Staged reading of a new musical sheds new light on  Jack the Ripper’s crimes

A staged reading of a new musical, Light & Shadow, will showcase the work of two Indianapolis-based playwrights who teamed up with composers from LA to offer audience members a chance to be a part of the creative development process of this original musical.

The reading, which will take place on Friday, February 24th at Theatre on the Square, is the first time the two playwrights, Indianapolis-based KT Peterson and Bennett Ayres, and the two composers, LA-based Tony Guerrero and Erin Rettino, will hear the work performed by actors. The new musical workshop will be directed by Bo Frazier: an Indianapolis native who has worked professionally in London and New York. The entire creative team is inviting the audience to be part of the next stage of development.

Light & Shadow is the story of a portrait photographer and a prostitute falling in love amongst the prejudice, corruption and madness of London during the Jack the Ripper killing spree of 1888. Although the Jack the Ripper crimes are a well-known story, in Light & Shadow the audience sees the world from the victim’s point of view – not as a crime to be solved or a titillating story, but as an unexplainable tragedy. It’s also a story centered around women.

“I agreed to work on this show under the condition that the story was not to be a sexually exploitative masquerade of stabbing women for fun,” says playwright KT Peterson, “What I didn’t know at the time was that Tony Guerrero, one of the composers, actually founded FACT Alliance, which supports the aftercare of sex trafficking victims.” This perspective comes through in the story. Even though Jack the Ripper’s murders were British crimes, in Shadow & Light they’re framed as a perversion of the American dream. Before each woman is killed, the audience is subtly cued into how she was trying to improve her circumstances. Polly was taking a poetry class, Liz left a job as a wealthy family’s maid after being sexually assaulted, Mary Jane wanted to be a teacher. These women are survivors, tough and independent, which makes it even more tragic when they are murdered.

The staged reading is an important part of the process of creating the musical, which Peterson started working on in 2013. “We could have done the workshop in LA or New York, but at this point, we thought Indianapolis would be a great opportunity to work with local talent and stellar good energy,” says Peterson. Director Bo Frazier agrees, “Audience and critical feedback is the most important part of the process. Engaging the general public in this part of the process is just very exciting. Without outside eyes (who will potentially pay money to see this), a writer wouldn’t have any insight but their own.” Audience members will be invited to stay for a facilitated talkback after the reading, a chance to give feedback and be part of a discussion with the entire creative team.