A love triangle gone wrong, Murder Ballad centers on Sara, an Upper West Sider who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. The sexy new musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us.
What Is the Story of Murder Ballad?
Murder Ballad, a new musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, centers around Sara, a young New Yorker who is torn between her dangerous ex-boyfriend and her reliable husband. Led by a sexy bartender who serves as the show’s narrator, Murder Ballad documents the details of the torrid affair with vibrant pop-rock tunes. When Sara breaks up with Tom, a gritty bartender, she runs into the arms of Michael, a quiet poetry student at NYU. But after the couple gets married and has a daughter, Sara longs for her old, dangerous life and begins secretly seeing Tom at his bar downtown. As Sara’s passionate relationship with Tom intensifies, she begins to miss her old life with her husband and young child—but by then, it may be too late. With a title like Murder Ballad, it’s no surprise that the treacherous love triangle ends in tragedy.
"The four-person cast move among the audience, climbing onto chairs or tables or the bar to belt out Nash's often searing torch-song melodies."
Entertainment Weekly
Thom Geier
"Reconfigured for a commercial transfer in a larger theater, this hot-blooded property written by Julia Jordan and set to music by Juliana Nash still steams up the room with its violent tabloid tale of illicit love, lust and betrayal."
Variety
Marilyn Stasio
"['Murder Ballad' is] hot and sweaty, energetic and intriguing, rough and ragged."
New York Daily News
Joe Dziemianowicz
"'Murder Ballad' has its own brooding matinee idol in the form of Will Swenson, who ably embodies the most combustible part of a dangerous romantic triangle. "
The New York Times
Ben Brantley
