From BOCKING to ROPE - The New Group

What happened to BOCKING at New Group ?

They were to begin September 1st - and the show has been cancelled. Anyone see this out of town?

https://thenewgroup.org/events/bocking/

Updated On: 9/10/26 at 09:01 PM

just gone.

Updated On: 9/8/26 at 10:19 PM

Patrick Hamilton’s Rope was inspired by the real-life 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder case in Chicago, translating the story to London high society. Two wealthy students, Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo, murder a former classmate, Ronald Raglane, to prove their intellectual superiority. They conceal the body in a chest and then host a dinner party in their apartment, using the chest as a supper table. The guests include Ronald's father and their former teacher, Rupert Cadell, whose presence heightens the tension as he begins to suspect their involvement. As the evening progresses, the two murderers become increasingly erratic, and Cadell's suspicions grow, leading to a tense climax where their crime is ultimately revealed. Rope blends a drawing-room comedy of manners with the suspense of a murder mystery. The play is notable for taking place in continuous time, creating sustained tension as the audience watches the killers’ plan unfold minute by minute.

Gordon Greenberg's adaptation is "A glamorous, queer-forward psychological thriller performed Off-Broadway this fall. Garrett Stern and Nate Singer are two beautiful, brilliant, and dangerously bored Princeton grad students, who throw a dinner party in their chic Turtle Bay apartment – on top of a trunk containing their murder victim. The evening quickly turns into a game of cat and mouse as Garrett manipulates Nate while diverting their guests from discovering the truth. Based on the true crime story of Leopold and Loeb, and newly adapted from the play that inspired the iconic Hitchcock film, this sharp-witted and sexually aggressive thriller combines the fantasy of the perfect crime with the thrill of being watched."

Updated On: 9/10/26 at 06:52 PM

"scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Catherine Zuber"

Those are some high-powered names for a small show.

I’m definitely excited to check this one out. I’ve never read Patrick Hamilton’s original play, but I have seen the Hitchcock film.

But can I just say: I’ve been arguing for YEARS that we need a proper dramatization of Leopold and Loeb and the murder of Bobby Franks. The actual story and psychology are fascinating enough without fictionalizing them—their extraordinary intelligence, immense privilege and prominent Jewish families in Chicago; Leopold’s obsession with Nietzsche and the idea of the Übermensch; the bizarre romantic/sexual and psychological dynamic between the two of them; the idea of committing the “perfect crime” simply because they believed themselves capable of it; the investigation; and then Clarence Darrow’s legendary closing argument that saved them from the death penalty. It literally was the “crime of the century.”

What’s so strange is how many major works have been inspired by Leopold and Loeb—Rope, Compulsion, Swoon, Funny Games, etc. or have focused heavily on Darrow, while relatively few have attempted to dramatize the entire actual story.

Yes, there’s the two-hander musical Thrill Me, which at least directly tackles Leopold, Loeb, the murder and their relationship, and it has a few okay to good songs. But the material deserves a truly great adaptation. Personally, I think a prestige limited series would be the ideal form… as long as Ryan Murphy isn’t the one allowed to ruin it.

Ironically, my favorite—and IMO still the best—of the very loose “inspired by” works is Haneke’s Funny Games. Brilliant film.

For what it's worth, I saw an early preview of Bocking at Baltimore Center Stage and really enjoyed it, probably the most I've laughed at a show since Oh, Mary. It's a very absurd story but I thought it all worked well, outside of one monologue the minister did towards the end of the show. I noted one joke that didn't land, which for a first run preview of a comedy is pretty stellar. I'm curious to see where this goes and if this will resonate with audiences. It's a good time if they can figure out how to market and sell it.

On 2 side notes, Kalen Allen had such a good experience working on Bocking at Center Stage, he bought a house in Baltimore and is relocating here from LA. Later this season, Center Stage is producing Xtravaganza, a new musical inspired by the legendary House of Xtravaganza and Ballroom pioneers like Angie Xtravaganza, José Xtravaganza, and Venus Xtravaganza, artists whose style, language, and movement helped shape one of the most iconic moments in pop culture history.

Curious to see how this ends up, Stevie has done great work since coming to Center Stage and I'm excited to see what he does with this piece. He's also a very nice, approachable gentleman and loves talking about all they're doing in Baltimore. Below is the synopsis of Xtravaganza:

As choreographers and featured performers in Madonna’s Vogue music video and worldwide tour, House stars brought the energy and vocabulary of Ballroom to a global stage.

This original musical, set in New York City’s Ballroom scene of the 1980s and 1990s, follows the rise of a community of Black and Latinx artists who built a world of chosen families, beauty, resilience, and radical self-expression in the face of marginalization and overwhelming odds.

Featuring a book by R. Eric Thomas and an original score by Khiyon Hursey, created in collaboration with a powerhouse team of songwriters and producers, XTRAVAGANZA is set to the sounds of Ballroom, House, and iconic ’80s and ’90s pop. Bill Sherman will serve as music supervisor, leading a music team including LA-based producer duo Matthew Campfield and Daniel Klein of Some Randoms. With direction by Stevie Walker-Webb, audiences are invited into a community that continues to shape culture long before the world catches on. This is not just the story behind a movement. It is the story of the people who built it, lived it, and refused to be erased.