Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman

Directed by James Vesce
Choreography by Eddie Mabry
Musical Direction by Mark Adam Watkins
Scenic Design: Anita Tripathi Easterling
Lighting Design: David Fillmore, Jr.
Costume Design: Brandon R. McWilliams
Sound Design: Robert Schoneman

Anne R. Belk Theater, UNC Charlotte

When asked about the state of contemporary musical theater in 2008 Stephen Sondheim replied, “What works now are musicals that are easy to take; audiences don’t want to be challenged." And so it is no surprise that in contrast to this view the performance of a Sondheim musical is among the most daunting challenges for a theater organization on every level. Most of his productions lack the stereotypical conventions of the musical theater form – simple narratives, emotionally laden character journeys, large song-and-dance numbers, and clichéd melodies. His virtuosity as a composer and the complexity of his vocal scores are well documented. So it is no surprise that in addition to all of these elements Assassins, one of Sondheim’s least performed musicals, adds a political and social texture rarely evidenced in contemporary musical theater.

Assassins opens with two conflicting images at once --- a murky, shadowy, sinister, shooting gallery set against the colorful and musical spectacle of carnival fairgrounds; or put another way, the colorful, exciting, child-like experience of the carnival set against the underbelly of the circus --- the fairgrounds once the show is over --- when the illusion has been stripped away. This antinomy is a helpful conceptual frame for many other opposing forces and images suggested by the show: the assassins vs. us, the American political ideal vs. the struggle of the working class, the right to pursue happiness against the right to be happy, opportunity against deprivation, the immigrant vs. the native citizen, New York in the late 70’s and 80’s, the illusion of theater practice, clean vs. dirty.

The design of this character-driven musical pursued the above ideas inherent in the text and emphasized other performative approaches: simplicity of presentation, discontinuity, the immediacy and access of the audience to the performer, a blurring of the distinction between character and performer, and the acknowledgement that the theater should reveal all of itself. A modified arena stage was created by surrounding the performers with an upstage audience added to a traditional proscenium space.