PORTLAND, Maine — For the past few years, Lisa Wolfinger of Lone Wolf Media in South Portland has spent most of her time producing and directing stories about true crime. One of her projects has been "Wild Crime," a Hulu series about the people who investigate criminal offenses in our national parks. The third season of the show will premiere in late November.
Wolfinger was happy to get away from homicides for another documentary that will air Monday evening on "The American Experience" on PBS. “The War on Disco,” which Wolfinger produced and directed and Rush DeNooyer of Lone Wolf Media produced and wrote, examines the fiery backlash against disco that erupted in the U.S. in the late 1970s.
That backlash reached its zenith in July of 1979 when fans rioted and stormed the field during “Disco Demolition Night” between games at a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. It’s a slice of history that Wolfinger and DeNooyer researched with fresh eyes and open minds. “I had never heard of this although I lived through the ‘70s,” DeNooyer said. “It struck me as an incredible event.”
“I grew up with disco,” Wolfinger said. “As a young teenager, I was boogieing to Donna Summer. And I loved it.”
The story is a fascinating one, and for Wolfinger in particular, it provided just the break she needed from true crime.
“Oh, my goodness, yes,” she said. “No murders.”