June 17, 2026

"The performance turned out to be a string of gags about Bankman-Fried’s and Diddy’s sins that largely spared Mangione of the worst ridicule."

"It instead featured running jokes about how parts of the internet find him attractive, while the titular character is gifted love ballads, literally and metaphorically. His cast members call him a 'prodigy' and a 'legend.' His response: 'I’m not a celebrity. I’m just a normal, exceedingly handsome guy. To make matters worse, they all sing...."

From "'Luigi: The Musical' is a fever dream from hell/The show isn’t meant to 'glorify violence,' but it does. The protesters outside, meanwhile, think it doesn’t go far enough" (WaPo)(gift link).

"The musical has a bare-bones plot, practically no choreography and nothing in the way of a set apart from a couple of chairs and one prop, a gun. All that could be forgiven in a staged reading, but what is glaringly absent is any serious mention of [Brian] Thompson’s name or the wife and two sons he left behind. It’s clear the show’s creators think they have tapped into some profound observation of the nihilistic trends running through today’s culture: our numb responses to mass violence, the disintegration of societal trust. 'What kind of sick f---- would buy tickets to something like that?,' the characters lament onstage about the musical, in what’s meant to be a self-critical, meta moment...."

16 comments:

n.n said...

License to entertain abortive ideation.

Quaestor said...

Ticket sales to "Luigi: the Musical" depend on the greater fool profit model that is the foundation of all cryptos. Since Bankman-Fried got 25 years and $11 billion in fines and restitution, this author ought to face 6 months bitch-time in a county slammer and refunds all 'round.

Wince said...

...but what is glaringly absent is any serious mention of [Brian] Thompson’s name or the wife and two sons he left behind.

"Other than that, Mrs. Thompson, how was the play?"

Achilles said...

Democrats will not stop killing people until we let them have their slaves back.

Leland said...

'What kind of sick f---- would buy tickets to something like that?,' the characters lament onstage about the musical, in what’s meant to be a self-critical, meta moment....

Sounds like a rip-off of "The Producers".

Aggie said...

"....The show isn't meant to glorify violence, but it does....."

Oh, really? What was the show meant to do, then? Since it doesn't mention the victim and his family, the emotional devastation left behind, the cold-blooded aspect of the murder, its planning and execution, and the negative effect on societal trust.

What does it mean, when such an act of casual violence is paid homage by the creation of a stage play in its image, in addition to all the trappings of fandom, the marketing of courtroom attire, etc etc? That's not glorification, then?

Martin said...

"From "'Luigi: The Musical' is a fever dream from hell/The show isn’t meant to 'glorify violence,' but it does."

It absolutely was meant to glorify violence as well as build permission structures for more violence.

Iman said...

The sickness runs deep in these people.

Earnest Prole said...

It appears Luigi will rely on a psychological defense at his coming trial.

Achilles said...


Earnest Prole said...

It appears Luigi will rely on a psychological defense at his coming trial.

All he needs is one democrat on the jury and he could admit he did it in court and he would get off.

Earnest Prole said...

All he needs is one democrat on the jury and he could admit he did it in court and he would get off.

Which is why it’s surprising his lawyer would recommend admitting to the homicide.

Big Mike said...

I generally take a light-hearted view of this thoroughly insane world, but I do not find the crimes of Sam Bankmsn-Fried, P Diddy Combs, or Luigi Mangione to be anything worth laughing at or entertaining to a normal person.

narciso said...

Like sondheims assasins yikes

Greg The Class Traitor said...

"what is glaringly absent is any serious mention of [Brian] Thompson’s name or the wife and two sons he left behind"

The show isn’t meant to 'glorify violence,' but it does.

Oh, bullshit. It's entirely meant to glorify his violence. If it wasn't, they'd be talking about his victims

Oso Negro said...

I keep waiting for "Hamas, the Musical". "A raucous treat" says the NYT reviewer.

Tina Trent said...

Thank you, Aggie.

Post a Comment

Please use the comments forum to respond to the post. Don't fight with each other. Be substantive... or interesting... or funny. Comments should go up immediately... unless you're commenting on a post older than 4 days. Then you have to wait for us to moderate you through. It's also possible to get shunted into spam by the machine. We try to keep an eye on that and release the miscaught good stuff. We do delete some comments, but not for viewpoint... for bad faith. Also: DON'T USE ITALICS.