The Musical
- Alternate Character Interpretation: there's at least one production which treats the subject matter ambiguously enough that you have to wonder if Lizzie actually killed anyone, if Emma or Bridget had a hand in it, or any of it is real.
- Awesome Music: The whole damn show.
- "Sweet Little Sister" sounds great, and is when Emma's actress really gets to show off her pipes. The kickass guitar riffs don't hurt, either.
- "The House of Borden" is the perfect show opener, and immediately sets the dark, eerie tone of the story.
- "Shattercane and Velvet Glass," a remarkably serene and beautiful song about poison.
- "Questions Questions" is gorgeous, especially when all four women start harmonizing.
- "This is Not Love," if only for the sheer power behind Lizzie's vocals.
- Complete Monster: Andrew Jackson Borden, the father of Lizzie and Emma, is portrayed as a monstrously abusive father who doesn't care about his family. Abusing his children for years, he would neglect them and keep them away from the outside world in order to keep them under his control. Andrew Bordens's most monstrous crime, however, is that he would repeatedly rape Lizzie, to the point where she is driven insane and murders him and her stepmother.
- Cult Classic: The show isn't very widely-known, but its small fandom is extremely dedicated, and it always picks up new fans whenever a regional theater decides to do it.
- Heartwarming Moments:
- The first "Maybe Someday," when Alice confesses her love to Lizzie. It's one of the only times in the show Lizzie actually gets to be happy.
- In a similar vein, "If You Knew." While it's sad for Alice, since she doesn't believe her feelings are returned, it's sweet to see how much she loves Lizzie. Considering how much horror Lizzie goes through every day, it feels earned.
- "Into Your Wildest Dreams" is a bittersweet one. Lizzie may be Convicted by Public Opinion, and she may never fully heal from her experiences... but she is free. Seeing her walk out of the courtroom feels so damn good.
- Jerkass Woobie: Emma's sort of a jerk, but considering the fact that she's endured an abusive father for years, it's easy to see why.
- Les Yay: All over the place.
- Nausea Fuel: Deliberately invoked at the start of Act Two, when Bridget points out to us how gross the bodies must have gotten after a couple days. This line usually gets an "EWWWW!" out of the audience.I know it sounds disgusting,
but it's 1892.
There's no A/C.
It's August.
It's ninety-five degrees...
Well, you do the math. - WTH, Costuming Department?: The Act 2 costumes in most productions. Some productions prefer latex, some prefer glitter, but it always looks more 1980s than 1890s. We're talking corset tops, big hair, heavy makeup, skin-tight leather pants, short and/or see-through skirts, chokers, torn fishnet stockings, fingerless gloves, Too Many Belts, and just over all enough anachronisms to give Rómeó és Júlia a run for its money. Some productions use these costumes for Act 1 as well.
- The Woobie: Poor Alice. She's a genuinely nice and sympathetic person in a grim story full of screwed-up people, and she spends the whole show either pining over Lizzie or worrying that Lizzie might be a murderer. Which, you know, she is.
The Animated Shorts
- Designated Hero: In "Fifty Shades of Green", Lizzie deals with her parents being constantly affectionate in front of her by using a home movie of her grandparents to make her father swear off love, and the audience is supposed to see Lizzie ruining her parents' anniversary for the selfish purpose of not having to put up with her parents' intimacy toward each other anymore as a good thing.
The Film
- The Woobie: Bridget, who has to put up with being raped by Andrew on a regular basis and not complain about it because she's an Irish immigrant working as a maid and housekeeper.
