Theatre Tulsa x Kristen Simpson: "Lizzie"
Theatre Tulsa Studios
April 11, 2026
Self-produced theatre is having a moment in Tulsa. After the success of productions like Click: A Date Night Double Feature and The Dead Guy in the Pool in 2025, it looks like more and more artists are willing to put their creativity (and cash) behind a project that speaks to them on a personal level, hoping that it will equally resonate with the public.
Lizzie, self-produced by Kristen Simpson in collaboration with Theatre Tulsa, is one such project. After a tantalizing lead-up that included a year-long fundraising campaign, a one-night-only cabaret last July, and a preview performance at Tulsa Fringe Festival last September, the final product hit the stage in its entirety this past weekend.
I wasn’t the only one who’d had my eye on this show. The anticipation was palpable when I arrived at Theatre Tulsa Studios Saturday evening for a performance that sold out before the run began. Thinking I arrived early enough at 7:35 p.m. to get my pick of a seat for an 8 p.m. show, I was surprised to see the parking lot was already full. By the time I got my drink and briefly visited around, the house was practically packed, leaving me the seat front and directly center, just inches away from the stage.
Lizzie, which premiered in 2009 in New York City, is a punk-rock musical detailing the life of the infamous Lizzie Borden through the perspectives of four women close to the story: Lizzie, her sister Emma, her neighbor (and, in this story, lover) Alice, and the maid Bridget. The story opens in August 1892, a few days before the murders, and covers the incident, the fallout, the trial, and Lizzie’s eventual acquittal.
While the events in the house of Borden leading up to and during that fateful day are not entirely known, the speculations around it have become American folklore and provide the driving forces of the musical’s plot. Here, Lizzie is a victim of sexual abuse at the hand of her father, creating the impetus for her anger. After learning her stepmother is trying to write her out of her father’s will, her rage boils over and she takes matters into her own hands—literally, in the form of an axe, which she wields to kill both her stepmother and her father.
Because the plot of the musical hinges not on known fact but on speculation, it made sense for director Thomas Farnan-Williams to pull the piece out of its historical context and embrace a rock concert aesthetic for this production. Instead of evoking the time period, the costumes fashioned a punk-goth girl band, complete with red and black corsets, fishnets, chains, and leather with intentional accessories and styling that aligned with each character’s station and personality. Platforms created a long stage at the back of the space and a runway down the middle, placing audiences on three sides. With the addition of a live band in the back, I felt too formal sitting in my chair in the front row. In a space as intimate as Theatre Tulsa Studios, I felt like I should be standing and dancing along.