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Stalking Ottis Toole: A Southern Gothic
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In April of 2017, FSCJ Dramaworks presented Stalking Ottis Toole: A Southern Gothic, a play by FSCJ Professor Tim Gilmore based on events from Jacksonville’s history. In 1976, Jacksonville native Ottis Toole met Henry Lee Lucas at a local soup kitchen; within a decade, Toole claimed to have accompanied Lucas in committing 1,008 murders, including that of six-year-old Adam Walsh. And yet there were discrepancies in his stories: The Dallas Morning News discovered in its own investigation that if Ottis Toole and his lover Lucas had relay killed all the people they claimed, then on multiple occasions they must have been in multiple states at the same time. Then there was evidence that the police fed Toole, a man with an IQ of 75 who had been sexually abused as a child, answers to their questions. This play attempts to uncover the real Ottis Toole, and to explain the kind of cultural landscape that bred him.
Note: This play contains strong themes and is not suitable for audiences under 18 years of age.
This show ran at FSCJ's Wilson Center for the Arts April 6-9, 2017.
A recording of this performance is available in Canvas Commons for viewing by FSCJ faculty and staff. For instructions on how to access archival video in Canvas, please see our FAQ.
