“What do you regard as most humane? To spare someone shame.” -Nietzsche
Following the economic collapse in the United States in 2008, the country was thrown into turmoil, as were individual lives. Suicide rates skyrocketed, nonprofits shuttered their doors, downsizing ran rampant, and people watched all of their savings go down the drain.
But on top of all that, and much more under the radar, was the increase in familicide cases, primarily in wealthy, white communities. One such case, that of Thomas J. Mortimer IV and his family in Winchester, Massachusetts, was particularly brutal and heartbreaking.
In a multi-media, movement- and collaboration-driven production, The Gray Lily Project presents its inaugural production, a world premiere five years in the making.
The creation of “Hazy” began in 2009 in Brooklyn, NY, soon after news of the Mortimer and other cases emerged. Cherie A. Roberts became intrigued with the social implications behind such an uptick in these generally rare crimes, and her research compelled her to understand what happens in that moment when a father, a husband, a lover, decides to murder his entire family – what happens in his mind at that exact moment when the knife cuts the flesh of his two–year-old child?
The theatricality of it was undeniable, as was the need for it to be a visual, movement-driven piece. Outlines and ideas spilled out onto paper as Andrew and Cherie talked through the idea, but it wasn’t until 2013, when Cherie and Andrew relocated to New Orleans, that the inspiration to sit down and write the script came.
New Orleans’ special blend of heat, originality, southern hospitality, and off-the-wall art sent Cherie’s pen to paper, and the result is this explosive production, premiering this fall in New York City.
But on top of all that, and much more under the radar, was the increase in familicide cases, primarily in wealthy, white communities. One such case, that of Thomas J. Mortimer IV and his family in Winchester, Massachusetts, was particularly brutal and heartbreaking.
In a multi-media, movement- and collaboration-driven production, The Gray Lily Project presents its inaugural production, a world premiere five years in the making.
The creation of “Hazy” began in 2009 in Brooklyn, NY, soon after news of the Mortimer and other cases emerged. Cherie A. Roberts became intrigued with the social implications behind such an uptick in these generally rare crimes, and her research compelled her to understand what happens in that moment when a father, a husband, a lover, decides to murder his entire family – what happens in his mind at that exact moment when the knife cuts the flesh of his two–year-old child?
The theatricality of it was undeniable, as was the need for it to be a visual, movement-driven piece. Outlines and ideas spilled out onto paper as Andrew and Cherie talked through the idea, but it wasn’t until 2013, when Cherie and Andrew relocated to New Orleans, that the inspiration to sit down and write the script came.
New Orleans’ special blend of heat, originality, southern hospitality, and off-the-wall art sent Cherie’s pen to paper, and the result is this explosive production, premiering this fall in New York City.