Assassins
Original Off-Broadway Production
Original Broadway Cast Recording
Music	Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim
Book	John Weidman
Theatre	Playwrights Horizons
Opened	January 27, 1991
Closed	unknown

Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman and was based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses a revue-like style to examine men and women who have attempted to assassinate a U.S. President. The style of the music varies widely, reflecting the different styles of music popular at the times of the events depicted. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Image File history File links Assassins_CD_Cover. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... John Weidman is an American librettist. ... Located in New York City, Playwrights Horizons is a major off-broadway theater dedicated to the development and production of new work by American playwrights. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. ... John Weidman is an American librettist. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...

Production

Assassins opened off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on January 27, 1991, and played 73 performances. The cast included Victor Garber, Terrence Mann, Patrick Cassidy, Debra Monk, and Annie Golden. The musical was supposed to have its first Broadway production in 2001, but the show was postponed after the events of September 11, 2001. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City in smaller theatres than Broadway, but larger than Off-Off-Broadway, productions. ... Located in New York City, Playwrights Horizons is a major off-broadway theater dedicated to the development and production of new work by American playwrights. ... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Victor Garber as Jack Bristow on Alias Victor Joseph Garber (born March 16, 1949, in London, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian film, stage, and television actor and singer of Russian descent and Jewish religion. ... Terrence Mann (born Terrance Vaughan Mann on July 1, 1951 in Kentucky) is a prominent singer and actor who has dominated Broadways stages for the past two decades. ... Two notable people are named Patrick Cassidy: Patrick Cassidy (born 1956), Irish classical composer. ... Debra Monk (born February 27, 1949) is an actress and author. ... Annie Golden (born October 19, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York) is an actress and singer. ... Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The explosion resulting from the crashing of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ...

Assassins received its Broadway debut on April 22, 2004. The Roundabout Theater Company opened the show on Broadway at Studio 54. After a limited run of 101 performances, it closed on July 18th, 2004. The performance starred Neil Patrick Harris as the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, along with Marc Kudisch in the revised role of the Proprietor; it also featured Michael Cerveris as John Wilkes Booth, for which he received a Tony Award. The production was noted for a coup de theatre in which the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy was projected on the t-shirt of Lee Harvey Oswald. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The original Studio 54 logo. ... July 18 is the 199th day (200th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 166 days remaining. ... Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ... A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to four US government investigations, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. ... Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor. ... Michael Cerveris (born November 6, 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA) is a singer and actor. ... John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor who is most famous for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Frame 150 from the Zapruder Film The Zapruder film is the 8 mm home movie footage shot by Abraham Zapruder in Dallas, Texas, within Dealey Plaza while standing next to the grassy knoll during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. ... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to four US government investigations, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. ...

The 2004 production won five 2004 Tony Awards for which it was nominated (Best Revival of a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael Cerveris), Best Lighting Design (Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher), Best Direction of a Musical (Joe Mantello), and Best Orchestrations (Michael Starobin). In addition, Marc Kudisch was nominated for the Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award that year. What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Michael Cerveris (born November 6, 1960 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA) is a singer and actor. ... Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) in Norristown, Pennsylvania is a prolific, award-winning, lighting designer and producer. ... Joe Mantello (born 27 December 1962) in Rockford, Illinois is a Tony Award-winning American actor and director. ... Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor. ... Created in 1955, the Drama Desk Award was created to recognize Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway shows in addition to Broadway shows. ...

Roles

Note: All characters mentioned from here on in are indicated by bold names.

• John Wilkes Booth, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
• Leon Czolgosz, assassinated President William McKinley
• Charles J. Guiteau, assassinated President James Garfield
• Giuseppe Zangara, attempted to assassinate President-Elect Franklin Roosevelt
• Lee Harvey Oswald, assassinated President John F. Kennedy
• Samuel Byck, attempted to assassinate President Richard Nixon
• Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, attempted to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford
• Sara Jane Moore, also attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford
• John Hinckley, Jr., attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
• The Balladeer, folk singer who tells the story as it happens, until the assassins gang up on him in Another National Anthem
• Emma Goldman, female anarchist leader, whose speech (What does a man do . . .?) inspired Czolgosz to shoot William McKinley
• The Proprietor of a carnival game that proclaims "Shoot the President, Win a Prize"; also acts, ironically, as Attendant for William McKinley (Ballad of Czolgosz) and Announcer (How I Saved Roosevelt and Something Just Broke)
• David Herold, conspirator in the plot to kill Lincoln
• James G. Blaine, Secretary of State during the administration of James Garfield
• President James Garfield, 20th President of the United States
• President Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States
• chorus (bystanders, fairgoers)

