Erika's Wall

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Erika's Wall is a musical theatre work based on the true story of a woman who changed her last name to Eiffel when she married the Eiffel Tower in April 2007. Erika Eiffel is a self-described objectum sexual (OS), and is the spokeswoman for objectum sexuals: people who love objects and believe that objects love them in return. 

I first became aware of Erika when I saw the BBC documentary: Strange Love; I Married the Eiffel Tower. The show, in its entirety, had been leaked to Youtube, and the commentary of viewers was not just negative but overwhelmingly cruel and abusive. 

While many scorned Erika as a 'freakish' or dismissed her as mentally ill, I saw Erika's experience as the ultimate love story. I felt that the best way to make others see it as I did, was through a musical, incorporating dance, sculpture and other forms of interactive art to create a truly holistic experience. I then approached pianist/composer Dr. Kathleen Tagg about collaborating with me. 

Erika not only gave us permission to use her name and story, but also wrote long emails full of details about her life and journey. We also watched every documentary and television interview she had done, as well as researching all her websites and speaking with her on the phone. In July 2010, after two weeks of rehearsal Erika's Wall had a non-reviewed developmental production at the Music Theatre Company in Chicago.

Currently our goal is to enlarge Erika's Wall into a production with full orchestrations of our twenty songs, incorporating dance, media and sculpture installations. We believe that this expanded production of Erika's Wall has the capacity to challenge a wide and diverse audience to explore the difficult aspects of love and 'otherness.'

Listen to the song, "Transfer of Energy", from the show: