Review: Lizzie

Review: Lizzie | Aurora Fox Arts Center | Aurora, CO | Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald | October 14, 2025

A childhood rhyme that I remember from a very early age:

Lizzie Borden took an axe,

And gave her mother forty whacks.

When she saw what she had done,

She gave her father forty-one.

Emma Rebecca Maxfield as Lizzie

Photography credit: RDGPhotography

Lizzie Borden’s back—and she’s got an axe to grind. Lizzie at the Aurora Fox Arts Center, director Talia Liccardello unleashes a blood-soaked punk rock spectacle that’s part courtroom drama, part rock concert, and all rebellion. Four fierce women shred through Victorian repression with killer vocals and testimony so fierce it could cross-examine the devil himself. Forget whodunit—this is why Lizzie snapped, and it’s got more bite than a Fall River gossip column.

Lizzie is a sonic explosion and unapologetically loud. It’s a punk rock opera that trades traditional musical theatre polish for raw distortion and high-decibel catharsis. Created and written by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt, with musical director Donna K. Debreceni, think Hedwig and the Angry Inch meets Jesus Christ Superstar, but with the fury of Bikini Kill, The Runaways, and Heart.

A brief history lesson: On August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby Borden, were found brutally murdered in their home—Andrew on the sitting room couch, Abby in the upstairs guest bedroom. The prime suspect was Andrew’s daughter, Lizzie (Emma Rebecca Maxfield), who claimed she had been in the barn during the killings. Her older sister, Emma (ThurZday), was away visiting friends at the time. The family’s maid, Bridget (Megan Schraeder), was reportedly outside cleaning windows and later resting in her room, having been ordered to do chores despite feeling ill. Alice (Helen Driesen), Lizzie’s next-door neighbor and confidante, puts the nail in the proverbial coffin by testifying against Lizzie during the trial of the century.

Emma Rebecca Maxfield delivers a scorching performance as Lizzie—raw, riveting, and vocally ferocious. I’ve seen Maxfield command high-profile roles previously with precision and power, but here she transcends. Her portrayal is a masterclass in emotional volatility: one moment tender and haunted, the next unhinged and electric. From whispered confessions to high-decibel fury, Maxfield doesn’t just inhabit Lizzie—she detonates her. It’s some of the most arresting work I’ve seen from her yet, and it lingers like a bloodstain on lace.

The rest of the cast matches Maxfield’s intensity with blistering precision and emotional depth. As Emma, ThurZday brings a steely resolve and aching vulnerability, her harmonies slicing through the chaos like a sister’s silent scream. Megan Schraeder as Bridget delivers sardonic wit and simmering resentment, grounding the household’s tension with every eyeroll and drumbeat. And in the role of Alice, Helen Driesen is magnetic—her voice a velvet blade, her presence a quiet storm that threatens to break open Lizzie’s world.

Under Talia Liccardello’s direction, Lizzie pulses with theatrical precision and punk rock abandon. She orchestrates chaos with clarity, letting the fury fly while anchoring each moment in emotional truth. The staging is bold and kinetic yet never loses sight of the characters’ inner lives—every scream, stomp, and silence feels earned. Donna K. Debreceni’s musical direction matches that intensity beat for beat, driving the band like a runaway train and sculpting the vocals into weapons of catharsis. Together, Liccardello and Debreceni ignite a production that’s as musically feral as it is psychologically exacting.

Lizzie roars to life on the shoulders of its electrifying band—a sonic engine that drives every scream, stomp, and shred. Led by Donna K. Debreceni (Keyboard 1/Conductor), the ensemble includes Cellista (Cello), Mitch Jervis (Guitar 1), Britt Heaps (Bass/Guitar 2), and Emily Gould (Drums/Percussion). Their high-voltage musicianship doesn’t just support the show—it ignites it, turning Victorian repression into a full-throttle rock opera.

Lizzie at the Aurora Fox Arts Center is a sonic and emotional juggernaut—fractured, fearless, and unapologetically bold. With Talia Liccardello’s razor-sharp direction and Donna K. Debreceni’s high-voltage musical leadership, the production channels punk rock chaos into theatrical precision. Emma Rebecca Maxfield leads a powerhouse cast that doesn’t just perform; they erupt, harmonize, and haunt. From the first scream to the final chord, Lizzie is a blood-soaked triumph. Playing through November 2—this one’s not to be missed.

Information and tickets: https://www.aurorafoxartscenter.org/onstage/lizzie