In 1892, 125 years ago last January, Alice Mitchell murdered the woman she loved, Freda Ward, on the railroad tracks just north of the post office downtown. The murder and resulting trial produced a scandal covered by newspapers both local and outside of Memphis.
Click here to be taken to the OUTMemphis Timeline to read more about Freda and Alice.
Opera Memphis is featuring a short opera act that expands on the story of Freda and Alice. “A Pretty Little Room” follows Alice Mitchell as she is committed to Western State Hospital for the Insane in Bolivar, Tennessee. This fiction mirrors reality—Mitchell did spend time in the hospital in Bolivar following her famous murder of her lover, Freda Ward.
“A Pretty Little Room” is part of the larger Opera 901 Showcase and runs this Saturday, April 7th and again on April 14th at Playhouse on the Square. Click here for more information and to buy tickets. Use the discount code FOCUS and save 30% on your ticket price.
Want to learn more about Freda and Alice? Elmwood Cemetery has markers for both Freda Ward and Alice Mitchell. Freda Ward’s marker cam be located on a cemetery map and Alice Mitchell’s marker is in the Mitchell plot, which is marked with a “Tour Stop” sign. The whole story may be read in Alexis Coe’s book Alice and Freda Forever.
