The European premiere of the one-and-only award-winning true-crime murder-musical!
on the 2nd, 3rd and 5th of May 2026, at the Claude Volter theatre
Glensheen is a True Crime/ Whodunnit musical, based on the murders of Minnesota heiress Elizabeth Congdon and her night nurse, Velma Pietila. The murders took place at Glensheen mansion, a lavish 39-room home built by Elizabeth’s father, Chester Congdon, a prominent figure in developing Northern Minnesota’s iron industry. On 27 June 1977, the city of Duluth, Minnesota was shaken by a crime that disturbed the quiet night-time shores of Lake Superior. But whodunnit, and why?
A dark musical show, Glensheen is a collaboration between renowned American playwright Jeffrey Hatcher and Minnesota composer, Chan Poling, with musical arrangements by Robert Elhai. While crime and murder are unusual material for a lively theatrical production, Glensheen’s lyrics and songs are both humorous and powerful. Similarly, while the tale is set in the USA during the 1970s, the events and personalities uncovered in the storytelling are universally recognisable – and even understandable.
Winner of the Ivey Overall Excellence award in 2016, Glensheen is cleverly written to offer diverse and exciting roles for our small cast as they take on and move between a series of vividly-drawn characters in the course of the show, taking the audience on an emotional journey as we tell the tale of that darkest of nights and what followed afterwards. Musical Director Vivienne McKay will lead an on-stage musical ensemble, with the close relationship between cast and musicians lending a special intimacy to the performance and making Glensheen into an unforgettable evening out at the theatre.
This production will also be Glensheen‘s first ever performance in Europe, so don’t miss out!
Latest news
Meet the team!
The Smoosicals team kicked off September in style with our first production meeting, discussing our May 2026 productions Glensheen and Little Shop of Horrors. While May next year might seem like a long way off, we have a set to source and build, a series of killer plants to make, orchestras and casts to recruit, […]
Announcing the Glensheen cast!
Meet our talented players for Glensheen! Victoria Barbazanges will play femme fatale MARJORIE – our leading lady. Marjorie’s hapless husband ROGER is played by Andy Fisk, while Wivica Stagell will take the stage as Marjorie’s sister JENNIFER. Their mother, heiress ELIZABETH CONGDON, is played by Helen Brown, who also stars as their DEFENCE lawyer and […]