Watch Assassins

Assassins is a musical by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman that explores the lives and motives of nine individuals who attempted or succeeded in assassinating Presidents of the United States. The show premiered off-Broadway in 1990 and has since been produced in various theaters around the world.

The show is set in a carnival shooting gallery, where each of the assassins, from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, take center stage to tell their stories and motivations through song. Through their monologues and interactions with one another, the audience gains insight into the reasoning behind each assassination attempt, from ideals of patriotism and loyalty to mental illness and personal vendettas.

The first character we meet is the Proprietor, who acts as a kind of narrator and entices the assassins to share their stories. The Proprietor is a mysterious figure who never outright encourages the characters to commit murder, but certainly doesn't discourage them either. He teases and manipulates them, pushing them closer to the brink.

The first assassin we meet is John Wilkes Booth, the actor who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Booth is played as an idealist, a Southern loyalist who believed that he was doing the right thing by killing Lincoln. He sings the rousing song "The Ballad of Booth," which celebrates his bravery and patriotism. From there, we meet Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President James Garfield, and Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated President William McKinley. Both men were mentally unstable and saw themselves as heroic figures.

The most memorable character in the show is undoubtedly Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford. Moore is portrayed as a comically inept would-be assassin who can't seem to get anything right. Her song, "Unworthy of Your Love," is a duet with John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. The song is a desperate plea for love and attention from the Presidents Moore and Hinckley targeted.

Assassins is a dark and unsettling musical, but it's also a deeply thought-provoking one. The show tackles some difficult questions about violence, idealism, and the American Dream. It forces the audience to confront the darker side of American history and to consider how our society creates and breeds people who are capable of committing such heinous acts. The music is typical Sondheim fare - complex, challenging, and lyrically rich. The score is a mix of different styles, from vaudeville to folk to rock.

One of the most interesting aspects of Assassins is the way that it presents its characters as outsiders. Each assassin is presented as someone who felt rejected by society in some way, who saw themselves as separate from the rest of the world. They were all striving for something - whether it was power, recognition, or simply a sense of belonging. Assassins challenges the audience to see these characters not just as villains, but as fully realized human beings with their own histories, motivations, and dreams.

Assassins has been produced in numerous theaters around the world, and has seen a number of high-profile revivals, including a critically acclaimed production at London's Menier Chocolate Factory in 2014. The show can be challenging for some audiences, particularly those who are uncomfortable with the subject matter. However, for those who are willing to engage with the material, it is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of American history and the dark side of the American Dream.

Assassins is a series that ran for 1 seasons (7 episodes) between November 30, 2020 and on