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This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence. By giving voice to figures from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Assassins invites audiences not to condone their acts but to confront the unsettling continuity between personal disillusionment and national mythology, turning the musical stage into a mirror for America’s darkest obsessions.Read moreLess
This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence. By giving voice to figures from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Assassins invites audiences not to condone their acts but to confront the unsettling continuity between personal disillusionment and national mythology, turning the musical stage into a mirror for America’s darkest obsessions.
The story
This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence. By giving voice to figures from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Assassins invites audiences not to condone their acts but to confront the unsettling continuity between personal disillusionment and national mythology, turning the musical stage into a mirror for America’s darkest obsessions.
Cast & crew
Patrick CassidyBalladeer
Victor GarberJohn Wilkes Booth
Terrence MannLeon Czolgosz
Greg GermannJohn Hinckley
Jonathan HadaryCharles Guiteau
Lee WilkofSamuel Byck
Annie GoldenLynette "Squeaky" Fromme
Debra MonkSara Jane Moore
Jace AlexanderLee Harvey OswaldExplore the crew
- Director
- Jerry Zaks