Jennifer Nettles on New Musical ‘Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo’ Being ‘The Most Rewarding Work I’ve Ever Done’ & Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Advice
Categoria: Musica
The musical opens Off Broadway on June 28.
Por Billboard | 26/06/2026
A decade ago, Jennifer Nettles was casually scrolling online when she came across an article about female serial killers. She fell down a rabbit hole and discovered the story of Giulia Tofana, who, according to somewhat fuzzy history, allegedly poisoned her abusive husband in the 17th century in Sicily, and then went on supply potentially hundreds of women with her arsenic concoction to kill their badly behaving spouses. “There wasn’t a ton about her online, like maybe two or three articles,” the Grammy and Emmy winner says, “It was known that she was a real person, but certain parts of her life and her death were unclear. So, there was enough to make me interested and inspired, but, thankfully, not too much to then hem me in to this very specific story.” Over the years, the story continued to “haunt” the Sugarland singer, leading Nettles to begin writing a play about Tofana: “For a few years I would just touch on it here or there, but then when the pandemic hit and we were all locked down, I was like, ‘Now is the time. I still have all this creative energy. It’s got to go somewhere.’” As she was writing, her friend, Broadway performer and producer Adam Zotovitch, asked Nettles, “Do you think Giulia wants to sing?” and Nettles enthusiastically replied, “I do! I think she wants to.” And with that, her play turned into a musical, with Nettles writing the music, lyrics and the book. She also stars as Giulia. Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo, directed by Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman, will open Off Broadway Sunday (June 28) for a four-week run at New York City’s Perelman Performing Arts Center. In a conversation edited for length and clarity, Nettles talked to Billboard before rehearsals a few days before opening night. Very few people write the book, music and lyrics for an original musical and star in it. Is it safe to say this became an all-encompassing thing for you? Part of it was muse, part of it was obsession. I have called it for years my Great White Whale. Okay, Herman Melville! I wanted to try it first in what would seem like much more conventional ways: “Okay, I’m going to write the score, I’m going to write the lyrics. And then I’m going to collaborate with someone on the book,” but it just never worked out. And I’m so glad that it didn’t because this has been really, truly the most rewarding work I think that I’ve ever done, and I think it’s because it has been so all encompassing for so long. When did it become clear to you that you could take this idea from conception to opening Sunday night at the Perelman? Everybody usually loves their own work, right? So, of course, I loved it. But as we went through it, it evolved then from just being under my hands and in my mouth to “We need to hear this as it might exist in a world with other voices,” so we did several readings. It continued to really stand up. The response was very positive. I’m my harshest critic. I