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“COMPULSION”

AT OAK PARK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The names have been changed to protect the innocent, and there are no innocents in the play.  The two main players are the convicted murderers known better as, "Leopold and Loeb" and their names have been shocking for countless years.

Shortbridge Theater Troupe has done a wonderful job of bringing this tragic tale of human failure to the stage.  The Crime of the Century, it has been called, and the twisted and perverse motivations for the murder of a young teenage boy by wealthy educated kids is still unsettling.  The play with the real names cloaked in anonymity will give plenty to discuss in the realms of philosophy and psychology, after the show.
 
We have seen the entire cast in many local performances through the years and the play chosen is a razors edge of emotion and drama, and knowing the drama is based on actual events only heightens the effect. 

Judd Steiner, played by Jamie Berthiume, represents Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr.  Artie Staus, played by Dan Marco, portrays Richard Albert Loeb.  These two do a nice job of bringing two of the most hated teens to life.

Wes Boyer, who plays Defense Attorney Jonathan Wilk, represents the well known Clarence Darrow.  The other half of the equation is represented by Lance Taylor, who plays Prosecutor Horn.  The settings are minimal and work fine for the internal drama of the events.  The irony of play is that if these two misfit teens thought of themselves as Friedrich Nietzsche's ideal supermen they only performed the first role in a drama that would attempt to destroy their own cultural heritage.  Friedrich Nietzsche would impress leaders like Adolph Hitler, who went on to kill millions of Jewish people instead of only one.

Friedrich Nietzsche was an existentialist and had some interesting ideas other than the ones that led to death and destruction, but blood leads the headlines..............

When Nathan Freudenthal Leopold, Jr. had completed some 33 years in prison he was released and moved to Oak Park where he lived for a time on Grove Avenue, only a few blocks from where this play is being presented. 

He later moved to Puerto Rico.

LOCAL THEATER TROUPE PERFORMS “COMPULSION”

AT OAK PARK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

    Shortbridge Theater Troupe, formed 12 years ago by Oak Park River Forest High School graduates, will perform “Compulsion” at the Oak Park Performing Arts Center, 1010 W. Madison in Oak Park.  Shows are scheduled for two successive weekends—August 27 and 28 and September 3 and 4.  Showtime is 7 PM for all performances.


    “Compulsion” is a dramatization of the 1920’s Leopold and Loeb thrill killing of Bobby Franks by two wealthy Hyde Park young men. It was written by Meyer Levin.

    Jeff Shapiro, organizer of Shortbridge and director of “Compulsion,” calls the play “a reflection on societal laws and a study of why people have certain compulsions.”   Shapiro, 31 and a resident of Bellwood, performed a scene from the play in a summer high school program at Steppenwolf Theater Company.

    The writer gave all characters pseudonyms in his dramatization of the Leopold-Loeb case.  Six actors have leads in this production:  Jamie Berthiume (Berwyn) plays Judd Steiner, one of the youths accused of the murder; Dan Marco (Oak Park) plays Artie Staus, Judd’s partner in crime.

    Other leads are Wes Boyer (River Forest), who plays Defense Attorney Jonathan Wilk; Lance Taylor (Oak Park), who plays Prosecutor Horn; Mara Karlin (Chicago), who plays Ruth, a women who supports Judd; and Laura Lopardo (Berwyn), who plays Dr. McNarry, a psychiatrist who is a defense witness.

    Shortbridge Theater Troupe  has produced five dramatic productions since its first play “Of Mice and Men” in 1998.  Their last play was “True West” performed in 2001.

History of Crime by Leopold and Loeb

Amazon Books and DVDs on Leopold and Loeb