America’s most famous 90-minute theatrical production about a handsome accused assassin debuted to high expectations Friday evening at the Taylor Street Theater in the Tenderloin. The mood on the sidewalk outside the premiere of “Luigi: The Musical” was buoyant, even if the show — a musical satire about alleged CEO-killer Luigi Mangione — is as spicy as they come.
And given that Cole Escola just took home a Tony Award for playing widowed First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in “Oh, Mary!” it would seem that darkly comic takes on assassination are trending — theatrically speaking, of course. (The topic has a pedigree. Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim wrote an entire musical called “Assassins.”)
A few theater-goers embraced the ridiculousness. “With everything going on right now, this feels like very needed humor, you know?” said a man who gave his name as Nick.
Mangione, for anyone living under a rock these past six months, is the curly-haired 27-year-old suspect in the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare chief Brian Thompson on a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk. Bullet casings with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” were found at the scene, referencing the bureaucratic language of rejected health insurance claims. A scion of a prominent Maryland family, Mangione faces numerous state and federal charges, from first-degree murder to stalking. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
At the same time, his perceived good looks and habit of dressing sharply for his court appearances, combined with a widespread dislike of insurance industry practices, have turned Mangione into a folk hero. Fans Yelp-bombed the Pennsylvania McDonald’s where he was apprehended and gathered en masse outside the courthouse where he made his first appearance before a judge.
The jumping-off point for “Luigi: The Musical” is that he’s being held at the same detention facility that has also housed rapper and alleged sex trafficker Sean “Diddy” Combs and convicted cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried.
Opening night at the 49-seat black box venue sold out quickly, as did the remainder of its five-night run, although the producers have since added a sixth performance. Most people who score tickets had an inside connection; virtually everyone The Standard spoke with was a friend, significant other, or family member of the cast or crew.
Consequently, even though the show takes great pains to avoid appearing to endorse gunning down corporate executives, many people on the sidewalk were reluctant to share their thoughts. Several said they worried about their loved ones’ safety amid the swirl of national publicity over the show, which attracted attention from the likes of Anderson Cooper and Stephen Colbert.
There were some nuanced takes. “No one in the cast or crew condones murder,” a ticket holder named Jonah Pryce said. “But Luigi has quickly become symbolic of a lot of the stress and frustration that I’d say the majority of Americans are feeling right now.”
“He’s a folk hero. He’s also hot,” said an attendee named Tom. “I mean, the bondage-y thing works too,” he added, referring to the viral image of Mangione’s shackled legs and stylish footwear.
Other folks were reticent in spite of their obvious affection for the play’s protagonist. The lone individual who showed up in a “Deny, Defund, Depose” T-shirt declined to speak with this reporter and consented to be photographed only from the neck down.
Some people seemed to know little about the suspected killer. Clutching a bouquet, an attendee who gave his name as Troy said he was the boyfriend of the actress who plays Diddy. He’d helped her run her lines, so he knew by heart almost every scene she appears in. But a Mangione stan he is not. “I’m super hip-hop-related, so I grew up with Diddy,” Troy said. “I never really had any information on Luigi.”
Still, there were folks who gleefully copped to idolizing the suspect, like attendees Adrienne and Sarah. How would they rate their love of the accused, on a scale of one to 10?
“Um, like, 10 out of 10,” Adrienne said. “I would marry him if I could. I love a martyr.”