My overall impression
Originally Posted in Bitter Lemons: Fringe Femmes | “Lydia Trueblood: The Black Widow of the Atlantic Coast” by Liz Eldridge & Efrain Schunior|
Sometimes you just luck into things, and the charming musical confession of Lydia Trueblood has got to be on the top of my #HFF14 happy accident list. Who knew walking into a bar would mean a 19th century tale of murderous exploits and romantic adventures, complete with an adorable singing, accordion- and trumpet- (simultaneously, mind you) playing mute?
The dark and stormy storyline here (co-written by Liz Eldridge and Efrain Schunior) is a clever excuse to string together knock-out tunes, written and performed by Eldridge as Lydia, a femme fatale with a knack for finding fortunes among the dead bodies of her betrayers. Eldridge is a captivating songstress with a pair of pipes to die for. Here, she’s happily joined in music-making by Clara Dykstra as her daughter, Little Annabelle (the aforementioned not-quite-mute).
Shunior also directs, and makes excellent use of the Three Clubs cozy stage – and bar. He and Eldridge (and company) manage the right mix of humor, heart, style and irony so that it’s all smooth going down, but delivers a punch in the end. For a good time, call Lydia.
