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| TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "ASSASSINS" in PHILADELPHIA | |
| Posted by: T.B._Admin. 08:31 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| Rebecca reviews this Arden Theatre Company production, which runs through October 22. | |
| Link | "ASSASSINS" Review |
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| A disturbing version for today (spoilers) | |
| Posted by: mikem 11:53 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
| In reply to: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "ASSASSINS" in PHILADELPHIA - T.B._Admin. 08:31 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| I just saw this production. I had seen the show once before over a decade ago, at the same theater with the same director (with two of the actors playing the same roles as they are playing now). The show hit very differently this time around. In the current staging, the songs are generally presented very simply, so there is much more emphasis on the dialogue than would be typical in a Sondheim musical. And it started to feel like almost two hours of listening to delusional, self-oriented, not-very-deep-thinking people with guns going on and on and on about how they are misunderstood and how the world has mistreated them. In short, it felt like listening to stereotypical Trump supporters for almost two hours. (Not saying all Trump supporters are like this, but this is a stereotype of what some of them are like.) The director underlined the analogy by showing footage of the Jan 6 Capitol riot as the backdrop for "Another National Anthem." After "Another National Anthem," the show seemed to shift a little bit towards a more traditional staging. Overall, the cast is really excellent. The only characters that are sympathetic in the least in this staging, though, are John Hinckley (played by Harrison Smith, who is outstanding) and Squeaky Fromme (played by Katherine Fried), so it was a lot of time to spend with characters that I don't really want to spend time with. I'm curious if others have seen recent stagings of Assassins and if the Trump supporter analogy is there. Some of it seems a bit inherent to the prescient material, although some of it is emphasized by this staging. (For example, the characters aren't really listening to each other and show very little interest in the people around them. They're very focused on themselves and their own personal grievances.) One question: Something Just Broke was performed, but not actually listed in the program. The final musical sequence was listed as "Finale: Everybody's Got the Right." Is Something Just Broke usually listed? |
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| re: A disturbing version for today (spoilers) | |
| Posted by: sf 11:28 am EDT 10/07/23 | |
| In reply to: A disturbing version for today (spoilers) - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| "I'm curious if others have seen recent stagings of Assassins and if the Trump supporter analogy is there." It was certainly there in the revival at the Chichester Festival Theatre here in the UK earlier this year. That production basically took place at a Trump rally, and ended with the Assassins singing the reprise of Everybody's Got The Right in contemporary street clothes inside a trashed Oval Office. |
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| re: A disturbing version for today (spoilers) | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 12:20 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:10 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
| In reply to: A disturbing version for today (spoilers) - mikem 11:53 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| One question: Something Just Broke was performed, but not actually listed in the program. The final musical sequence was listed as "Finale: Everybody's Got the Right." Is Something Just Broke usually listed? Yes. In the early days of the rental property, the song was optional (the first few times I did the show it was all provided as inserts, not part of the regular script/score.) But now it's definitely part of the show. It should have been listed. However, given that the same actors who play the assassins sing the song in this version, they might have just cut it. I don't think Sondheim (or Weidman) would approve of the doubling, as their intent in including the song was to provide an important viewpoint from the average person affected by the assassinations. (That is, most of the show is purposely from the assassins' viewpoints, but it was important to them that there be a song where others got their chance to be heard. Having the same actors that play the assassins sing this song gives it a different slant IMO, one that the writers wouldn't want.) BTW - I'm also not fond of the conceit started with the Broadway revival that the Balladeer "becomes" Oswald (that was not part of the original script at all) - but I can accept that one on its own terms. But not when ALL the assassins are doubling other roles. I think the show is much more effective and certainly much clearer when the non-assassin characters are played by other actors. |
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| No ensemble? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 11:46 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:34 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
| In reply to: TB REGIONAL REVIEW: "ASSASSINS" in PHILADELPHIA - T.B._Admin. 08:31 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| No listing of the (usually 5) ensemble roles in the review. But, I also see that the theatre doesn't credit these "Bystanders" (as they're often called, given their characters in the Roosevelt song) on their website either. Please don't tell me the assassins double in those roles? But if not, why no credit for the actors that do play the roles? (We're talking Presidents Garfield and Ford, Emma Goldman, David Herold, Moore's son Billy, etc - and of course the singers in "Something Just Broke" and yes, the bystanders in "How I Saved Roosevelt.") | |
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| re: No ensemble? | |
| Posted by: JAllenC3 12:56 pm EDT 10/05/23 | |
| In reply to: No ensemble? - Chromolume 11:34 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| I would say it worked to not have an ensemble until they got to Something Just Broke which made zero sense and then for the finale they remained as not-assassins so the ending was robbed of its power. I wonder if the original intent of the production was to cut Something Just Broke (it was actually missing from the song list in the program) but the rights holders refused permission. Had it been cut I think it would have worked well without the ensemble and then the assassins becoming more common people with the finale. |
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| re: No ensemble? | |
| Posted by: mikem 12:00 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
| In reply to: No ensemble? - Chromolume 11:34 pm EDT 10/04/23 | |
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| The actors who play the assassins play these roles. There is no ensemble. The actors change their clothes to play the other roles. Looking back at the 2007 staging reviews, it seems there was no ensemble in that version, either, so this director must not think the ensemble is needed, and it's not just a cost-saving measure in these COVID-era difficult times for regional theaters. | |
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| re: No ensemble? | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 12:16 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 12:07 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: No ensemble? - mikem 12:00 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
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| Meh. But thanks for letting me know. Who played Billy? One of the adult men? Ick. |
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| re: No ensemble? | |
| Posted by: AC126748 12:41 pm EDT 10/05/23 | |
| In reply to: re: No ensemble? - Chromolume 12:07 am EDT 10/05/23 | |
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| Matteo Scammell, who also plays the Proprietor, is Billy. | |
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