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The Devena Theatre Company will present "Lizzie Borden and the 40 Whacks" at the Amesbury Senior Center, 9 School St., Amesbury, on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 1 p.m.
On a scorching hot day in Fall River, in August 1892, the father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden were viciously murdered in their 92 Second St. home.
Borden, 32 and unmarried, was accused, tried, and acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother, Andrew and Abby Borden, with a hatchet.
There is a strong Haverhill connection to the Borden story — a member of the prosecuting team that lost the case was Haverhill attorney William H. Moody, for whom the Moody School was named.
A native of Byfield, Moody had a law office in the Masonic Building on Merrimack Street in Haverhill and went on to an illustrious career.
He was an assistant district attorney, was elected to Congress and re-elected several times, served as secretary of the Navy under President Theodore Roosevelt, and reached the highest court in the land when he was made a Supreme Court justice.
This true unsolved mystery has fascinated people for more than 100 years. Two people died on that day in 1892, but Lizzie continues to live on in American folklore.
An edutainment production, written by Fran Baron and directed by Joseph Zamparelli Jr. the show will feature Lynne Moulton and Zamparelli in multiple roles.
The performance includes a mock trial that invites the audience to participate by questioning Lizzie and deciding her guilt or innocence. Did she or didn't she? You be the judge on Sept. 15 at the Amesbury Senior Center.
Moulton has performed several roles for Delvena Theatre including her IRNE-nominated Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and Sissy in "Piece of My Heart" and also for numerous other theatre companies in the New England area.
She received her acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art under the direction of Sir Robert Palmer and at Trinity Rep Conservatory.
Zamparelli is a professional actor, director and producer.
A graduate of Boston College, he went on to the professional training program at Circle in the Square Theater School in New York City. In addition to commercial film and television work, he is producing/artistic director of BostonAlive.
The Delvena Theatre Company was founded in 1992 and has performed at various venues, most often at the Boston Center for the Arts.
It has been nominated for five Independent Reviewers of New England awards.
