Published: June 11, 2009 04:00 pm        

Otsego County murderess Eva Coo's story hits the stage

"Goodbye, darlings."

The final words of murderess Eva Coo will be heard again in Otsego County this weekend at a production of "Little Eva," a play written by New York City playwright and Milford Central School alumnus Isaac Rathbone.

Coo was executed at Sing Sing Prison in 1935 _ a year after she murdered Harry Wright, a 54-year-old handyman, on Crumhorn Mountain in Milford with the help of a young Oneonta mother, Martha Clift.

The 75th anniversary of the crime is Sunday.

Coo and Clift disposed of Wright's body along state Route 7 in Cooperstown Junction in an attempt to stage Wright's death as a hit-and-run; this was to collect on his insurance policies. Clift later confessed, and Coo was charged with murder for bludgeoning Wright with a mallet.

Her trial attracted national attention, and Cooperstown was flooded with reporters. Clift served 13 years in prison for her role, but Coo was executed in the electric chair.

Rathbone's production company, Oracle Theatre, Inc., is teaming with The Greater Oneonta Historical Association to present the play nine times this month beginning Friday. Rathbone and his wife, Jennifer Rathbone, are co-directors.

Three of the showings will be held in the same courtroom at the Otsego County Courthouse where Coo was tried and convicted.

"We're really looking forward to it," Rathbone said.

The parts, including that of Coo, will be played by area actors. Sarah Lynn Hazard will play Coo, he said.

Rathbone, a 1996 graduate of Milford Central School, said that while growing up in Milford, he read Niles Eggleston's book, "Eva Coo, Murderess," and heard some of the legends about her. Coo was a bootlegger and bordello owner and operated the Woodbine Inn in the town of Maryland.

"I know secrets about a lot of men around here. I know about things they did when their wives weren't around and might have to tell a few of them now that I am down and they are stepping on me," Coo said, as quoted by journalist Dorothy Killgallen, after her arrest.

Before his murder, Coo had urged Wright to take out insurance policies naming her as his benefactor.

"I always had it in the back of my mind that this would make a really good screenplay or stage play," Rathbone said.

Rathbone said the four-act play is about two hours long, and the story of the murder is told through a courtroom setting and by the use of flashbacks.

"She's a really interesting and difficult person to wrap your head around as a writer and, as we've seen through rehearsal, as an actress," he said. "She was very driven, very focused and confident _ maybe over-confident."

Rathbone said some aspects of the story have been condensed.

"Some dramatic license had to be taken," he said. "It's really all about staying true to the character. I really tried to stay true to her arc _ her rise and fall."

Part of the allure of Coo's story, Rathbone said, is that she plotted Wright's murder to benefit herself financially, while famous female killers of that era usually killed men during crimes of passion, Rathbone said.

The play is presented by Oracle Theater and The Greater Milford Historical Society.

Rathbone said a marketing class at MCS created promotional materials for the play, and there was a lot of community involvement.

The play will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in Milford at the Upper Susquehanna Cultural Center. Further showings at the center are at 8 p.m. June 19 and June 20 and 2 p.m. June 21. It will be shown at the Otsego County Courthouse at 8 p.m. June 26 and June 27 and 2 p.m. June 28.

Tickets for the June 12 premiere are $25 each and include admission to the opening night reception. Tickets are $10 each for all other dates.