Book by John Weidman
Music and lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Kelly
Roberts and Grant Pegg
Musical director:
Alexander Unikowski
Everyman Theatre
production
Belconnen Theatre to
21 September
Reviewed by Len Power
7 September 2019
The production of a Sondheim musical in Canberra is always something
to celebrate. ‘Assassins’ is a good
choice for Everyman Theatre, with their reputation for staging important and challenging
shows.
First produced off-Broadway in 1990, ‘Assassins’ is a
nightmarish exploration of several infamous assassins and attempted assassins
of United States presidents. As if the
subject matter isn’t uncomfortable enough, John Weidman’s book and Stephen
Sondheim’s lyrics are full of dark humour, giving the show an extra
edginess. Sondheim’s music employs
traditional and recognizable musical forms from the periods relating to each
assassin. It’s a challenge for both orchestra
and singers to perform accurately.
Co-directors Kelly Roberts and Grant Pegg have achieved a fine
depth of characterization from their strong cast of performers. Essentially an ensemble piece, every actor gets
their moment to shine. Particularly
memorable was Pippin Carroll as The Balladeer with his fine voice and confident
stage presence.
Jim Adamik was absolutely chilling as the attempted 1974 plane
hijacker and assassin, Samuel Byck. Will
Collett brought a realistically quiet danger to his performance of John Hinkley
Junior and Belle Nicol superbly captured a hippy-type sensibility as Charles Manson
follower, Lynette ‘Squeaky’ Fromme. Isaac
Gordon, Jarrad West, Tracy Noble, Jonathan Rush and Joel Hutchings also gave
finely drawn portraits of their deluded and ultimately pathetic characters.
The entire cast met the challenge of singing this tricky
score. The small band, conducted by
Alexander Unikowski, played the score extremely well, sounding like a much
larger orchestra than they were. Unfortunately sound balances were often a
problem, especially in the group patter song, ‘How I Saved Roosevelt’ where the
lyrics could not be heard clearly and Joel Hutchings was amplified much too
high throughout the show compared to other cast members.
The stripped bare carnival setting, designed by Christopher
Zuber, works fine but a bit of garish colour could have added some more
interest and atmosphere. Not all of the
assassins are historically well-known, so having the characters easily
identified with wooden boxes stamped with their names was a great conceptual
idea.
This is a fine production of a unique musical that puts extraordinary
demands on the performers and musicians.
Everyone concerned with this production has earned the right to be
happy.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.
