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Review: ASSASSINS
Apr. 11th, 2011 04:55 pmI recently attended the opening night of the musical Assassins, being produced by the local group SRO Productions III. I had not seen the musical--or heard of it, really--before this, although I knew that it was about the men and women who had assassinated or attempted to assassinate some of the U.S. Presidents throughout the decades.
And I was surprised to discover how many such assassination attempts (and successes) there were. There are the obvious ones that will be known by all generations for generations to come, such as John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. These two assassins form the framework and backbone of the musical and its storyline. But I found the other assassins or would-be assassins as compelling as these two.
The features assassins are: John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln), Charles Guiteau (Garfield), Leon Czolgosz (McKinley), Giuseppe Zangara (FDR), Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), Samuel Byck (Nixon), Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (Ford), Sara Jane Moore (Ford), and John W. Hinkley, Jr. (Reagan). The premise of the musical is that these assassins are in Limbo and interact with each other, telling their stories as the musical progresses. So you get pieces of each story as it moves along, with each story becoming clearer, the focus on why each assassin felt it necessary to kill the president of their time. The focus is NOT on the presidents, but on the assassins.
There are some incredibly powerful sections in this play, probably the most powerful for me being the scene with John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. This is the heart and culmination of the play, in my opinion, all of the plotlines and the hopes and wishes of the assassins coming together here. The actors pull this scene (probably the most difficult) off spectacularly, as well as the rest of the play. This was opening night, so there was a moment or two or roughness, but nothing that detracted from the musical or the experience in any way.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and suggest that anyone in the Binghamton area check it out. There are showing this coming week on April 14th, 15th, and 16th (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) at 8pm in the Schorr Family Firehouse Stage, 46-48 Willow Street, Johnson City, NY. The cost is $20 at the door ($18 for students/seniors).
A word of caution if you intend to go: there are firearms discharged during the show and there is also swearing, so it isn't a show that you should be taking kids to.
And I was surprised to discover how many such assassination attempts (and successes) there were. There are the obvious ones that will be known by all generations for generations to come, such as John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. These two assassins form the framework and backbone of the musical and its storyline. But I found the other assassins or would-be assassins as compelling as these two.
The features assassins are: John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln), Charles Guiteau (Garfield), Leon Czolgosz (McKinley), Giuseppe Zangara (FDR), Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), Samuel Byck (Nixon), Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (Ford), Sara Jane Moore (Ford), and John W. Hinkley, Jr. (Reagan). The premise of the musical is that these assassins are in Limbo and interact with each other, telling their stories as the musical progresses. So you get pieces of each story as it moves along, with each story becoming clearer, the focus on why each assassin felt it necessary to kill the president of their time. The focus is NOT on the presidents, but on the assassins.
There are some incredibly powerful sections in this play, probably the most powerful for me being the scene with John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. This is the heart and culmination of the play, in my opinion, all of the plotlines and the hopes and wishes of the assassins coming together here. The actors pull this scene (probably the most difficult) off spectacularly, as well as the rest of the play. This was opening night, so there was a moment or two or roughness, but nothing that detracted from the musical or the experience in any way.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and suggest that anyone in the Binghamton area check it out. There are showing this coming week on April 14th, 15th, and 16th (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) at 8pm in the Schorr Family Firehouse Stage, 46-48 Willow Street, Johnson City, NY. The cost is $20 at the door ($18 for students/seniors).
A word of caution if you intend to go: there are firearms discharged during the show and there is also swearing, so it isn't a show that you should be taking kids to.
