The Official (And Original) Random Thread--It's BACK, biotches!!- Page 70

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:18pm

ciao som. did you just come on the get the validation of knowing there's other losers online tonight?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:35pm

Hey, I was at a party this afternoon, which raged into the night. I just got home.
Well, it didn't exactly RAGE, per se...

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:38pm

What you mean is it WOULD have raged into the night, but when you leave, the party leaves.

Right?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:46pm

Yes.
Yes, that's what I meant.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:48pm

Anyway tell me about Assassins! Seriously, I don't want to wade through all the threads about it, and I'm definitely interested.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:49pm

Well, what would you like to know? It was actually my first Sondheim (excluding Into the Woods).

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:56pm

main characters
premise
funny? sad?
type of music - i'm not too familiar with sondheim ::ducks:: is he an ALW type or an Elton John type or what?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:13pm

I'm in the process of writing. It's getting to be a lot. Didn't want you to think I had forgotten.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:15pm

fine with me. i'm waiting with breath that is bated. will be back here in a few minutes - DLing some stuff.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:36pm

Is he an ALW type or an Elton John type?
Is he an ALW type or an Elton John type?
Is he an ALW type or an Elton John type?

*slaps self*
That's better. Not your fault, don't worry.

No, he is nothing like ALW or Elton John. He writes music that is very complex with beautiful and fascinating lyrics. His music is usually quite beautiful, and always interesting to listen to. To me, anyway. His music is certainly not for everyone, and is not hummable most of the time (I tend to say otherwise, as I hum his songs everywhere I go). On to Assassins:

Assassins was written around 1989-1991. It is basically a revue of songs strung together by the main theme, presidential assassins. The nine main characters are all real assassins (or would-be assassins). Oswald, Booth, Czolgocz, Guiteau, Moore, Byck, Hinckley, Fromme, and Zangara. Booth, Czolgocz, Guiteau, and Zangara have songs about themselves, Hinckley and Fromme have a duet, Byck has his monologues, and Moore sings very little. Oswald doesn't come in until the end.

The music is very complex, but very powerful. The opening, "Everybody's Got the Right" is kind of the sarcastic message of the show, as the assassins claim "Everybody's got the right to some sunshine; not the sun, but maybe one of it's beams-rich man, poor man, black or white, pick your apple, take a bite-everybody's got the right..." They are using the American dream and pushing it too far. The opening takes place at a sort of carnival, with the Proprietor (played by Marc Kudisch in the revival) handing them their guns and pointing them towards their respective targets. Booth emerges as the sort of leader of the assassins.

The Ballad of Booth is next, where The Balladeer (NPH!!!!) begins to help narrate the story. Booth is in a barn, right after killing Lincoln, giving his reasons for shooting the President. His reasons make sense; the audience feels a bit uncomfortable finding themselves somewhat agreeing with what he has to say, almost sympathizing with him and understanding why he did it. The balladeer writes him off as mad (which, though to a lesser extent than the others, he was).

The scenes in between the songs concern the assassins pretty much hanging out with each other, even though many did not live at the same time. Booth returns after his song, and convinces Guiseppe Zangara to shoot President Roosevelt. His delightful song, "How I Saved Roosevelt", follows, as citizens who saw the (attempted) assassination tell their tales on the radio. Guiseppe says he did it because of the pain in his stomach. Nothing helped his pain, so he chose to assassinate Roosevelt. He is put in the chair and electrocuted.

Leon Czolgocz is next up. He is not from America, and has trouble finding money. He wants to do something about his situation and the plight of the working man. He follows the anarchist and speaker Emma Goldman all over the U.S. on her tour, and finally meets up with her. She supposedly influenced Leon to assassinate President William McKinley. Before this song, "The Ballad of Czolgocz", where he shoots McKinley, four of the assassins sing about the wonders of the gun in "The Gun Song".

Sara Jane Moore and Squeaky Fromme, who both attempted to shoot Gerald Ford in the 70's, bond over KFC chicken. Their scenes together are hilarious.

Squeaky and John Hinckley, who attempted to take the life of Reagan, sing a love duet called "Unworthy of Your Love". It is beautiful, but very creepy. Hinckley is singing to his picture of Jodie Foster, the actress who he wants to impress by killing the President (). Squeaky sings to her beloved Charlie Manson, the mass murderer. They are hopelessly devoted to them.

Charlie Guiteau sings "The Ballad of Guiteau". He is an optimist, even as he climbs the stairs to his hanging for killing President Garfield. He wanted to be the Ambassador to France because he had written a terrible speech that Garfield had read. If played right, Guiteau is absolutely terrifying.

Sam Byck, who tried to fly a plane into the White House (Nixon era), has two monologues; sending tapes to Bernstein and Nixon himself. They are littered with curses and huge laughs. They also reveal a lot about Byck (as a character in the show).

"Another National Anthem" is next. A very strong, bone-chilling number. During the song, the assassins turn The Balladeer, who was always the cheerful onlooker, into Lee Harvey Oswald, who is about to commit suicide. What follows is a brilliant scene involving Booth goading Oswald into not killing himself, but killing Kennedy instead. All the assassins appear to encourage him, saying that he will make them important people in history, and not just a bunch of crazy people. The music crescendos, and Oswald assassinates Kennedy.

The song added in the London production, "Something Just Broke", is beatiful; it is told from the standpoint of average citizens. They tell where they were when they heard about Kennedy's death. It ruins the momentum going into the finale, but is great nonetheless.

The show ends with the assassins reprising "Everybody's Got the Right".

It is meant to show that, although some of them (Booth, Czolgocz) had good reasons behind their assassinations, most of them were off their rockers. It does not sympathize with the assassins or ask the audience to as some have suggested. It truly is a startling piece of work. It, again, is not for everyone, but those who appreciate it adore it. It is still one of my favorite shows. Updated On: 11/6/04 at 11:36 PM

[iRuvPrinceton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:38pm

Oh my god, Gov. Thanks for the Assassins description! I've been wondering what the entire thing it about. This lyrics site for showtunes only has about one third of the musical!

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:39pm

Hey all, what's up?

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:44pm

i haven't left you guys, i'm just finishing up some downloads and a review of Finding Neverland. Thanks for hte description Govnuh! I'll be reading it in a minute.

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:45pm

Woot yay--where has Delph gone to?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:47pm

Make sure to read the updated version. I'm so anal; I went back and edited it seven times.

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:49pm

You crazy.

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 11:52pm

:::vent:: Argh. I had a performance tonight and none of my friends showed up. Yeah, I do shows to gain the experience and to put them on my resumé, but it's disheartening when no one shows up. There's no one to share the experience with. I mean it's hard to do a show on top of all the other crap I have, and my friends know it means a lot to me if they show up, yet they don't. It may sound whine-y, but it's just frustrating. ::end vent:: Updated On: 11/7/04 at 11:52 PM

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:14am

Where is everyone???

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:18am

yeah, it sucks when people pop in and leave, eh?

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:28am

Did you read the post, Tiff?

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:30am

yeah it does Tiff :P

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:31am

not yet. i've got a million ppl IMing me, and i'm DLing some video clips and writing a review for Finding Neverland, and i want to focus and really think about what you're saying.

saving the best for last, so to speak.

[GovernorSlaton]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:32am

Aww. *digs toe into dirt*

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:35am

Are you blushing?

Ic - how you holding up?

[Ebonic_Singer]

Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:45am

haha.