"Hey, pal, feelin' blue?" I leaned forward slightly in my seat as a certain proprietor smiled deviously. The man to whom his message was addressed, a tall fellow with a gray cap, was so close to me I could reach out and touch him. I felt a shudder run down my spine. Already overwhelmed with the powerful theatre I was about to experience, I felt myself being engulfed within the story, becoming a part of it. It was there, in the front row seat of the Plaza Theater in Boston, that I faced the terrifying yet thrilling Sondheim and Weidman musical Assassins.
Assassins is a fascinating musical that explores the underbelly of American history. It takes place at a symbolic carnival game, the kind where you shoot at a target in order to win a prize, and it tells the story of the United States citizens who, throughout history, have attempted to assassinate a president. I realize how lunatic that sounds, as I'm sure Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman also noticed as they were writing it. These people are killers; why should they have a musical written about them?
Well, while what they did was indeed wrong, they are still human beings who deserve to have their stories told. Each of these stories reveals something about the state of America and, more importantly, the human condition. These are people whom, by the end of the musical, we can relate to. They just wanted someone to listen to them. They wanted to be important. As John Wilkes Booth says in the play, that's what everyone wants. And what better way to become important than to commit an act that will be remembered forever, such as killing a president? We all want the same thing that these terrorists wanted. It's frightening, realizing that you share the same desire as these killers. And at the same time, in a way that I find difficult to describe, it's liberating to admit such a truth to yourself. Frightening and liberating; that seems to describe the essence of theatre. Assassins certainly captures this.
On another level, the history in itself is quite interesting. It's one thing to read about these characters in your textbooks. It's another to see the characters exhibit themselves as human beings directly in front of you. Sondheim and Weidman give each of the assassins their little quirks and facets, fictionalizing them just enough to make them real and identifiable, yet staying true to the original tales. In my opinion, Assassins should be a required part of every U.S. History course. Never have I seen historical figures manifest before me until the night I saw Assassins.
Other than the nine main characters (the assassins,) there are two other major players in this musical. On one end of the spectrum, there is the sly Proprietor, an emcee of sorts, who runs the figurative carnival game and convinces the main characters to try to kill a president. And then there is the Balladeer. This character is interesting because, while his job as a balladeer forces him to tell the stories of these killers, he absolutely hates them. He thoroughly believes that what they did is wrong, yet he has to sing their ballads. He's often on the sidelines, gently begging the assassins not to do it, while the Proprietor eggs them on.
They all end up attempting to kill a president, some succeeding and others failing. I won't give away the climax, but I will tell you that the story concludes by reiterating a theme that maintains a constant presence throughout the musical - if you have a gun, with just a squeeze of your little finger you can change the world forever. You create your own destiny. As a huge fan of theatre's existentialist atmosphere, I fell in love with this musical. From the very first moment, when the Proprieter invited everyone who's ever dreamed of being remembered to come on down there and kill a president, I realized that this is what theatre is meant to be. Unsettling. Powerful. Liberating. Truthful. I discovered more about myself that night than I ever wanted to find.
"All you have to do is move your little finger. Move your little finger back - you can change the world."
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Dont keep ur talent hidden away after all Your Art Matters, it's what got me here. xxxxx
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