Leave it to Stephen Sondheim to take an idea about assassins and write music and lyrics for a show. This is one you aren't sure is about assassins, but it is, with songs to boot.
Wikipedia says the play began off-Broadway in 1990 and opened in 2004 on Broadway, winning five Tonys.
The actors at Herndon's NextStop Theatre Company put on a big, provocative show with lots energy and a desire to please, impressive for a young troupe in only its fifth year.
Their exaggerations and lampooning of guns, starting out with seven or eight lying on a table while a Secret Service agent stands immobile nearby (so etched in permanence I thought at first he must be a mannequin), is filled with coarseness and surprising bits of humor. (No one will leave humming, Walking on Sunshine.)
Action is swift. Director Jay D. Brock elicits strong portrayals about these detestable creatures, with standout performances by Bobby Libby as John Wilkes Booth (fierce in his opposition to President Lincoln and his creed) and Katie McManus, brash and obnoxious as Sara Jane Moore who quietens her son (Logan Wagner) when she aims a gun at him, accompanied by soft, awkward laughs from some members of the audience.
Jaclyn Young bears an eerie resemblance to Squeaky Fromm (whose love for Charles Manson never ends).
The subjects are not glorified but that the script gives them recognition is troubling. Their crimes are presented in vignettes in helter-skelter order. It's doubtful that audience members will recognize every character, like Samuel Byck (Alex Zavistovich), attempted assassin of President Richard M. Nixon, Giuseppe Zangara (Brice Guerriere) and Leon Czolgosz (Daniel Westbrook).
(I kept hoping JFK's murder would be omitted since I don't want to relive it over and over and over like the media presents.)
The timing of the show's opening weekend coinciding with President Trump's announcement that he would release documents related to JFK's assassination was prescient, however the producing artistic director, Evan Hoffman (who is also the sound designer) writes in program notes that he and Director Brock selected the title a year ago, and it has no relationship to the present administration.
In no way do they seek to exalt the men and women portrayed or to castigate the current administration, Hoffman writes. (Actually, that never entered my mind while watching the show. What I did think about was gun control and keeping weapons out of the hands of crazies, like assassins. The play's Broadway opening was delayed three years because of September 11. How immune have we become to these horror stories, this production following so closely the tragedy of Las Vegas this month? Not to fault the timing of the show which must "go on.")
"Our hope is by providing a relaxed and entertaining venue for the community to gather together and be immersed in stories highlighting diverse perspectives, that we can help break down barriers which divide." What is the diversity here? That assassins think differently from you and me?
For gun control advocates, the play is a great selection to take on the road. That Americans continue to tolerate extreme violence and death and quickly discard these events from the public consciousness is almost as shocking as the sudden deaths presented. Who will be the next perpetrator to step up to the window and claim temporary fame?
An excellent stage design (by JD Madsen) with flowing red velvet curtains as backdrop is clever and simplified, with emphasis on the American flag styled in flooring (meaning?) and platforms which have multiple purposes. A rectangular box at the front becomes a table, a seat, and the sound of gunfire when actors flip it on its side.
Flashing lights (by Catherine Girardi) are not bothersome, but too-frequent and loud sounds of gunfire, especially when the chorus line aims the weapons at the audience (more than once) are jarring.
Marc Bryan Lilley is music director. Seven musicians make noticeable contributions with haunting solos by an electric pianist and percussionist. In vocals, group harmonies, naturally the strongest, are the best.
Playbill calls it a dark comedy but is it? "Dark" and "bleak" certainly apply to "perhaps the most controversial Broadway musical ever written." That's up to the viewers.
Other cast members are the proprietor, Mackenzie Newbury; John Hinckley, Jr., Mikey Cafarelli; Charles Guiteau, Andrew Adelsberger; the Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald, John Sygar; Emma Goldman/Ensemble, Megan Adrielle; Gerald Ford/Ensemble, Jason Hentrich; Ensemble, Madeline Cuddihy and Colton Needles.
Also on the Creative Team are assistant director, Christie Graham; costumes, Kristina Martin; stage manager, Laura Moody;
props coordinator/ASM, Jade Brooks-Bartlett; costume apprentice, Marilyn Lopes; ASM, Quoc Tran; co-master electricians, Jonathan Abolins and Maeve Nash.
What: Assassins, book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.
When: Thursday through Sunday nights and weekend matinees, now through November 12, 2017.
Where: NextStop Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. A wee big hard to find on a first visit, so allow an extra 15 minutes.
Free parking: Available near the door.
Admission: Tickets start at $20 with group discounts and student rush seats (if available). Call 866-811-4111.
Duration: A little under two hours without intermission
Rating: R due to frequent vulgar language and phraseology.
For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org
patricialesli@gmail.com
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