author: Amanda N. Gunther
Angry men don’t write the rules and guns don’t right the wrongs. A debatable truth from “The Ballad of Booth” inside of a Sondheim show. What’s not up for debate is the caliber and quality of the production of Assassins now appearing live at Silver Spring Stage— their first musical in 27 years! And it’s quite the impressive feat considering it’s their first musical in nearly three decades and it’s a Sondheim to boot!
Just a single little finger can change the world.
9— Dayton, Ohio August 4, 2019
22— El Paso, Texas August 3, 2019
3— Gilroy, California July 28, 2019
34 people dead from just a single little finger.
Something just broke.
It’s the strap-line for Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins now
open and running at Signature Theatre in Shirlington, Virginia. And they’re not
wrong.
Angry men don’t write the rules and guns don’t right the wrongs. America’s got a problem…Sondheim has a solution. Never a more poignant and relevant time in our current political climate than right now has it been so appropriate to produce a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. Pallas Theatre Collective is boldly daring to do so, and it draws striking attention to the world around us at present. Directed by Clare Shaffer with Musical Direction by Alex Thompson,
Hey, pal! Feeling blue? Don’t know what to do? Hey, pal— I mean you! Come on and shoot a president! Pretty darn appealing prospect, isn’t it? Especially when you listen to their stories and hear it in their songs; you learn that angry men don’t make the rules and guns don’t write the wrongs! Everybody’s got a right to their dreams! So come on, and shoot a president! But if you’d rather not take the rap sheet and fry up in the hoosegow,
Hey, pal! Come here and shoot a president— or maybe just watch Stillpointe Theatre Initiative and Spotlight UB do it instead with their production of Assassins. With complex Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Book by John Weidman, this edgy obscure musical is poignant and relevantly delivered for the current political climate and packs a powerful message to the audience. Co-Directed by Ryan Haase and Kimberly Lynne, the production sparkles with a twisted sense of patriotic pride amid a shimmering sea of talent.