A musical comedy centered on Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is set to debut next month in San Francisco.
Titled Luigi: the Musical, the show focuses on the “surreal scenario” of Mangione sharing a prison with “real-life” inmates Sean “Diddy” Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried, according to the musical’s website.
“While the setup is absurd, it’s also rooted in a strange truth: these three men were indeed incarcerated at the same facility. That unlikely fact sparked our team’s creative exploration,” the musical’s description reads.
“This show is not a celebration of violence of any kind, nor is it an attempt to pass judgment on an ongoing legal matter. Our hearts go out to the family of Brian Thompson, and we acknowledge the pain and complexity surrounding this case.”
The goal of the musical comedy is to use satire to ask questions about how Mangione could become such a national figure and how institutions, including healthcare, tech, and Hollywood, are seen in the modern America, according to show-runners.
Each character reflects an institution, according to the description.
“Our hope is that Luigi: the Musical makes people laugh—and think,” the website reads. “We’re not here to make moral proclamations. We’re here to explore, with humor and heart, how it feels to live through a time when the systems we’re supposed to trust have stopped feeling trustworthy.”
The musical is directed by Nova Bradford and premieres June 13 at the Taylor Street Theater.
Mangione is played by Californian actor and comic Jonny Stein, and the show is sold out for its first run, according to the website.
In real life, Mangione pleaded not guilty on April 25 to all federal charges against him, and the Justice Department filed its notice of intent to seek the death penalty.