between the two, among other surrealist elements. But it does also ponder the real-life public interest in these men.
'There is this interesting thing that these three men represent three pillars of society that people have lost a lot of trust in in recent years, including health care, Hollywood and the whole tech/VC/finance ecosystem,' said Nova Bradford, head writer and director of the show. 'And so what we want to explore more with the show is not about the individual actions of these actual people, but more so the place that these figures are occupying in the public consciousness and what it means about us when we've lost so much trust in institutions that are supposed to support us.'
The musical, which Bradford wrote with Arielle Johnson, André Margatini and Caleb Zeringue, was initially slated for a handful of shows at San Francisco's 49-seat Taylor Street Theater, where it premiered June 13. But after selling out the run, the production has since moved to The Independent, a 350-person theater, where it continues to draw crowds, particularly younger and nontraditional theatergoers. (The San Francisco Chronicle was less enthusiastic in its review.)
While Mangione does get title treatment, the creators say they're not intending to take a position on his alleged actions. Rather, the show is meant to reflect the differing views among attendees.
'I'm noticing people have different reactions based off of their own beliefs that they come in with, which I think is the sign of good art, right?' Zeringue said.
Audience engagement is a large part of the 90-minute show, Bradford added, and the creators are using the interactions, and the overall audience reaction, to shape the show as they continue tweaking the musical. They're also envisioning adding a second act.
'Our hope is that regardless of someone's worldview, they'll leave the show with more questions than they had at the beginning,' said Bradford.
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