S.F. musical about Luigi Mangione looks to expand internationally after extending run
' Luigi: The Musical,' inspired by the social media discourse surrounding the 27-year-old suspect in the murder case of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has added an Aug. 6 show at the Independent after selling out all previous performances.
The satirical show follows Mangione as he encounters his prison mates — Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who was recently convicted on prostitution-related charges, and fallen FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, in a production staged in the style of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical 'Chicago.'
Tickets for the August show, currently the only upcoming performance, are available now.
Even before its debut at Taylor Street Theatre on June 13, the musical attracted national attention — 'If only the show itself could justify the hype,' wrote Chronicle theater critic Lily Janiak in her opening night review of the production.
Nonetheless, 'Luigi: The Musical' went on to sell out its initial run at the 49-seat venue through June 28. Due to high demand, four additional performances were staged in July at the Independent, a 500-capacity venue on Divisadero Street.
Now its creators are considering runs in Los Angeles, New York, and Edinburgh, Scotland.
'It's so fun and cathartic for us to perform the show, and audiences are really loving it,' Caleb Zeringue, an executive producer, writer and actor in the show, told the Chronicle. 'We are hearing from the audiences that the show helps them process our current society. … We want to give more people the chance to see it.'
Despite describing the show as 'terrible,' Janiak acknowledged that it drew 'younger-than-usual theatergoers' and serves as proof that people 'still crave theater that helps us make sense of current events and envision fresh political possibilities.'
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