It’s a musical that’s to die for — or kill for. Kind of.
Steven Sondheim’s Assassins is the next show to grace the Live Five stage in Saskatoon. A show about some of the most famous presidential assassins (or would-be assassins) in the history of the United States, the musical is being produced by local theatre company sorry/grateful theatre.
The show runs from April 16 to 26 at The Refinery. Co-artistic director of the company and Assassins director Kenn McLeod shared some insights about the show and its all-local-talent cast and crew ahead of the opening night performance.
Here are five facts about Assassins, by the numbers:
Nine – the number of killers (and would-be killers) in Assassins
The plot of Assassins explores the stories of these titular assassins in the setting of a bizarre, timeless “all-American” carnival. Armed with their reasons for wanting to take action, the inner workings of each one are revealed through scenes and songs as a mysterious host encourages them to solve their problems by going after a President.
Some of the assassins will be more recognizable than others — like John Wilkes Booth and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme — but that doesn’t make any of the other characters less compelling, per McLeod. He pointed to the portrayal of Leon Czolgosz (played in this production by Jordie Richardson), who assassinated president William McKinley in 1901, as an example of a lesser-known but extremely impactful individual in history.
McLeod said while the assassins in the show are all villains in a way, beneath the mythologizing they’re just people. The musical provides insight into the circumstances that might drive someone to take such extreme actions and what these individuals say about the country that shaped them.
“It’s a show about America and the American dream, and what people do for notoriety. It’s super relevant in Canada at this time,” he said. “It’s an examination so we gain a better perspective, so we don’t replicate the behaviour of these characters in our own country.”
21 – the size of the team of local theatre artists
It’s an ambitious project in terms of size and scope, particularly for a Live Five show at The Refinery. The cast of performers, the choreographer, the costume, lighting and set designers — every aspect of the large group, from top to bottom, is a showcase of the local talent in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan.
McLeod emphasized the level of skill and talent found in our own proverbial backyard that enabled the company to take on a show of this magnitude. From full-time theatre artists to students and others sharing their abilities, McLeod said taking on a “complicated and beautiful” musical score like Assassins was no small feat.
“This shows that folks here have the drive and the talent and the desire to do this kind of work,” McLeod said. “We want to show that talented people are here, and this is where we want the great work and opportunities to happen.”
Six – the number of musicians in the band
The all-local scope extends to the talented group of musicians joining the cast and crew in taking on this complex musical project.
McLeod said it’s not uncommon for shows like this to take advantage of recorded tracks for their music, but they had agreed early in the process that a live band would be critical to this version of Assassins.
Amanda Trapp, the co-artistic director of sorry/grateful theatre, also acted as the music director for Assassins. Shaun Bzdel will serve as the band leader (and trombone player) for the run of the show.
1990 – the year Assassins first premiered
By many accounts, Sondheim thought very highly of Assassins despite it premiering in 1990 to mixed reviews. In fact, he reportedly called it essentially a “perfect” show.
But even Sondheim recognized the difficulties that can come with this kind of subject matter (after all, this is a show about American presidential killers). The musical explores themes like loneliness and community, the desire for attention and the desperate lengths some people will go to for their ideals.
Difficult as they may be, McLeod says those themes still resonate more than three and a half decades after the musical’s premiere.
“It’s wild, it’s unsettling and it’s incredibly current,” he said. “This is a show that is humorous and dark and complex … the way we’ve done this show is about building connections, so people aren’t alone.”
Nine (again) – the total number of opportunities to catch Assassins
The show runs at The Refinery from April 16 to 26, with a recently-added bonus matinee show on April 18th.
You can find a list of show times and purchase tickets at at ontheboards.ca.
