“The crime of the century!”

So screamed headlines with relative frequency in the century immediately preceding this one. And if you measure impact by number of fictional adaptations, Chicago’s “Leopold and Loeb” case was certainly among the top handful.

In 1924, two prodigious Chicago teenagers who’d recently graduated from college — Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb — murdered a young neighbor in a test of Loeb’s theory that those of their intellectual level were immune to the average human’s issues of morality and conscience.

Five years after the murder, Patrick Hamilton’s play, “Rope,” premiered in London, built upon a Leopold-and-Loeb-like scenario, Alfred Hitchcock later adapting it into a film. “Compulsion” followed in 1959, based upon one of the multiple novels the case inspired.

Gremlin Theatre allows you to crack open the amber and see how the tale was spun in 1929 with a very impressive production, one propelled by intriguing characterizations and imaginative technical elements. It’s by no means a light summer murder mystery, but instead a grippingly tense battle of wits.

Jeffrey Nolan and Jeremy Bode in Gremlin Theatre’s production of “Rope,” a play about two college students who have committed a murder and host a dinner party in a room in which the corpse is hidden, which runs through Aug. 4, 2024 at the St. Paul theater. (Alyssa Kristine / Gremlin Theatre)

Director Peter Christian Hansen has cast mostly college-aged actors, all very talented and all save one adopting a naturalistic approach that makes you feel as if eavesdropping on a casual gathering of old friends.

But Hansen and technical director, set and lighting designer Carl Schoenborn make a fascinating choice that plunges the audience into the tension immediately: The production’s first 15 minutes are performed in virtual darkness, leaving only your ears to ascertain that a murder is being committed and the body locked in a chest.

When curtains are pulled back to reveal the London nightscape, the two young murderers, Brandon and Granillo, are processing what they’ve done and preparing to host a dinner party for five guests, among them the victim’s father, the food served atop the chest.

The production feels remarkably faithful to what London audiences might have experienced in 1929, traditional aristocratic manners feeling the tug of American influences suggested by the effervescent Mira Davis’ flapper dress (among the first-rate costumes of A. Emily Heaney). Sarah Bauer has filled the room with props that place us precisely in the period, while Aaron Newman’s sound design brings us some great vintage jazz and a daunting thunderstorm.

Coleson Eldredge is particularly compelling as Brandon, who clearly seems the brains behind the murder plot. Yes, he’s cocky, but also subtly vulnerable, and the cracks in his calm exterior are believably exposed. Jeremy Bode has the tougher task as Granillo, who’s barely holding himself together and seems to age before our eyes as the play progresses.

It took some time for me to warm to what Jeffrey Nolan does with Rupert, an older poet friend who seems from the get-go the most likely to expose their crime. In a room full of naturalism, his stagy, affected manner feels out of place for much of the first act before his guard is lowered a bit in an engaging second-act monologue.

While it’s an expertly executed production, you may wish that Hansen had found a way to accelerate or cut some of the play’s slower-moving sections, particularly in Rupert’s silent ruminations or a climactic standoff that grows repetitious. But it’s nevertheless the kind of excellent work we’ve come to expect from Gremlin, one of our great little Twin Cities theater companies.

‘Rope’

When: Through Aug. 4

Where: Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia St., St. Paul

Tickets: $42-$19, available at gremlintheatre.org

Capsule: A well-executed drama of murder and hubris.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

Related Articles

Six Points Theater’s new season includes a recent Tony winner and a world premiere

Single tickets now on sale for 2024-2025 seasons at History Theatre and Children’s Theatre Company

Walker Art Center’s performance season includes everything from Nordic folk to London jazz

‘Purple Rain’ musical now has official run dates and two Prince associates as music advisors

2024 Tony Awards: Best musical is a guessing game, but not all the deserving were nominated

By MARK KENNEDY

NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the diminutive sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and bestselling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, has died. She was 96.

Westheimer died Friday at her home in New York City, surrounded by her family, according to publicist and friend Pierre Lehu.

Westheimer never advocated risky sexual behavior. Instead, she encouraged open dialogue on previously closeted issues that affected her audience of millions. Her one recurring theme was there was nothing to be ashamed of.

