Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The second show of MMAS’s season is “Assassins” by Stephen Sondheim which won five Tony Awards in 2004 including Best Revival. “Assassins” lays bare the lives of the nine individuals who assassinated or attempted to assassinate the President of the United States in an historical “revuiscal” that explores the dark side of the American experience while using the premise of a murderous carnival game. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a nightmarish roller coaster ride in which assassins and would be assassins from different time periods meet, interact and in an intense final scene inspire each other to a harrowing act on their way to the American Dream. The score contains pastiches of American music through the ages from folk to rock to 1970’s soft rock. Director Adam Joy assembles 24 talented cast members to fill these roles while musical director Eli Bigelow taught them this intricate score and Adam who is also the choreographer, supplies them with inventive dance moves, winning them a thunderous standing ovation at the close of this thought provoking musical.
Adam not only directs and blocks this show splendidly but has the cast embody these roles on many different levels. They give a multilayered performance in these roles. Eli plays the lead keyboards and conducts a terrific 4 piece orchestra. The big dance numbers include “Another National Anthem” and “I Saved Roosevelt.” Dori Bryan-Ployer is the menacing Proprietor of the guns. She tries to convince everyone including the audience and assassins that it is alright to buy guns and kill presidents in “Everybody’s Got the Right”, the opening number. Dori hands the weapons to the killers as she sings this number wonderfully. She also shows off her comic side when she plays Emma Goldman. Ricky DeSisto plays the lead role of the Balladeer and comments on the events as they are happening. He displays his voice in “The Ballad of Booth”, “I Saved Roosevelt”, “The Ballad of Czolgosz”, “The Ballad of Guiteau” and “Another National Anthem.” Ricky also plays Oswald beautifully. He is unsure what to do at first but the other assassins convince him to kill John Kennedy and this is where the show takes a frightening turn. The Oswald and Booth dramatic scene is mesmerizing. I saw Jack Ruby kill Oswald on live TV back on November 24, 1963. Michael Bradley plays John Wilkes Booth excellently. He is an imposing figure as the demented Booth, combined with his strong baritone voice in “The Ballad of Booth” and in “The Gun Song”, he definitely captures your attention. The best harmony is found in the barbershop quartet style “The Gun Song.” The dramatic scene with Oswald displays their strong acting prowess in these roles. Greg Smith plays Giuseppe Zangara, the Italian immigrant who wanted to kill FDR but instead killed Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago. Greg has an excellent Italian accent as Zangara. He had a bad stomach and displays his topnotch voice in “I Saved Roosevelt” with the chorus backing him as Zangara is being electrocuted.
Athan Mantalos plays Leon Czolgosz, the killer of William McKinley in 1901. Leon who is one of the most intense assassins, is in love with Emma Goldman played by Dori. His dementia comes from being burnt in a chemical plant. Athan’s acting prowess comes through in this dramatic role. His terrific voice is heard in “The Gun Song”, “The Ballad of Czolgosz” and many group numbers. Athan sells his songs to the appreciative crowd. Charles Guiteau, the disappointed office seeker who killed James Garfield in 1881 is wonderfully played by Christian Roulleau. The character is larger than life and Christian gives him the comic edge it needs. He displays his powerful voice in the group numbers and in “The Ballad of Guiteau” with the Balladeer. It is a rousing gospel number. Matt Stone plays the nerdy, psychopath John Hinckley who tried to kill Reagan in 1981. Hinckley’s obsession with Jodie Foster comes through in his song “Unworthy of Your Love” with Squeaky. Matt is topnotch in this role.
The three biggest scene stealers in this show are Emily Buckley, Laura Gustafson and Kevin Hayes. Emily plays the clumsy, spastic Sara Jane Moore who tried to kill Gerald Ford in 1975 as did Squeaky Fromme played by Laura. Emily as Sarah keeps shooting at a bucket of KFC for target practice, says shit every time she misses and when she tries to kill Ford, she keeps dropping the bullets as Ford helps Sara and Squeaky to pick them up. Sara also pulls the gun out on her son who keeps pestering her for money for candy. The son is excellently played by young Thomas Stapleton. Laura plays the foul mouth, Squeaky excellently. She spouts off lots of humorous dialogue with Sara. Her lovely voice is heard in “Unworthy of Your Love” duet with Matt as he sings about Jodie, she sings about Charlie Manson. She is also hilarious in the pot smoking scene with Emily and when they argue back and forth about Sara’s son being an asshole when he has a temper tantrum. Kevin is hysterical as Samuel Byck while clad in a Santa Claus outfit. Byck tried to kill Nixon on February 22, 1972 by trying to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House. Kevin has two enormous monologues which he delivers beautifully, leaving the audience in stitches whether he is throwing a hamburger out a car window, yelling at Leonard Bernstein on his tape recorder as well as uttering many obscenities. His facial expressions are splendid, too. The most poignant song in the show is “Something Just Broke” about the death of JFK with everyone remembering where they were and what they were doing on November 22, 1963. I remember being in fourth grade that day. So for a thought provoking, well done musical that has enough fun filled moments to balance out such a serious topic, be sure to catch “Assassins” at MMAS. Adam has a film montage running during the closing number which not only includes Kennedy’s assassination captured on the Zapruder film but also current day shootings which once again makes this show very relevant for today’s audiences.
ASSASSINS (26 October to 11 November)
MMAS, 377 North Main Street, Mansfield, MA
1(508)339-2822 or www.mmas.org
