Actor Bill Blair played General James Wilkinson in the stage version of "King of Crimes," which is being made into a film. (Photo by Laura Frayser)
He stands accused of treason. The trial is a celebrity and media circus, and the nation is riveted: Was there collusion with a foreign power to damage the country? What did he know, and when did he know it?
The spectacle trial of prominent officials took place in Richmond, during the summer and fall of 1807. Thomas Jefferson’s former vice-president and the man who, in an 1804 duel, gunned down former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr was on trial for his life. Richmond resident and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall presided as part of his duties to sit on the benches of the U.S. circuit that included Virginia and North Carolina.
The Burr trial is replete with intrigue and plot twists, abuse of executive power by Jefferson, and an attempt to keep the court from hearing the case by suspending habeas corpus, and it established that even the president could be subpoenaed to provide information in a case.
This all sounds like material fit for drama, and the history received adaptation last year for the stage as “The King of Crimes,” written by Richmond novelist and playwright David L. Robbins and presented by the John Marshall Foundation. The title refers to the description of treason, as it is the only crime specified in the U.S. Constitution.
Now, the play is to be adapted for the camera, entering production under the auspices of WCVE-TV and the Community Idea Stations, Central Virginia’s PBS affiliate.
“It was an aspiration from the outset,” says Robbins, to see the stage production turned into an onscreen courtroom drama. “It came about because of [Director of Development] Joni Albrecht and [former executive director] Lacy Ward Jr. at the John Marshall Foundation. I work well with [Director] Michael Duni, and I trust him with the material.” Duni, a graduate of VCUarts' cinema program, got into casting “House of Cards and “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” and moved into directing short films, commercials and “The King of Crimes” for the stage, which was co-produced by 5th Wall Theatre.
“The King of Crimes” will be filmed both in the studios of WCVE and on location at the Jefferson-designed Virginia State Capitol, Tuckahoe Plantation, the John Marshall House and perhaps along the James River, which would stand in for the Ohio River.
The shooting death of Hamilton wrecked Burr’s chances for advancement in the U.S. government and made him turn his considerable attention to resurrecting the possibility of power in the American Southwest.
Burr was accused of plotting to dismember the country in collusion with Spain. The trial, held in the Virginia Capitol's old House of Delegates chambers to capacity crowds, created the young nation’s first media sensation trial. Key witnesses proved unreliable, and the government bungled its case.
“The King of Crimes” tells the story through those involved, although Burr, who is much talked about, barely appears. The contest of wills and strategy between distant “hissing” cousins Jefferson and Marshall — who weren’t on friendly terms and were political opposites — forms the centerpiece of the show.
Albrecht, the Marshall Foundation’s project manager for the film, says it should be completed near year’s end. Casting is currently underway by Erica Arvold, who has worked on a variety of projects, but notably in the region, “House of Cards,” the films “Lincoln” and “Loving,” and “Turn.”
“We are excited to work with WCVE-TV to capture on film this incredible Virginia story about the Aaron Burr treason trial in John Marshall’s court,” Albrecht says. “The King of Crimes” will be a fully homegrown production, from stage production to screen adaptation.
“With treason in recent national headlines, the story is relevant to our entire country,” she says.