“I still hold old-fashioned values, and I’m a bit of a square,” she told students at Michigan City High School in 2002. “Sex is a private art and a private matter. But still, it is a subject we must talk about.”

Westheimer’s giggly, German-accented voice, coupled with her 4-foot-7 frame, made her an unlikely looking — and sounding — outlet for “sexual literacy.” The contradiction was one of the keys to her success.

But it was her extensive knowledge and training, coupled with her humorous, nonjudgmental manner, that catapulted her local radio program, “Sexually Speaking,” into the national spotlight in the early 1980s. She had an open approach to what two consenting adults did in the privacy of their home.

“Tell him you’re not going to initiate,” she told a concerned caller in June 1982. “Tell him that Dr. Westheimer said that you’re not going to die if he doesn’t have sex for one week.”

Her radio success opened new doors, and in 1983 she wrote the first of more than 40 books: “Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex,” demystifying sex with both rationality and humor. There was even a board game, Dr. Ruth’s Game of Good Sex.

She soon became a regular on the late-night television talk-show circuit, bringing her personality to the national stage. Her rise coincided with the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when frank sexual talk became a necessity.

“If we could bring about talking about sexual activity the way we talk about diet — the way we talk about food — without it having this kind of connotation that there’s something not right about it, then we would be a step further. But we have to do it with good taste,” she told Johnny Carson in 1982.

She normalized the use of words like “penis” and “vagina” on radio and TV, aided by her Jewish grandmotherly accent, which The Wall Street Journal once said was “a cross between Henry Kissinger and Minnie Mouse.” People magazine included her in its list of “The Most Intriguing People of the Century.” She even made it into a Shania Twain song: “No, I don’t need proof to show me the truth/Not even Dr. Ruth is gonna tell me how I feel.”

Westheimer defended abortion rights, suggested older people have sex after a good night’s sleep, and was an outspoken advocate of condom use. She believed in monogamy.

In the 1980s, she stood up for gay men at the height of the AIDS epidemic and spoke out loudly for the LGBTQ+ community. She said she defended people deemed by some far-right Christians to be “subhuman” because of her own past.

Born Karola Ruth Siegel in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1928, she was an only child. At 10, she was sent by her parents to Switzerland to escape Kristallnacht — the Nazis’ 1938 pogrom that served as a precursor to the Holocaust. She never saw her parents again; Westheimer believed they were killed in the gas chambers at Auschwitz.

At age 16, she moved to Palestine and joined the Haganah, the underground movement for Israeli independence. She was trained as a sniper, although she said she never shot at anyone.

Her legs were severely wounded when a bomb exploded in her dormitory, killing many of her friends. She said it was only through the work of a “superb” surgeon that she could walk and ski again.

In 1961, after a second divorce, she finally met her life partner: Manfred Westheimer, a fellow refugee from Nazi Germany. The couple married and had a son, Joel. They remained wed for 36 years until Fred, as she called him, died of heart failure in 1997.

In 1984, her radio program was nationally syndicated. A year later, she debuted in her own television program, “The Dr. Ruth Show,” which went on to win an Ace Award for excellence in cable television.

She also wrote a nationally syndicated advice column and later appeared in a line of videos produced by Playboy, preaching the virtues of open sexual discourse and good sex. She even had a series of calendars.

Her rise was noteworthy for the culture of the time, when President Ronald Reagan’s administration was hostile to Planned Parenthood and aligned with conservative voices.

Phyllis Schlafly, a staunch antifeminist, wrote in a 1999 piece called “The Dangers of Sex Education” that Westheimer, as well as Gloria Steinem, Anita Hill, Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres and others, were promoting “provocative sex chatter” and “rampant immorality.”

Westheimer’s books include “Sex for Dummies” and her autobiographical works “All in a Lifetime” (1987) and “Musically Speaking: A Life Through Song” (2003). The documentary “Ask Dr. Ruth” aired in 2019, and a new book, “The Joy of Connections,” is due in October.

Survivors include two children, Joel and Miriam, and four grandchildren.

