Melody Allegra Berger Reclaims Murder Ballads With Bluegrass Cop Drama

Betsy Podsiadlo | 9/30/23

Utilizing traditional tunes that illustrate these grizzly murders in addition to original material, Melody was able to connect characters from different murder ballads and began to reclaim these sad stories set to perky tunes as a matter of vengeance for women whose experience with domestic violence leaves them silenced. Describing her process further she explained that   “..it [Murder Lake] became a revenge fantasy for every murder ballad I could find.” 

As the process went on, Melody, a “solitary writer,” found that hearing other voices read and perform her work gave the piece new life. She then began fundraising for a concert performance. When asked how she found the right people to be in the cast, Melody said that her experience working as an actor-musician inspired her to write a show that would feature more women and non-binary people.

 “Knowing who to put in the show was not the problem, it was the impetus,” Melody said. “Write for yourself so the theater you want to see in the world is out there.”

After a successful workshop in May of 2023 at the Jalopy Theater in Brooklyn, Melody is continuing to develop Murder Lake in her own way: slowly and thoughtfully. More specifically, that means being careful not to rush a project that means so much to her. 

If you’d like to contribute to the fund created to continue the advancement and eventual full staging of Murder Lake, you can do so here.

If you’d like to keep up with Melody’s projects, murderous or otherwise, follow her on instagram @melodiva42, follow her facebook page or check out her website.