Assassins

I had the pleasure of seeing Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins" onstage last night performed by the Still Hungry Theatre Company, featuring Troy Drama's very own Devin Kasper. I have to admit, that even as a lover of theatre, my repertoire of pieces is quite limited. That being said, I'm not well versed in Sondheim's other works, most notable being Sweeney Todd, but I did really enjoy Assassins when we were required to read it as part of my Theatre 10 curriculum. I loved it! It's a concept musical based on the individual stories behind the successful (and unsuccessful) assassins of US presidents. It's a hilarious piece. I am a huge fan of dark comedies, so this is right up my alley. The musical is structured around a carnival-theme, with a proprietor and a balladeer weaving through the stories of each assassin. In Still Hungry Theatre's rendition, director James Larsen (who also played the proprietor) decided to downplay the carnival theme, which worked, but disappointed me a little because I feel as though it's an important thematic device to illustrate the freakish, twisted, and loony connotations which balance out the dark, brooding, nightmarish ones. However it was not to the overall detriment of the production that this theme was diluted. The cast was amazingly talented. The performances of Trevor Davis as John Wilkes Booth, Jeannette Dawson as Sara Jane Moore, and Andrew Zachary as Samuel Byck were especially impressive. Despite some drawbacks with foreign accents, they exuded professionalism, and I enjoyed watching them. The venue was limiting. I don't hesitate to describe it as a hole in the wall--because that's pretty much what it was. Scarcely a little larger than Ultimate Improv in Westwood, with about 30-40 seats about an inch from the stage and the "orchestra" consisting of 2 guys and a few instruments to the right of the stage. But that's okay. Assassins wasn't meant to be a grand production, so it's fitting. Devin played Lee Harvey Oswald & it was strange to see him onstage because I hadn't seen him in about 9 months and he looked like he was playing himself, only a crazier, more distressed version. Though he had only a few lines and was sharing the stage with John Wilkes Booth, I think he served as a good contrast. In a way his character brought out the humanity in these notorious figures of history, and that's so Devin. I'm excited to see how he grows as an artist, because he can really learn a lot from these people. So, I think the final words to sum up this production are best left by the person behind the vision:

The American dream is a beautiful, exciting, and sometimes tragic thing. It encourages all kids to follow their dreams, but while some kids dream of being presidents, other kids dream of killing those same presidents in order to fix the country. Still other kids dream of putting on a musical about presidential assassins. Oddly enough, all three of these dreams can be considered unusually patriotic. Such is the nature of our beautiful nation, where everybody's got the right to their dreams.

-James Larsen