Related Articles

Alec Baldwin weeps in court as judge announces involuntary manslaughter case is dismissed midtrial

Shelley Duvall, star of ‘The Shining’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 75

Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial starts with witnesses recalling chaotic set shooting

Jason Matheson introduces new sidekick Falen Bonsett as Kendall Mark starts MyTalk job

Minneapolis offers $2 million a year to host the Sundance Film Festival

Not everyone will be happy when the Federal Reserve begins lowering interest rates after it declares victory over inflation.

Remember, there is a large but low-profile flock of folks with money who like to profit in a very old-fashioned way – savings accounts.

For almost two years, these investors enjoyed the highest rates on these zero-risk bets since the turn of the century. But now it seems the “bull market” for no-brainer savings may be coming to an end.

So for fans of these less-than-sexy investments, it may be time to get busy locking in some longer-term deals with certificates of deposit. And I wish I could end this column right here and tell you to simply go to your neighborhood banking institution and load up on attractive CD rates.

But unfortunately, finding decent deals is not very simple. So let me walk you through the CD maze.

First a history lesson

Before the Fed’s war on inflation began in 2022 with rising rates, the post-Great Recession era was painful for savers. Yields crumbled to near zilch as the Fed used cheap money to ease the financial woes. Then they repeated the tactic to soothe the pandemic’s business challenges.

Think about rates on 1-year Treasury bills – a benchmark for typical savings rates. In the last 38 years of the 20th century, 1-year yields averaged almost 7%. But they paid barely 1% on average since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008 – until 2023.

So last year’s 5% rates – the highest 1-year yields since 2000 – made savers euphoric.

What’s your stash?

First, figure out how much money you can put away for a year or more. This sum can be split into buckets by years, and you can match any savings needs to the maturity length of the CD.

Please be realistic with your liquidity needs. Most banks and credit unions – but not all – charge significant fees if you have to exit your CD early.

Where to look

If you contact your bank or credit union, it’s unlikely they have the most exciting rates.

Get online. A simple search will offer you numerous lists detailing “best” CD rates. Sadly, you’ll have to wade through a half-dozen personal finance websites to find a CD or two that stands above the pack.

Be aware that many CD rankings promote partner institutions. So highlighted rates may not be the best available. Still, institutions paying for this kind of marketing often offer decent deals.

Online friendly?

You’ll increase your odds for a worthy rate if you are willing to bank remotely.

Still, my quick survey of recent high-rate CDs found several offerings from institutions with California branches for anyone who still needs to do face-to-face business.

Another geography factor is that certain must-have rates come with geographic or other limits.

There are banks that only do business in certain states. And many credit unions have odd membership requirements, where you live being one of them.

The caveats

There also are some too-good-to-be-true offers.

First, make sure you’re getting a certificate of deposit from a federally insured institution. Some “best rate” list are sprinkled with annuities – an insurance company product that looks and feels a lot like a CD.

Also, make sure an attractive account has a fixed rate. Some institutions sell variable-rate CDs with yields that will certainly change as rates go down as forecast in the coming years.

Don’t forget to check what size deposit qualifies for a high rate.

Some deals come with high-balance requirements. And believe it or not, some “wow!” rates are good only for modest amounts. Savings above the maximums often get paid mere pennies.

But there’s a but …

Allow me to note two twists on CDs worth considering — if your head isn’t already spinning from all the details required to get what is supposedly a boring investment.

No-penalty CDs: Fixed rates for an extended term with two catches: Savers can withdraw money from the account early without penalty, but rates run slightly below similar offerings that come with early withdrawal penalties.

Still, they provide comfort to the saver who is anxious about tying up money for an extended period.

Brokered CDs: These are bought on financial markets – just like stocks and bonds. Curiously, some of the giant banks that offer next to nothing on their branch CDs will be very competitive in the broker CD world.

The “but” is that these can be confusing to acquire.

For the do-it-yourself investor, online brokerage accounts don’t make it easy to find or buy these CDs.

And if you go to a financial adviser with your stash of cash, you’ll likely get a pitch about other investments – most containing some level of risk – that you may not want to listen to.

Bottom line

Locking in two to five years of near-5% yields doesn’t make for “financial genius” bragging rights.

But CDs are great for earning extra money on your spare cash – or folks who need to know economic gyrations or political hijinx won’t dent their nest egg.

And today’s CD rates look like a bargain that will evaporate soon.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

Related Articles

Emergency fund amount: How much should you have in emergency savings?

Survey: Best ways to play falling interest rates, elections and AI, according to investing pros

Avoid these 4 Prime Day pitfalls

Lack of affordability tops older Americans’ list of health care worries

How to use buy now, pay later like a pro

Amy Lindgren

Second Sunday Series – Editor’s Note: This is the eleventh of 12 columns on making a career change which appear the second Sunday of each month, from September through August. Last month’s column discussed launching your job search, while the months before focused on networking; getting experience in your new career; LinkedIn for career-changers; resume strategies; the back-to-school decision; career-change steps in your 60s; 10 ideas for choosing a new career; a sample timeline; and questions to consider when changing careers.

And it’s show time!

If you’ve been following this monthly series on changing careers, you’ve been learning strategies for everything from making training decisions to revising your résumé to launching a job search in your new field.

Now it’s time to finish up this project by meeting with employers — interviewing for a job, that is.

In fundamental ways, interviewing for a career-change job is no different from interviewing for any other position. You’re likely to have some virtual meetings and others in person, for example. You’ll certainly meet with the decision-maker and/or your prospective boss, while also likely talking with an HR recruiter or potential co-workers.

The questions will be similar as well, but with this key difference: Interviewers will want to know about your career change. Their interest will come not from curiosity (mostly) but from a concern about your commitment to the field, your ability to do the work, and whether they should take a bet on hiring you.

You’ll have concerns as well, especially since you’ve invested time and money in making this change. Following are some ideas to help improve your interviews.

Anticipate career change questions: “Why did you change careers?” would be the obvious query, along with, “Do you think you’re ready for this work?” and “What are your goals for this field?”

You don’t need to blurt everything out at once, but setting the tone at the beginning of the interview will help. For example, when asked “Tell us about yourself,” you might balance the answer this way: One-third about your past career, one third on your career-change decision, and the last third highlighting the blend of strengths you’ll bring from both parts of your background.

To avoid going on and on, practice speaking for a minute or less for each section; then you’ll be in the right zone for total length on this answer.

Do your research: As soon as your interview is scheduled, it’s time to call everyone you can who has insight into the company, the industry, and/or this role in particular. With luck, you already have some contacts from your career-change process.

As possible, augment these conversations with online research and a review of your own notes or training materials. Your goal is to familiarize yourself with the language and issues connected to this position so you can sound informed and ready during the interviews.

Ask your own questions: Key questions for a career-changer will focus on the path for growth and training opportunities. In addition, a good way to ensure you’re coming in at the right level is to ask what your work would be focused on for the first 90 days.

Remember to negotiate: Although you may be feeling relief or even gratitude to receive an offer, don’t let those emotions keep you from negotiating.

Unfortunately, if you had been working at a higher level in your past career, your new offer might be lower than your last pay. While that’s not ideal, it’s also not the new company’s “fault.” That is, they’re not bringing you on board based on your former position, but on what they expect from you in this job. And that’s at least partly an untested theory at this point.

Of course you can (and probably should) negotiate the pay. But assuming that won’t go as far as you’d hoped, remember there are other forms of compensation and reward to be considered as well.

For example, do they offer tuition reimbursement, professional memberships, admission to industry trade shows or conferences, or on-the-job training? These are all extremely important for a new entrant to the field and might provide more value to your career than the added pay would have.

Whatever offer you accept, this topic can (and probably should) be revisited once you’ve been on the job awhile. For help with that, come back next month. The final article in this series will discuss tips for settling in and succeeding in your new career-change position.

Related Articles

Working Strategies: Checking in on your summer job or internship

Working Strategies: Independence Day and New Year’s resolutions

Working Strategies: Land or Launch: Should 20 somethings be living at home?

Working Strategies: Next steps for ‘non-trad’ grads

Working Strategies: Launching your career-change job search

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.