'Never the Sinner'
by John Logan
Directed by Jenny Jackson

Jan. 15-18 & 22-24, 2004

In 1924, Richard Loeb was handsome, privileged, a graduate of the University of Michigan at 18 and completely obsessed with crime.

Nathan Leopold, 19, also was a child of wealth, about to begin to studies at Harvard Law School and recognized as one of the nation's leading ornithologists.

Together, the young men were odd, intense and arrogant. Leopold participated in Loeb's criminal endeavors in exchange for sexual favors from his beloved pal.

They believed in Friedrich Nietzche's concept of the "superman" and that society's laws did not apply to them.

They believed they could commit the perfect crime, but they were arrested just days after inviting a 14-year-old boy for a car ride and attacking him with a chisel, killing him.

Craig Walter plays Darrow in this play, and Jarrod Kopp and Bryan Reed portray the murderous pair.