Of Notoriety: Accused hatchet murderer Lizzie Borden’ life, trial on stage this week in Munster

Accused hatchet murderer Lizzie Borden had a very dedicated older sister, one who looked past and tried to ignore the family’s ruinous headlines that filled newspapers at the turn of the century.

The unmarried sisters lived together for most of their lives, except for a brief “falling out of unknown reasons” in 1905. Emma died in 1927, just nine days after Lizzie.

Lizzie Borden was the East Coast bloodcurdling counterpart to Northwest Indiana’s poison pen killer Belle Gunness of LaPorte, both women sharing the same turn of the century era sensational headlines of the late 1800s and early 1900s for their crimes of murdering family members for what was suspected financial gain of insurance policies and inheritance.

Gunness at age 48 “disappeared,” and was thought to have fled after setting her farm on fire in 1908, and therefore, never faced a court trial.

However Borden, at age 32, was centerstage for one of the most infamous trials of the century, with media attention likened to the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial.

Actress and historian Leslie Goddard has returned to the Theatre at the Center stage in Munster to share the true account of Miss Borden, who was tried and acquitted for the brutal hatchet murders of her father and stepmother, in the one-woman play “The Life and Legend of Lizzie Borden,” continues through Sunday, Nov. 2.

Borden, characterized as a curious sort, despised her stepmother and publicly complained of her mortician father’s frugality, despite his considerable wealth. During her 1892 trial, the testimony of the family’s maid, Borden’s friend and her own contradictory statements created suspicion and led to her indictment.

Drawing from her theatrical background and experience as a researcher and historian, Goddard has previously presented her one-woman performances at Theatre at the Center adopting the identities of Julia Child in September 2023, then as Amelia Earhart in July 2024 and most recently, as Titanic survivor Violet Jessop earlier this year in March 2024, with each of her performance runs earning standing ovations.

During the week of Halloween, audiences can learn the incredible accounts of the sequence of events of the murders and the aftermath connected to the cunning Borden as the Theatre at the Center stage set is transformed into the Borden Family’s modest Victorian era manor, complete with pitcher pump kitchen, parlor, bedroom, barn and courtroom, all recreated in intricate detail of the time period. The play run includes both matinee and evening performances. Tickets are $40 and available at the box office by calling 219-836-3255 or visiting www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.

“People have been fascinated by Lizzie Borden and the facts and details surrounding the strange circumstances of the murders of her father and stepmother with theories and gossip that have outlasted more than a century,” said award-winning stage personality Goddard, who won the Philip A. Danielson Award for her portrayal of art collector and Chicago hotel maven and socialite Bertha Honore Palmer.

“Did she or didn’t she? It will be up to the audiences to be the jury to make their own decision after spending a stage performance trying to understand the complicated personality that was Lizzie Borden.”

The play is 90 minutes, which includes a 20-minute intermission.

In 1975, the late Elizabeth Montgomery starred in the title role of “The Legend of Lizzie Borden,” which was an ABC network made-for-TV movie of the week that garnered a large viewership and won two Emmy Awards. Actress Montgomery and Borden were “real-life cousins” of the same Massachusetts family tree, technically sixth cousins, once removed.

Since Aug. 4, 1996, the original Fall River, Massachusetts Borden Manor home has been open as an infamous bed and breakfast inn, with one of Montgomery’s worn costume gowns from the film on display in the sitting room. Originally a four-bedroom home plus a maid’s quarters in the converted attic, the current owners offer the option of six available rooms for overnight lodging, including the option of sleeping in the sitting room where Mr. Borden was murdered.

Goddard is an award-winning historian, author, actor and lecturer who has been presenting on topics in American history and women’s history for 20 years. She holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. from Northwestern University as well as master’s degrees in both museum studies and in theater. A former museum director, she currently works full-time as a public speaker and author. Her presentations have been seen by audiences in more than 30 states, including scores of universities, museums, libraries, festivals, and civic organizations.

Born in Illinois, Leslie is known nationally for her work bringing women’s history alive with her repertoire of famous women, which includes Lucille Ball, first ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams and Jackie Kennedy, film star Bette Davis, novelist Louisa May Alcott and modern artist Georgia O’Keeffe.

She graduated with an undergraduate degree in theater and English from Stanford University and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband Bruce and their two black pugs.

Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com.