Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Announcer: In the criminal justice system,

sexually based Offenses are considered especially heinous.

In New York City, the dedicated detectives

who investigate these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

Good evening.

For the next two hours we will take you with us

into another world.

The world of the flesh.

- Ted, I'm trying to prepare. - I won't stay long.

Here. For your first opening.

You have a lot of admirers.

I should take a picture for my scrapbook.

- You have a scrapbook? - Yeah.

- Seriously? - Coming to New York...

getting this show, I just...

keep thinking it's all been a dream.

This is for real, Meghan.

Most of the critics are coming tonight.

Your life will never be the same.

Break a leg. Thanks.

How do you envision yourself? An elephant?

A monkey?

No.

You're a Hawk.

No one here will know you.

No one here will judge you.

[Gregorian chants set to a dance beat]

Strip off your inhibitions.

See carnal pleasure and join in.

Touch the world of the flesh.

The world of the forbidden.

Lust, beauty.

When love is not madness, it is not love.

Release your darkest desires.

Taste...

Touch...

Take...

Unleash your power.

Paolo, hurry! We're alone.

But your husband.

- Giovanni just left. - Are you sure?

Then kiss me.

I am back!

Francesca, what the hell is going on?

Guards, get out! Guards, out!

Giovanni. Paolo, go!

Giovanni, what are you doing?

She betrayed you, Giovanni. I saw the whole thing.

No, let go of me!

No!

Help me!

Somebody help me!

Meghan! What happened?

You missed the Finale.

Meghan.

Are you okay?

I can't remember the last time I was on skates.

Can't remember the last time I did anything

other than prep witnesses or write a pre-trial motion.

Well, this was a start. Do it again?

- Yeah. - Benson.

Yeah.

No, I blame myself. It's immersive theater.

I pushed the piece to be provocative

and obviously Somebody just took it too far.

Whoa, slow down.

You're saying that the actress was raped on stage?

- Where was the audience? - They were watching.

They thought it was part of the show.

It's Dante's Inferno... kind of.

I play Francesca.

I sleep with my husband's brother Paolo.

Whoever did this to me was pretending to be Giovanni...

my jealous husband.

Where was the actor playing Giovanni?

He's not in this scene. It's just me and Paolo.

It's the betrayal.

A little early for you in the game,

isn't it, counselor?

I was in the neighborhood.

Benson with the Vic?

Ambulance is on its way.

Ted Scott, director. Detective Tutuola.

- Hello. - So what happened?

Someone in the audience got caught up in the theatrics.

Believed he was Giovanni, raping his wife in revenge.

Hold up, people in the seats get to act with the actors?

There are no seats.

It's theater interactive.

The audience walks through Dante's Nine Circles of Hell.

The victim was attacked in the second circle... lust.

Can you tell me what he did to you?

Uh...

at first, I just thought he was being weird.

Meghan, did he rape you?

Yes.

Can you tell me anything about your attacker?

Any kind of physicality?

It all happened so fast.

He was wearing a goat mask.

Do you know his race? Was he young, was he old?

He was white.

Um, smelled like he smoked.

Did he hold your wrists?

No, that was someone else.

Um, he was wearing a hawk mask.

I just moved here six months ago.

This is the first play that I even auditioned for.

I just... I can't believe this happened to me.

Can anyone get in once the show starts?

No, all the doors are covered.

Completely covered.

Okay, I'm gonna need all your box office receipts

and credit card slips.

Eve, do you mind?

Meghan says that her attacker was wearing a goat mask.

I take it you get those back at the end of the night.

- Yes. - Okay, we're gonna need those.

And the ropes too.

And CSU is gonna have to comb over your sets.

We have a show tomorrow.

No, you don't. This isn't a theater.

It's a crime scene.

Small town girl moves to the city,

her first job on the stage and she gets raped.

Audience applauds.

New York is just...

well, this kind of thing is why the nea was gutted.

Any suspects?

150.

It was opening night, there was a full house,

and everyone wore masks.

Well, that's just great.

We're tracking down everyone who bought a ticket

by credit card, and so far no records,

no one on the sex offenders list.

Did you talk to anybody who was in the room

when it happened?

None that know it happened.

It was dark. They'd all had a few.

They thought it was part of the show.

Rape Kit's in.

There's no trauma,

except for wrist abrasions. No DNA.

It was their opening night.

Any chance it was all for publicity?

This girl Meghan,

she just moved here from Hennepin, Minnesota,

six months ago.

She's pretty shaken up.

Well, she is an actress.

Point taken.

See if her story has changed overnight.

Liv... What was that about?

What, she's an actress, she's on stage,

she dressed provocatively,

that means she's automatically lying?

No, they don't think that.

Well, something was going on.

I also know you heard it too.

I keep wanting to think that things have changed...

they have changed.

Compared to the way it used to be,

they've changed.

I told you already.

No one I have ever known would do anything like that.

So what about somebody that knows you?

A fan?

Look, Meghan, from what you tell us,

it sounds like he knew the play.

He timed his move.

There are guys who wait outside the stage door

for an autograph.

A couple of them I think I've seen more than once.

Do you know any of their names?

No.

I just smile at them.

- Oh, I'm sorry. - Oh, it's okay.

It's my roommate.

We moved here together to be actresses.

Hey, they think it was someone stalking me.

You mean, one of your stage door johnnies?

Oh, thanks.

So have any of these guys, you know, left you messages?

Tried to see you outside the theater?

Every Thursday and Friday during previews,

someone left red roses.

No card.

I just thought they were being sweet.

The last multiple ticket buyer... Estelle Roberts.

- You think a woman did this? - I don't know.

She bought tickets four nights a week during previews.

Probably just some actor's mother.

- Dante who? - Dante's inferno.

A play called Nine Circles. Nine Circles of Hell.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I live in hell.