Hall-Mills murders examined in new production

The lovers were found dead beneath a crabapple tree – murdered and posed as if sleeping.

A century ago, on Sept. 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and church choir member Eleanor Mills were discovered on a farm in Franklin just across the New Brunswick border. Evidence of their affair − letters − were strewn about them in the area known as “Lovers’ Lane.” His business card lay at his feet.

The double homicide remains a cold case, though many have speculated the who and the why over the years. Thinkery & Verse artistic directors J.M. Meyer and Karen Alvarado, while not ignoring the unsolved aspect of the crime, are exploring its aftermath through their original production, “Thou Shalt Not: A Site-Specific Play about the Hall-Mills Double Homicide.”

Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall and Eleanor Reinhardt Mills.

The veil between the past and present is thin there − actors sit in the same seats as their 1922 counterparts, the same hymns are sung, and the horsehair walls are those which witnessed the two lovers together.

Performances begin on Sept. 15, the day before the 100th anniversary, and run through Oct. 8, at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, 189 George St., New Brunswick. It’s same church where Hall preached, and Mills sang, and where the two carried on their affair.

You May Also Like

Premier League star, Tariq Lamptey completes nationality switch to Ghana from England

Tariq Lamptey has reportedly completed his switch to the Black Stars of…

Poland is Planning a Referendum on EU’s Illegal Migrant Demands.

Poland’s national conservative government plans to hold a referendum on whether or…

Watch: Florida Businesses, Illegal Aliens Protest DeSantis Migration Law

Several thousand illegal migrants protested in Florida’s streets against Gov. Ron DeSantis’s…

Riverdale actor, Ryan Grantham pleads guilty to killing his mother, while also revealing his plans to ‘kill’ Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Canadian actor, Ryan Grantham, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March in…