'Never the Sinner' looks at infamous 1924 thrill kill

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.

"Why did they kill little Bobby Franks? Not for money, not for spite, not for hate," declared famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow in his legendary closing argument, which saved the pair from being put to death.

"They killed him as they might kill a spider or a fly -- for the experience. They killed him because they were made that way. Because somewhere in the infinite processes that go into the making up of the boy or the man something slipped, and those unfortunate lads sit here hated, despised, outcasts, with the community shouting for their blood."

The crime and trial were sensationalized across the country, and the case still holds great fascination today. Darrow's 11-hour summation is seen as one of the most passionate pleas on record against capital punishment.

"I may hate the sin," Darrow told the judge, "but never the sinner."

Playwright John Logan was so enthralled by the subject of Leopold and Loeb that he researched the story for 20 years before writing his drama "Never the Sinner," which opens Thursday night at Heller Theater.

"They had a kind of symbiotic relationship that complemented each other. I don't think the crime itself would have happened one without the other," said Jenny Jackson, who's directing the Heller production. "The boys were looking for something, and this thrill kill is what they found."

Craig Walter plays Darrow in this play, and Jarrod Kopp and Bryan Reed portray the murderous pair. It will be quite the acting challenge to attempt to generate sympathy for these killers from an audience sitting in judgment, the director said.

"The thing is, there's a lot of dark humor in the play, and I think people are going to find themselves laughing -- and being horrified at the fact that they're laughing," Jackson said. "For example, the boys are talking about which kid they're going to murder, and they're making jokes about the process, being real casual about it, saying 'Who could it be? There's so many nasty little boys.'

"It's like they're kids in a candy store."

"There really is a morbid fascination about the whole thing," she continued. "As I researched the story, and I learned a bit more about Leopold and Loeb, I found that in addition to being smug and arrogant, they could be quite charming."

So was Darrow right? Were "the boys" a product of their environment, unable to stop themselves from doing what they did?

"Everyone has choices to make," Jackson said. "They made some really bad choices."

Theater

Never the Sinner

Where:
Heller Theater, 5328 S. Wheeling Ave.

Tickets:
$5-$7, may be reserved by calling 746-5065

Michael Smith 581-8334 michael.smith@tulsaworld.com