By Daniel Brassard
Attention must be paid to the Dark Horse Company Theater production of Sondheim’s Assassins. It is a skillfully sung story (by every cast member) that delivers some very intense messages aided by properly done comedy. This production is currently being held at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake City. Assassins, as one might guess from the title, has adult themes and is perhaps summarized by a brief introduction to several successful and not-so-successful assassins of American presidents. To be specific to the nature of this production’s content, it does contain mature language, guns and violence. This is serious content, especially with the current events surrounding firearm legislation and the recent loss of life we have suffered as a nation.
With all of that said, do not be nervous about seeing Assassins. I can honestly say that I left show impressed and with a desire to learn more about each character presented. What impressed me? (Thank you for asking… self… anyway.) It’s a musical where every actor does a substantial amount of singing, and they ALL did very well. This is going to sound basic but I was impressed by the singing because the words were really easy to understand and it sounded good! The set and props were clearly very well thought out and executed. They used a projector screen to add images that enhanced the emotions of the show without taking my attention away from the performance. And lastly, I’ve always wondered why the drink “Tab” was invented, I now understand that it was to be used as a prop in this show. The Proprietor (David Stensrud) opens the show by arming several assassins with guns and the horrifying advice to “Shoot a President.” And while each assassin has a very different story and disposition, they unite, in a sense, to transform the meaning of their suffering into infamy. This opening number gave me hope, specifically from Proprietor’s powerful vocals that I might be in for a talented performance.
We are then introduced to the cast of assassins, John Wilkes Booth (Doug Irey), Charles Guiteau (Dustin Bolt), Leon Czolgosz (Allen Smith), Giuseppe Zangara (Andrew Nadon), Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Karli Lowry), Sara Jane Moore (Darla Davis), John Hinckley (Randall Eames), Samuel Byck (Jesse Peery) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Austin Archer). If you’re like me who had no idea who half of those characters were, so allow me to assure you that each character is masterfully brought to life with an eerie mix of desperation, a touch of insanity and precise comic timing. These characters were done in such a way that I had to look each up after the show to learn more. That’s right, I actually wanted to know more about the show after I left.
The narrative of Assassins is sown together with musical numbers by the Balladeer (Aaron Cole), who rocked each number with clear and clean vocals while relating additional and sometimes conflicting interpretations of the individual assassins’ claims. The story is also told with help from John Wilkes Booth (Doug Irey), who eagerly strives to give his story meaning through inspiring the assassins that come after him. Not only does he fully succeed in telling the tale from the assassin’s perspective, but his charisma with the other assassins in substantially felt. Charles Guiteau (Dustin Bolt) hits the stage with a whimsical arrogance that is both very funny and scary. He had the number that stuck in my head after the show, in part due to his complicated stair dancing and his repeated “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” changes from piety to insanity. Leon Czolgosz (Allen Smith) depicted the hard working immigrant population of early America. As a twisted protagonist, almost Rodya from Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, this assassin relates the plight of his people, the dangerous working conditions of the time, and his understanding of a barrier between his station and the American dream in a very direct and dark way. Don’t even break a bottle in front of him unless you want to hear too much about how someone toiled to produce the object. And someone please give Guiseppe Zangara (Andrew Nadon) some Pepto. He has a ache in his stomach and soul that drive him to want to kill. He compelled the audience to fear and sympathy with his pained performance, especially when faced with the electric chair scene. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Karli Lowry) went from rejected daughter with an “L” on her forehead to a murderous love slave with an “X” where the “L” once was. Her scenes with Sarah Jane Moore (Darla Davis) were the perfect creepy “Abbott and Costello” routines. These two ladies were certainly a crowd favorite and put on a clinic of comic timing. John Hinckley (Randall Eames) reminded me why folks fear both the 1980’s ‘Member’s Only’ jacket and psychopaths. His quest to be loved by Jodi Foster through attempted assassination was a musical number that could have easily been a powerful love song, if it wasn’t for the stalkerish content. Sam Byck (Jesse Peery) is not the real Santa Claus, although clad in Santa attire. Byck could do a one man show with a bottle of Budweiser and a tape recorder; he was extremely entertaining and fully believable as a man with violence on his mind. Lee Harvey Oswald (Austin Archer) joined the cast of assassins to bring additional meaning to their attempts and sorrow to an entire nation. Oswald was desperation and sniper skill incarnate.
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Several additional folks representing the public at large included Young Boy (Forrest Jemming), Emma Goldman (Marissa Poole) and the recurring ensemble roles of (RB Archibald and Mary Anderson Bailey). The Young Boy simply has too much talent for his actual age. He is a great example of younger actors who enhance a show rather than remind you that you are watching actors. The ensemble cast, including Emma Goldman, left me wanting them to have larger roles. They maximized their time on stage; I blame Sondheim for not extending the play a few hours and giving them more time.
Those were the reasons to love this presentation. Now the things I was not a fan of. I was nervous about a potential political narrative on gun control. Luckily it didn’t happen, and unluckily I had to look down the barrel of several guns pointed at me from onstage. The company did very well to inform the audience of the use of gun props and blank ammunition; however, I am not comfortable with looking at a gun pointed in my direction. The gun firing was not deafening, it was almost the perfect volume to be scary but not literally terrifying. There was one instance where the show used the gun toward audience more as a method to express its sobering effect. Other than that, I found the additional uses to be in poor taste. The major issue here is that although it is clear that the guns are props and not actual death loaded machines, all guns (including toys) should be handled in a way that is respectful as though they are loaded to kill. Good times.
This is the bottom line, the Dark Horse Company Theatre production of Assassins is a show that deserves to be seen. It is funny in all the right places, the musical numbers are VERY well done and it is a fascinating show. If you are reading this review and don’t buy tickets, the only excuse is financial hardship or severe anxiety, neither of which stopped the assassins from doing what they needed to do. The tickets are on sale at www.arttix.org for only two more performances.
Rose Wagner Theatre, 138 West 300 South Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Sat at 7:30 PM, Sunday at 2 PM and 6 PM.
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