‘Luigi the Musical' sells out in San Francisco

San Francisco Chronicle​

05-05-2025

A new musical about Luigi Mangione has sold out more than a month before its premiere in San Francisco.
Inspired by the social media frenzy surrounding Mangione, the prime suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, ' Luigi the Musical ' is set to open on June 13 at the Taylor Street Theatre — and all five scheduled performances have already sold out.
Developed by Nova Bradford, Arielle Johnson, André Margatini and Caleb Zeringue, the satirical stage production at the former Exit on Taylor will feature Mangione and a fictional rag-tag group of prison-mates: rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs, who was charged with sex trafficking and racketeering last year, and fallen FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
'​​These three people represent these big pillars of institutions in society that are failing in their trust: health care, Hollywood and then big tech,' Zeringue, who produces and co-writes the show in addition to playing a guard, told the Chronicle.
The satirical stage production is set at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center, and was in part inspired by the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, 'Chicago,' which features various cellblock numbers. It was written by Johnson and Bradford in the span of two months.
But while the show is a comedy at heart, its creators said they want to make sure that the project doesn't undermine the severity of the allegations at hand.
'We're not valorizing any of these characters, and we're also not trivializing any of their actions or alleged actions,' Bradford said. 'Comedy inherently plays at the margins of social acceptability.'
As the musical's premiere approaches, the real Mangione remains entangled in a federal murder case. Last month, the 26-year-old pleaded not guilty to four federal charges against him for the murder of Thompson in December. He is also facing charges in Pennsylvania and New York, the latter of which his legal team has filed a motion to dismiss under the argument that prosecuting Mangione in multiple states constitutes double jeopardy.
His next court appearance is set for June 26.