Murder Ordered By NJ Rabbi A New Musical, But Some Unhappy: Report

CHERRY HILL, NJ — An upcoming musical about a 1994 murder-for-hire in Cherry Hill has upset some who feel the show makes light of tragedy, according to a report.

"A Wicked Soul In Cherry Hill" opens at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles' Westwood neighborhood in June. It is based on the real-life story of Fred Neulander, a prominent Cherry Hill rabbi who hired a hit man to kill his wife Carol.

Camden native Matt Schatz is playwright and composter for the show, which is told entirely through song.

Several South Jersey residents criticized the play for making entertainment out of Carol Neulander's murder, the Courier Post Online reported.

The musical follows as "a tight-knit Jewish community gathers to recount, remember, and reckon with the details of what happened in—and to—their town. This wholly original production asks what it does to our souls when our leaders fall from grace."

This is a revised version of original language, which said the show had "humor and chutzpah." The playhouse website has also removed a graphic depicting a newspaper, a cup of coffee with $100 bills underneath it, and a hamantaschen (filled triangular butter cookie) with red jam dripping over the side.

One of the Neulanders' three children said the family was "saddened and dismayed" by the show, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The playhouse said the musical does not laugh at or sensationalize the murder, but examines how a community moves on after their faith is shaken, according to the Courier Post Online.

Neulander, 80, is serving a life sentence in prison without possibility of parole until 2030.

Patch has reached out to Schatz's agent.