Assassins: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING [Soundtrack, Import]

At a carnival shooting gallery the assassins who have tried, successfully and not, to claim the lives of American Presidents come together. Each has their chance to tell their story in their own terms. Sondheim's brilliance is that he allows each assassin their own voice, which is best evidenced on the sweet duet "Unworthy of Your Love" between John Hinckley and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme wherein each bemoans their unworthiness to be loved by, respectively, Jodie Foster and Chalres Manson. Sondheim uses the simple melody in ironic contrast to the true meaning of the lyrics to powerful effect.

The integrity of "Assassins" comes from giving each character their say, from the vitrolic attack upon the memory of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth ("The Ballad of Booth") to the bitter fury of Giuseppe Zangara on his way to the electric chair ("How I Saved Roosevelt").

As John Wilkes Booth, Victor Garber ("Godspell," "Sleepless in Seattle," "Titanic") is the most recognizable name in the original cast, which also includes Jace Alexander, Patrick Cassidy, Terrence Mann and Debra Monk. "Assassins" began performances at Playwrights Horizons in December 1990. John Weidman did the dialogue with Sondheim doing the lyrics and music.

What got me really hooked on this CD was the inclusion of the show's climax, "November 22, 1963," when Booth and the other assassins show up at the Texas Book Depository to persuade Lee Harvey Oswald to join their ranks. It was a masterstroke to provide this on the album, which draws together the episodes of the show and underscores the irony of the final song, a reprise of "Everybody's Got the Right."

I have seen several productions of "Assassins." Unlike most traditional Broadway shows that are packaged for the hinterlands, each production of "Assassins" is unique, with the characters open to various types of interpretation. It is fascinating to see who gets to sing which songs and where they go for jokes in each production. If you have a chance to see a production in your neck of the woods, please do so.

It is not a traditional book musical, being more like a revue in structure but that should not upset people.

Some seem to think it glorifies (encourages?) assassination attempts. This is nonsense. It does ask audience members to take a critical look at a nation where "any person can grow up to kill the president." Could it be that some people just are not prepared to think about what is really being presented here?

Not liking the show, or not understanding it is fine, but why misrepresent what it is? ASSASSINS was NOT a flop on Broadway: THIS production never played on Broadway. It was scheduled for a limited run off-Broadway in December 1990 and January 1991, and all performances were sold out even before the run began. That makes it a hit! A new production finally brough the show to Studio 54 on April 22 and garnered RAVE reviews, even from the same critics who did not like the show in 1991! (It just goes to show waht an unpopular president and an unpopular war can do to people's perceptions!!)

In telling the stories of American Presidential assassinations (or attempted assassinations) Sondheim uses many American music forms: ballads to cakewalks to marches to bubblegum pop and each segment has its own unique flavour.

The recording is another first rate affair from RCA Victor with excellent program notes, a detailed synopsis, histories of the assassins and a full libretto. For the most part it features only the musical segments but does include the entire final scene: A dramatic showdown between Lee Harvey Oswald and the other assassins. A shame it did not include Sam Byck's two hysterical (in both senses of the word) monologues.

Some listeners object to all the dialogue that is included here. It amounts to one track that can easily be skipped. The disc does not include the number "Something Just Broke" because it was not written until the 1992 London production.

Of course the best way to appreciate ASSASSINS is to see it live in the theatre, and the current Broadway production will give people a chance to do just that.