Frozen Charlottes
By Kim Louise
Director: TammyRa' Jackson
Shelterbelt Theatre Presents Frozen Charlottes, an original drama written by Omaha playwright Kim Louise and directed by TammyRa’. In Frozen Charlottes, four women fear for their safety during Charles Starkweather’s 1958 killing spree through Nebraska. While locked in a house together during a city-wide lockdown, the women grapple with issues of identity, family, race, neurodiversity, and power. They soon discover that the danger inside the home may be far greater than the one outside of it.
What is a “Frozen Charlotte”?
Frozen Charlotte is the name of a simple, unjointed porcelain doll that originated in Germany in the 1850s. Originally, they were categorized with other “penny” dolls that were inexpensive and incredibly popular. Children could carry them in their pockets and even take them in the bath.
The name “Frozen Charlottes” comes from a strange, dark story set in upstate New York. Legend has it that, on New Year’s Eve of 1839, an unnamed young woman dressed for style rather than warmth froze to death on the way to a party. The story of her demise ran in newspapers all over the country and became lore. A year after the incident, a poem entitled “A Corpse Going to a Ball” gave thea name Charlotte to the tragic young lady. The poem inspired a popular ballad, “Fair Charlotte,” which was sung in taverns all over America.
The fragile porcelain dolls became attached to the name “Frozen Charlotte” in the 1940s when doll collectors connected them to the popular, sensational story. They have become not only symbols of fragility and innocence but of vanity and death.
In the play, Nora Dasheill collects rare dolls and has several Frozen Charlottes of her own. She prizes them the way Laura cherishes her figures in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.
Charles Starkweather
The backdrop of Frozen Charlottes is Charles Starkweather’s Nebraska killing spree of 1957 and 58. An anti-social loner with a short fuse, Starkweather began a relationship with 14-year-old , Caril Ann Fugate, who gave him, “something worth killing for.” In December of 1957, he robbed a gas station, kidnapped the attendant, and killed him on a country road. It The murder gave him a taste for more killing. In January of ’58, he fought with Caril Ann’s mother about his relationship with her daughter and beat, stabbed, and shot her to death before killing her father and baby sister. That began a rampage of seven more killings.
As part of the a statewide manhunt, the Nebraska National Guard locked down Lincoln and patrolled the city in Jeeps with mounted machine guns. Starkweather was eventually apprehended in Wyoming. He was then extradicted to Nebraska, tried and sentenced to death, and executed by electric chair on June 25, 1959.
In Frozen Charlottes, the threat of violence from Starkweather mirrors other threats. The character of Ione is a strong woman who has dedicated her life to teaching young Black domestics the skills needed for their jobs and empowering them to stand up for themselves. Many people would like to silence her for good. Ione’s need to ensure a future for her daughter and student Jubilee drives her to seek help from Nora, whose wealth gives her the power to employ and shield Jubilee. During the Starkweather lockdown, Ione and Nora face the secrets that threaten to upend both of their lives.