{"id":293997,"date":"2026-07-12T21:47:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/293997\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T21:47:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T21:47:51","slug":"giulia-the-poison-queen-of-palermo-pure-theatrical-alchemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/293997\/","title":{"rendered":"Giulia The Poison Queen of Palermo: Pure Theatrical Alchemy"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 10, 2026 9:00 pm <\/p>\n

By Roma Torre<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Death really does become her, as the writer, composer and star – Jennifer Nettles – serves up a killer new musical.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jennifer Nettles and company of Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo. Photo: Andy Henderson<\/p>\n

One of the joys of being a theater critic is discovering an unexpected gem among the thousands of productions I\u2019ve reviewed over the years. Such was the thrill of seeing Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. To say it\u2019s a diamond in the rough would not be entirely accurate because this world premiere production is as polished and almost ready for a Broadway transfer as any off-Broadway musical could be. Its unique blend of original story-telling and irresistibly tuneful songs is the work of one incredibly gifted person \u2013 Jennifer Nettles \u2013 and the work is bound to draw comparisons to Hamilton. Like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nettles is a quadruple threat, writing the book, music and lyrics in addition to performing the title role. But she may be one-up on Miranda with vocal power that puts her in a category all to herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s not all. Under Mary Zimmerman\u2019s inspired direction, the production is a collaborative triumph. From the casting to the orchestrations, choreography, set, costumes and even the wigs, it all comes together in highly entertaining fashion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s based on a true story from the 17th century\u2026with a lot of dramatic license to spice things up. As legend has it, a woman in Palermo named Giulia Tofana had an apothecary where she dispensed cosmetics and herbal treatments. But one of her elixirs, called Aqua Tofana, turned her into a much sought after serial killer. It was an undetectable poison laced with arsenic that she sold to women who were stuck in abusive marriages. Unable to divorce or separate, the women were all too happy to kill off their husbands and gain their freedom. As the story goes, the body count added up with hundreds of men dying suddenly of mysterious causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[Read Michael Sommers\u2019\u00a0 \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u00a0 review here.<\/a>]<\/p>\n

One of the numbers in the show, \u201cMaking a Killing\u201d, features a lively dance as the caskets pile up. If it sounds gruesome, it might remind you of Sweeney Todd but Giulia\u2019s victims are all deserving of their untimely ends which makes the story more of a revenge yarn. And in the telling, Giulia delivers an uplifting message of female empowerment as we see how the downtrodden wives turn into a sisterhood of liberated widows. It\u2019s full of plot twists and told with warmth and edgy humor which makes the story all the more compelling. Adding to its appeal, almost every one of Nettles\u2019 characters from the leads to the lesser roles are well crafted. And Nettles generously gives them each opportunities to shine. And \u2018shine\u2019 they most certainly do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The songs are an eclectic mix overlaid with folksy Italian rhythms giving the show authentic charm. From rap to country to gorgeous ballads, Nettles\u2019 talent as a songwriter seems to know no bounds. Her two villains \u2013 Quentin Earl Darrington as the scheming Cardinale and Christopher M. Ramirez as the dastardly Governatore \u2013 are terrifically versatile actors able to rap and rhapsodize with abandon. Darrington is divine as \u201cthe wolf,\u201d representing church dogma. And when he literally howls at the end of his 2nd act solo, it\u2019s show stopping. Ramirez is deliciously campy as the oily \u201csnake,\u201d slithering from scene to scene with tremendous gusto.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a villainess, Duchessa, representing the entitled aristocracy. Didi Romero is a revelation in the role, giving hilarious expression to her fan dance number \u201cAlways Get What I Want.\u201d She and the Governatore join forces with a riotous tango of the baddies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that brings us to Austin McCormick\u2019s wonderfully distinctive choreography. His contribution is on display throughout the show, not simply in dance but through movements punctuating the various emotions. Especially impressive is an extended scene depicting a violent attempted rape that feels realistically graphic without losing a stitch of clothing.<\/p>\n

Emotions run the gamut in Giulia. From comedy to tragedy, it\u2019s all well earned. Nettles\u2019 ballads are particularly heartfelt. A duet with Giulia and Father Paolo (Sam Simahk) convey the goodness of the church in \u201cSomething Holy,\u00a0 Something Broken.\u201d And witnessing life\u2019s perils, Giulia\u2019s daughter, Vitoria (Naomi Serrano) ruefully sings of losing her youthful innocence in \u201cWhen I Believed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another standout performance comes from Pre Jackson as a narrator figure, Capitana. She is a powerhouse, fittingly introducing us to the \u201cPower, Murder and Betrayal\u201d on vivid display.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Very special mention as well to Daniel Ostling and Ana Kuzmanic, the scenic and costume designers respectively. Ostling\u2019s concept featuring three paneled doors is deceptively simple but it is brilliantly evocative as the doors open up to a myriad of different settings \u2013 an ocean vista, a convent hallway, a garden, shelving, a fresco. And it\u2019s all complimented by Kuzmanic\u2019s splendid costumes which have the expensive look of what you\u2019d find in a big-budgeted Broadway musical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, there really are no words to capture the breadth and virtuosity of Jennifer Nettles extraordinary work in this production. She\u2019s an excellent actor, convincingly morphing from frightened lamb to fearless killer who can boldly proclaim herself a vigilante, saying \u201cI step into a room with a hit list.\u201d It\u2019s a funny line that\u2019s also dramatically honest in this context. \u00a0The triple Grammy winner certainly has street cred as a singer songwriter, but in this first foray composing for musical theater, she exhibits a unique talent for crafting catchy and memorable tunes that advance the plot while deepening her characters. She\u2019s greatly aided on that front by music director and arranger Adam Rothenberg whose heavy use of percussion infuses the show with a soulful dimension.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like Giulia, Nettles has created a rare alchemy here. And while you could say both are killers, obviously Nettles is slaying in the good sense. With Zimmerman\u2019s expert direction, Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo has that magical stage chemistry that fuses disparate elements into a work of undeniable beauty. I would be very surprised if that alchemy doesn\u2019t grow a set of legs that can take this bravura company all the way uptown to Broadway.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo opened July 10, 2026 at the Perelman Performing Arts Center and runs through August 2. Tickets and information:\u00a0pacnyc.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 10, 2026 9:00 pm By Roma Torre \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605 Death really does become her, as the writer, composer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-293997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}