Witnesses of Kitty Genovese - Staged Reading

Originally featured as part of this year’s “No Frills” Film and Arts Festival and after slight revisions to the working script, The Witnesses of Kitty Genovese will receive two additional staged readings at the Henrietta Public Library. Witnesses… was recently awarded a grant by the Arts Council of Greater Rochester so that the script could be developed and improved upon through participation from the public.

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Catherine Genovese, or Kitty as she was better known, lived in Kew Gardens, Queens. Little about her life is known, as it was her death that made her famous. At 3:20am on March 13th, 1964, Kitty while returning home from work at Ev's Eleventh Hour Tavern, was murdered on her Queens, New York doorstep in full view of acquaintances, neighbors, and friends— all of whom did nothing, even though the woman was stabbed repeatedly and stalked by her killer for more than an hour. The New York Times covered the story in many famous articles by A.M. Rosenthal who later authored a book compiling his experiences, Thirty-Eight Witnesses.

The media attention garnered by the Genovese murder led many individuals and organizations to action. The publicity led directly to the reform of the NYPD’s telephone reporting system (a precursor to the 911 system), academic psychologists began serious study of Genovese Syndrome later known as the Bystander effect, communities for the first time began instituting neighborhood watch programs and even today the Genovese case is studied in Law Schools and used as a rallying point for advocates of victim’s rights and self-defense awareness.

Although it is unclear if any of these efforts have made a lasting impression on the blight of urban apathy as demonstrated by the 1974 murder of Sandra Zahler whose apartment building overlooked the Genovese murder site. Neighbors said they heard screams and the sound of struggling, but did nothing to save her.

For these reasons and many others, J.R. Teeter constructed the play The Witnesses of Kitty Genovese in the spring of 2004. “Constructed is the appropriate term as the entire play is taken from first hand accounts of what happened that night, says J.R. Teeter, “I compiled over 500 pages of parole hearing minutes, trial transcripts, television interviews, and newspaper articles on the crime. Through this information, the story of the last night of Kitty Genovese is told. I think it’s important for people to experience as much of the whole story as possible as the media has the tendency to focus just on the salaciousness of her murder and little else.”

Winston Moseley, Kitty’s murderer, is often the focal point of any new media coverage and even today more is known about his life than anyone else involved in the case. In Witnesses… his entire life pre and post murder are examined. “There was a lot I did not know about Moseley at the time I began writing the play and still a great deal more that I want to know about him afterwards,” Mr. Teeter reiterates, “He has a despicable soul, but I am not his judge or jury. As far as the play is concerned, his own confession was enough to hang him.” Moseley is currently serving a life sentence in Comstock Prison.

Founded in 2000, Bread & Water Theatre is committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience and acting as a positive agent of change in its community. Under the artistic direction of J.R. Teeter, BWT develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dramatically changing world through new and rare works of drama, and aspires to be a major force in American theatre, providing audiences with challenging contemporary drama and innovative community outreach programs.

The Witnesses of Kitty Genovese will be presented by Bread & Water Theatre in the Henrietta Public Library’s Community Room located at 455 Calkins Rd. in Rochester, New York. The readings will take place on July 12th at 6:30pm. Tickets are free and the event is open to the public. For more information, call (585) 271-5523.

The Witnesses of Kitty Genovese is funded by a grant from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, The New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York State Legislature.
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