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American actor who is most famous for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. ... It has been suggested that Abraham Lincoln in popular culture be merged into this article or section. ... Photograph of Leon Czolgosz. ... William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States. ... Charles Julius Guiteau (September 8, 1841 – June 30, 1882) was an American lawyer with a history of mental illness who assassinated President James Garfield on July 2, 1881 (Garfield died of complications following the shooting, on September 19). ... James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States (1881) and the second U.S. President to be assassinated (Abraham Lincoln was the first). ... Giuseppe Zangara Giuseppe Zangara (September 7, 1900 – March 20, 1933) fired upon the United States President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1933. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), often referred to as FDR, was the 32nd (1933–1945) President of the United States. ... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was, according to four US government investigations, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. ... Samuel Byck Samuel Joseph Byck (January 30, 1930 – February 22, 1974) was an unemployed tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane from Baltimore-Washington International Airport on February 22, 1974. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... This article contains nonstandard pronunciation information which should be rewritten using the International Phonetic Alphabet (see IPA in Unicode and Wikipedia:Manual of Style (pronunciation) for help). ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ... Sara Jane Moore (born 1930 in Charleston, WV) tried to assassinate US President Gerald Ford on September 22, 1975 outside the St. ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ... John Warnock Hinckley, Jr. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan, (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) aka Red Emma, was a Lithuanian-born Anarchist known for her anarchist writings and speeches. ... David Herold, Washington Navy Yard, 1865 Execution of the four persons condemned as conspirators (Mary E. Surratt, Lewis T. Powell, David E. Herold, and George A. Atzerodt), July 7, 1865, at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. David Edgar Herold (16 June 1842 – 7 July 1865) conspired with John Wilkes... James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from Maine and a two-time United States Secretary of State. ... James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) was the 20th President of the United States (1881) and the second U.S. President to be assassinated (Abraham Lincoln was the first). ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ...

Musical Numbers/Scenes

On different recordings of the musical, different excerpted scenes and monologues have been recorded. The songs have been the same except for the Original Recording which combined The Gun Song and The Ballad of Czolgosz into one track.

• "Everybody's Got the Right" (The Proprietor & The Assassins)
• "The Ballad of Booth" (The Balladeer, Booth, Herold)
• Scene: "Ladies and Gentlemen, a Toast!" (Guiteau, Zangara, Booth, Hinckley, Czolgosz) (Revival Recording only)
• "How I Saved Roosevelt" (Company & Zangara)
• Scene: "What Does a Man Do?" (Goldman & Czolgosz) (Revival Recording only)
• "Gun Song" (Czolgosz, Booth, Guiteau & Moore)
• "The Ballad of Czolgosz" (The Balladeer & Company)
• "Unworthy of Your Love" (Hinckley & Fromme)
• Scene: "I Am a Terrifying and Imposing Figure!" (Moore, Guiteau, Blaine, Garfield) (Revival Recording only)
• "The Ballad of Guiteau" (Guiteau & The Balladeer)
• Monologue: "Have It Your Way" (Byck) (Revival Recording only)
• "Another National Anthem" (The Assassins, The Balladeer, The Proprietor)
• Scene: "November 22, 1963" (Oswald & The Assassins) (Original Recording only)
  • On the Revival Recording this scene is truncated and listed as "Take a Look, Lee"
• "Something Just Broke" (The Company) (Revival Recording only, the song was added during the 1992 London production at the Donmar Warehouse)
• "Finale: Everybody's Got the Right" (The Assassins & Oswald)

November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... The Donmar Warehouse is a small theatre in the Covent Garden area of the West End of London. ...

Trivia

• Would-be Nixon assassin Samuel Byck was obsessed with composer Leonard Bernstein. Byck wrote numerous letters to Bernstein, including ones that detailed his plot against Nixon. In Assassins, the Byck character refers to several of Bernstein's musicals, including West Side Story, which was one of Stephen Sondheim's earliest successes.
• Forbidden Broadway parodied the song "Unworthy of Your Love" creating "Unworthy of Your Words", an ode to Stephen Sondheim.

Samuel Byck Samuel Joseph Byck (January 30, 1930 – February 22, 1974) was an unemployed tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane from Baltimore-Washington International Airport on February 22, 1974. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer, pianist and conductor. ... West Side Story is a musical written by Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music), and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and was originally produced, choreographed, and directed by Jerome Robbins. ... Forbidden Broadway is an off-Broadway show created and written by Gerard Alessandrini and directed by Alessandrini and long-time collaborator Phillip George. ...

External links

• Live, Laugh, Love: Assassins
• Assassins (Sondheim.com)