"Assassins" : Hit Or Miss

Because, god knows, all those charter flights from Iowa are the make-it-or-break-it component of commercial theater in NYC.

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It will flop again. It is not a show which will appeal to a mass audience no less many Roundabout subscribers. Once was enough for me. In fact, I wish they would give Sondheim a rest for a few seasons. Enough genius!

Huh?

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In the original production the audience actually got into the ridiculousness and irony rampant in the script and was having a good time. Every reaction was dead-on what it was written to be...

...right up until the set revolved and we all immediately recognized the Texas School Book Depository and Lee Harvey Oswald. Literally in an instant the enjoyment and appreciation turned to complete unease. One could feel the tension coming at the stage--I was in about the 4th row of the old Playwright's. The show never recovered momentum, and we all left the theatre not comfortable and not even comfortable in our discomfort. We lost all the issues the show raised and didn't even want to really discuss it.

The Kennedy assassination cut too close to the bone 14 years ago and still can get a reaction from those of us who lived through those days. This is one of those historic moments that whether it CAN be musicalized or not, perhaps is best NOT musicalized. It hurts too damn much.

This is a show that no matter how excellant and brilliant the craftsmanship might be, the last scenes alienated the audience so much that the last thing we wanted to do was tell others how much we liked 85% of it.

I have always felt this was not a Broadway show. It belongs somewhere since, yes, Assassins ought to be seen, but I think to try to get an open-end run out of this material is wishing on the moon.

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Maybe it's not so excellent and brilliant? The concept is perverse and unsavory, the Brechtian approach a cliche, the conclusions facile, and the score is second-rate Sondheim. You can do anything on Broadway and find an audience for it--if it is good. If Assassins doesn't find an audience, perhaps it doesn't deserve one.

More fantabulous MusicMan logic! So everything that finds an audience is ipso facto GOOD??? It is to laugh! So I shall. HA! Your contrarian approach has become as wearying as it is predictable.

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Finding Namo - It may not be Iowa specifically, but tourists are the reason shows stay open.

I think there is so much anticipation and hype behind Assassins, that if it is a good production it will run for a year or two. It's almost like Jekyll and Hyde. It doesn't have the familiar songs, but people wanted to see J&H so much, they didn't care how bad the Broadway production was or who was starring in it.

MusicMan - I don't believe the concept to be perverse at all. It focuses on a piece of American history and actually does so in a very original and thought-provoking way. What is the "Brechtian approach" that you mention? What do you mean by "facile conclusions"? Conclusion of the show? Conclusion of the characters (since they are historical, their "conclusions" cannot be "facile")? Conclusion of chord progressions? I don't understand. The score is possibly his smallest, but why compare a man against himself. All his scores are different. Some appeal to you and some don't. The only truly weak score I think I've heard from Sondheim could be The Frogs, but then again, it was his first. "How I Saved Roosevelt" is a wonderful counter-melody set against the background of Sousa's traditional American marches. "Unworthy of Your Love" is a beautiful ballad eerily sung by two attempted killers - one male, one female. The Ballad of Booth and The Ballad of Czolgosz are both very tuneful songs. I think the concept is no more perverse than Parade, Sweeney Todd, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Tommy and countless others that deal with death, destruction and the evils of mankind. Would it be less perverse if it wasn't about Americans?

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JohnPopa - First I listened to the CD, then I read the script, then I saw a performance. Each time, my fascination grew. I think it really depends what you are expecting from the piece. I never looked at it as a book show. To me, it was more like a macabre variety show and it worked for me. The Balladeer is the host. You have musical numbers and scenes that all share a common thread but told in different ways. I was totally engaged in the show and its theories. There's only the one ballad in the show, so I don't think the device was overused. Lloyd Webber and Rodgers and Hammerstein employed the same ironic ballads, so I don't think it's a Sondheim thing.

I do think the show made its point and did so very well. The show is about one thing - Assassins. The fact that they have one thing and only one thing in common - attempting or succeeding in assisinating an American President. But what the show illustrates is their variety of motives using a variety of techniques. That is why I consider it to be a type of variety show. The style of the piece mimics its theme. Though we tend to see these historical characters as a single "type" (assassin), they are in truth very different.

Do I think the show will be a hit? Probably not, but then most Sondheim shows aren't financial hits or long-runners on Broadway. I think audiences are much more ready for it now than when it first ran. I also think it is a much wiser choice for Broadway than Bounce.

PS - I thought the original production was a limited engagement, not a flop, but I don't remember.

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robbiej - Not sure if your theory really holds up as an American phenomenon. Assassins exist all over the world and have killed for countless reasons over centuries. When I saw it, I really didn't see it as a comment on the values of our society as much as a psychological exploration of the murderous mind. One thing about the show - it gets people talking.

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robbiej - I think what I meant to say is that I do believe the show points specifically towards Americans as you said, and the unusual subculture that exists in the US, but I don't think it makes any specific statement that the values of American society are to blame for the behavior of these individuals. "Another National Anthem" is the anthem for these people who coexist in American society with those who do not feel the urge to assassinate anyone, not a comment on values. It sounds more like the unheard song that possibly drives these people to do what they do. That is why it is unheard by the rest of society. Not because they don't want to, but maybe because they can't. The song clearly states individual motives, suggesting each has his/her own anthem. The characters and their infamy lie in America (which is their common thread), but I don't think Sondheim is trying to illustrate that they are unique to America, but more that they are a morbidly fascinating piece of American history (if that makes sense). If anything, they are interesting because of their vast differences in motivation.

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I will have to read Sondheim and Co. According to my script of The Frogs, it was originally performed before any of those shows. So how was the score written following the production? I'll look into that. I'm very curious about it. Either way, I still think it is his least listenable score. Also the most horrible script. Anyone Can Whistle is a masterpiece by comparison.

As for Brecht, it's not just the isolation of the audience, but his reason for isolation that is his signature. Brecht never wanted his audience to become invested in the characters or the story. If it was just the narrative, then Brecht copied this technique from the Greeks and Romans. I don't think Sondheim or Weidman were trying to achieve the same thing. They were looking for an outside character to tie everything else together. Someone who could serve both an objective view and the subjective conscience of the character(i.e. Booth and Czolgosz) which continues the surreal moments of the various assassins sharing scenes and moments together though they are from different eras. My only comlaint is that he isn't used consistently, but then the show has no consistent form, which takes me back to my description of "variety show".

You're right about the theme of disillusionment of the American Dream. It's a popular theme that we will continue to see in plays, musicals, films, onvels, etc. The theme is not unique (can't think of a show that actually has a "unique theme"), the idea of a musical variety show about American assissins IS unique. I think that is the point.

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While I readily admit that my two cents lies amidst all these opinions, might I add that this is one of the SMARTEST threads it has been my pleasure to read on this site.

Everybody makes their points well, yet seems to be reading and accepting that there can be other interpretations.

Keep going.

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