The cast of characters in the infamous Erie pizza bomber case was unlike any that had been seen before, whether on stage, screen or in real life.
Their names have become permanent additions to Erie's dark pantheon of criminals. Among them:
- Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, the brilliant but mentally ill serial killer.
- William A. Rothstein, her equally brilliant and equally maniacal erstwhile fiancé.
- James Roden, Diehl-Armstrong's last boyfriend, whose body ended up in a freezer in Rothstein's garage.
- Brian Wells, the gullible 46-year-old pizza deliveryman who agreed to rob a bank until he realized the bomb locked to his neck was real.
- Kenneth E. Barnes, the drug-addled crack dealer and former TV repairman who acted as the rotten link among the co-conspirators.
Two decades after the bizarre and malevolent plot unspooled, ending in Wells' death on Aug. 28, 2003, the pizza bomber characters are reappearing — though in a somewhat altered state.
An Erie theater veteran, David Durst, is presenting the "The Pizza Bomber Play: A Devoted Surrender" to give his take on the case that has enthralled true-crime fans worldwide.
Durst is directing the play, which he wrote and co-produced. It premiers Friday at the Alex Clemente Theatre at Granite Ridge, at 16 W. Division St. in North East, on the former Mercyhurst North East campus. A total of 10 performances run through Aug. 27, the day before the 20th anniversary of Wells' bombing death.
Unlike "Evil Genius," the 2018
Netflix docuseries that provided a largely factual overview of the case, "The Pizza Bomber Play" employs a more artistic and interpretative approach to the characters' long interpersonal histories and the events that occurred before and after Wells' death. More at link:
Erie theater veteran David Durst is directing stage adaptation that features characters based on Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, Bill Rothstein and others.
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