After spending eight years co-writing a musical based on the true story of a serial killer, Derek Wallman and Beau Mahurin finally will see “The Devil Inside: The Curious Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes” come to life in November at the Melon Patch Theatre in Leesburg.
Henry Howard Holmes is considered America’s first known serial killer, active from 1886 to 1894. Holmes, whose real name was Herman Webster Mudgett, confessed to 27 murders and later upped that number to 130, according to Britannica.com.
The theater will hold auditions for the musical at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday at 311 N. 13th St. in Leesburg.
Wallman, who conceived the idea, said he is fascinated with the psychology of serial killers.
“I’ve read over 400 books on the subject and also FBI profiler (Robert) Ressler’s book on profiling,” said Wallman, of Fruitland Park. “I always found it very curious how someone who seems normal to everyone around them can commit such heinous crimes.”
Wallman directed five shows at the Melon Patch and wrote screenplays before but never a musical. He started working on the outline of the story about eight years ago.
“The initial thought was to write it as a drama script, but once I met Beau I knew it needed to be a musical,” Wallman said. “I was in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ as an actor, and Beau was our musical director. We became friends quickly and one night I asked him to look at my script and see if he thought it could be a musical.”
The cold read was a bit more chilly than Wallman hoped.
“Beau came back the next day and said, ‘This is way too dark for me,’” Wallman said. “The next day he said he thought about it and would like a shot at writing the music and lyrics.”
Dustin Lavine, executive director of the Melon Patch Players and producer of “The Devil Inside,” said he hoped the theater would be the place the play would first be seen.
“Both of these men have been involved with our theater for the past few years, and we were able to watch this dream grow and actually come to life,” Lavine said. “It was not a hard decision to mount it after it was finished because it was, in a very small part, our child, too.”
Lavine anticipates the audience will be drawn into the “hauntingly beautiful” music written by Mahurin.
“He spent close to eight years perfecting and writing each note without the aid of any computer programs,” said Lavine, of Leesburg. “It takes you seamlessly through this curious story and doesn’t give much time for the audience to catch their breath.”
Wallman hopes people come away from the show having enjoyed the journey.
“We wrote this show to not only shock people but also to walk away from the theater and have people talk about it,” Wallman said.
The show runs for two weekends, with opening night Nov. 1. For information, visit melonpatchplayers.org/auditions.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
