Theater

38 WITNESSED HER DEATH
I WITNESSED HER LOVE:
THE LONELY SECRET OF MARY ANN ZIELONKO
(Kitty Genovese Story)

A ONE-ACT PLAY

Written and Performed by
LuLu LoLo
Based on personal interviews with Mary Ann Zielonko

  Photo: Paul Takeuchi.

 

 

On March 13, 1964, in Kew Gardens, Queens, NY, Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered—14 days after her murder it was revealed by the New York Times that 38 people witnessed her being attacked in three separate incidents—38 people heard her cries for help—And not one person called the police or came to her aid. Her death highlighted the apathy of a city. Forty years after Kitty Genovese’s death, Mary Ann Zielonko gave her first interview revealing that she was Kitty’s lover.

38 WITNESSED HER DEATH, I WITNESSED HER LOVE: THE LONELY SECRET OF MARY ANN ZIELONKO (Kitty Genovese Story) is a four part/three character drama. The play unfolds with a “Chorus of 38”—as LuLu portrays the indifference of the people who witness Kitty Genovese being attacked. The characters portrayed are: New York Times City Editor A.M. Rosenthal recalls how a chance comment to him by the Police Commissioner led to the headline story of the apathy of 38 witnesses. Winston Moseley (who confessed to Kitty’s murder) takes the witness stand, using his actual trial transcript—the audience hears his utter detachment to the killing. In the final scene Mary Ann Zielonko reminisces after 40 years of silence about gay life in the 60’s, her life with Kitty, the murder, the trial, and its aftermath.

Photo: Paul Takeuchi.    


PERFORMANCE HISTORY

June 25, 2013 Bluestockings Bookstore, NY, excerpts from 38 Witnessed her Death, I Witnessed her Love: The Lonely Secret of Mary Ann Zielonko (Kitty Genovese Story) and OBITS: An Exercise In Limitation
   
March 12, 2012 2012 Oradell Public Library, Oradell, NJ, excerpts from 38 Witnessed her Death, I Witnessed her Love: The Lonely Secret of Mary Ann Zielonko (Kitty Genovese Story)
   
March 7, 2012 Wagner College, Staten Island NY, Professor Alan Hoffner’s Class, “Urbanized Society” 38 Witnessed Her Death, I Witnessed Her Love: The Lonely Secret of Mary Ann Zielonko (Kitty Genovese Story)
   
August 14-18, 2009 The New York International Fringe Festival at The Robert Moss Theater, NY. A new production with a supporting cast of dancers from Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects: Brynne Billingsley, Jody Oberfelder, Jake Szcezypek, and Shila Tirabassi. Directed and choreographed by Jody Oberfelder. Costumes: Ramona Ponce. Lighting: Christopher Weston.
   
June 22, 23, 2007 Gay Pride Week, FAR (Field Artist Residency) Space, NY
   
Oct 6-Oct 15, 2006 Women’s Week, Provincetown Fringe Festival, Provincetown, MA. The first performances of the one-act play.
   
September 9-18, 2004 Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Columbus, Ohio. The first performances of the Mary Ann Zielonko scene performed as part of “Deviant Women”.
   


BIBLIOGRAPHY

April 6, 2016 Interview after the death of Winston Moseley (convicted killer of Kitty Genovese), Talk Back: We and Thee Edition, Hosted By John McDonagh, Malachy McCourt and Corey Kilgannon, WBAI -Pacifica Radio.

Listen to  Mary Ann Zielonko speaking of Kitty Genovese, "Remembering Kitty," The New York Times, April 10, 2016

"No One Helped: Kitty Genovese, New York City, and the Myth of Urban Apathy" by Marcia M. Gallo, Cornell University Press, NY 2015

Sciorra, Joseph (appendix coauthored with Stefania Taviano). "A Lived History under Scrutiny: Italian American Performance Art". Teaching Italian American Literature, Film, and Popular Culture edited by Edvige Giunta and Kathleen Zamboni McCormick . The Modern American Language Association, NY 2010. pp 183-184, 189, 194-95.


REVIEWS AND ARTICLES

"38 Witnessed Her Death, I Witnessed Her Love...", CurtainUp, August 31, 2009

“Fringe benefits,” InfiniteBody, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, August 19, 2009

“2004 Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival,” On the Purple Circuit, Bill Kaiser, November 1, 2004


VIDEO

"38 Witnesses 3", Michael Tapp videographer, August 18, 2009

 

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