Editing Assassins (musical) (section)

==Background and productions==
===Background===
In 1979, as a panelist at producer [[Stuart Ostrow]]'s Musical Theater Lab, Sondheim read a script by playwright [[Charles Gilbert Jr.]] entitled ''Assassins''. Inspired by its title and use of quotations from various historical figures who had attempted to assassinate American Presidents, Sondheim asked Gilbert for permission to use his idea. Gilbert consented and offered to write the book, but Sondheim declined, having already had collaborator John Weidman in mind. Weidman had written the book for ''[[Pacific Overtures]]'' and would work with Sondheim again on ''[[Road Show (musical)|Road Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael Cerveris|title=Story of Assassins|url=http://www.amazing-journey.com/assassins_story.htm|work=Amazing Journey|year=2008|access-date=August 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802041854/http://www.amazing-journey.com/assassins_story.htm|archive-date=August 2, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Gilbert's original concept involved a fictional [[Vietnam War]] veteran who becomes an assassin and around this central narrative he had woven diary entries, poems, and newspaper reports of historical assassins. Sondheim and Weidman, having no interest in the fictional element, focused the musical solely on the historical figures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/07/19/specials/sondheim-assassins.html?ref=jeffreylcohen.com |first=Mervyn |last=Rothstein |title=Theater: Sondheim's 'Assassins': Insane Realities of History |work=New York Times |date=27 Jan 1991}}</ref> Five assassins appear in both versions: [[John Wilkes Booth]], [[Charles J. Guiteau]], [[Leon Czolgosz]], [[Giuseppe Zangara]], and [[Squeaky Fromme]]. The model for Gilbert's protagonist, [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], also appears in the musical as himself. The musical omits three assassins included in Gilbert’s script—[[Arthur Bremer]] (cut in rehearsals), [[Sirhan Sirhan]] (mentioned by name only), and [[John Schrank]]—and instead features [[Samuel Byck]], [[Sara Jane Moore]], and [[John Hinckley Jr.]], the last of whom had not yet attempted an assassination when Gilbert's version was written.<ref name="Review">{{cite web |url=https://www.sondheimreview.com/magazine/vol-7-no-2-fall-2000/ |title=The Sondheim Review Vol. 7, No. 2, Fall 2000 |publisher=The Sondheim Review |accessdate=11 Jun 2024 |archive-date=June 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240611214309/https://www.sondheimreview.com/magazine/vol-7-no-2-fall-2000/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Aside from the title, Sondheim and Weidman also retained Gilbert's distinctive conceptual metaphor of the [[shooting gallery (carnival game)|shooting gallery]], presided over by a character called Fat Man (somewhat analogous to Weidman’s Proprietor) who is encouraging would-be assassins to "shoot the Prez and win a prize."<ref name="Review"/>

The first staged reading of the musical, at [[Playwrights Horizons]] on December 18, 1989, was directed by [[Jerry Zaks]] and featured [[Anthony Heald]] (Czolgosz), [[Paul McCrane]] (Hinckley), [[Michael Jeter]] (Zangara), [[Jonathan Hadary]] (Guiteau), [[Swoosie Kurtz]] (Fromme), [[Christine Baranski]] (Moore), [[Victor Garber]] (Booth), [[Kevin Anderson (actor)|Kevin Anderson]] (Balladeer/Oswald) and [[Nathan Lane]] (Byck).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.savisingingactor.com/course-materials/assassins/ |title=Assassins |date=November 11, 2021 |publisher=The SAVI Singing Actor |accessdate=11 Jun 2024}}</ref>

===Productions===

''Assassins'' opened [[Off-Broadway]] at [[Playwrights Horizons]] on December 18, 1990, and closed on February 16, 1991, after 73 performances. Directed by [[Jerry Zaks]] the cast included [[Victor Garber]], [[Terrence Mann]], [[Patrick Cassidy (actor)|Patrick Cassidy]], [[Debra Monk]], [[Greg Germann]], and [[Annie Golden]]. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', "The show has been sold out since previews began, reflecting the strong appeal of Sondheim's work among the theater crowd."<ref>Fox, David.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-29-ca-251-story.html "Critics Say 'Assassins' Will Have to Bite the Bullet : Stage: Some reviewers find Stephen Sondheim's Off Broadway musical fails to hit the target."] ''Los Angeles Times'', January 29, 1991</ref> [[Frank Rich]] in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "''Assassins'' will have to fire with sharper aim and fewer blanks if it is to shoot to kill."<ref>Evans, Greg. "Crix Hang 'Assassins;' B'way Out of Range?" Variety (Feb 4, 1991): 95. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 147. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002</ref><ref>Rich, Frank.[https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/28/theater/review-theater-sondheim-and-those-who-would-kill.html?scp=1&sq=&pagewanted=1 "Review/Theater; Sondheim and Those Who Would Kill"], nytimes.com, January 28, 1991.</ref>

On October 29, 1992, ''Assassins'' opened in London at the [[Donmar Warehouse]] with direction by [[Sam Mendes]] and a cast that included [[Henry Goodman]] as [[Charles J. Guiteau|Charles Guiteau]] and [[Louise Gold]] as [[Sara Jane Moore]]. The show ran for 76 performances, closing on January 9, 1993.<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael H. Hutchins|title=Assassins|url=http://www.sondheimguide.com/assassins.html#London|work=The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide|year=2008|access-date=August 9, 2008}}</ref>

The first US regional production was mounted at Theatre Three in Dallas, July 15, 1992.  The second was mounted by [[Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia)|Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia]] in August 1992. The San Jose Civic Light Opera in [[San Jose, California]], presented a production in 1993, which featured the world premiere of the 13-piece orchestration by [[Michael Starobin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ovrtur.com/production/2900054|title = Assassins (San Jose Civic Light Opera Production, 1993)}}</ref> The Los Angeles premiere opened in 1994 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and included [[Patrick Cassidy (actor)|Patrick Cassidy]] (the original Balladeer) playing Booth, and Alan Safier as Guiteau.<ref>{{cite web|author=Daily Bruin |url=http://beta.dailybruin.com/articles/1995/4/5/kill-a-prez |title=The Daily Bruin &#124; Kill a prez |publisher=Beta.dailybruin.com |date=April 5, 1995 |access-date=July 8, 2010 }} {{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The first Australian production opened in February 1995, presented by the [[Melbourne Theatre Company]] at the [[Fairfax Studio]]. Directed by [[Roger Hodgman]], the cast featured [[John O'May]], [[John McTernan (actor)|John McTernan]] and [[Bruce Myles]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/25006|title=AusStage - Assassins|website=ausstage.edu.au|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921095304/https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/25006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Roundabout Theatre Company]]'s [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production was originally scheduled for 2001 but was postponed to April 22, 2004, because the content was sensitive in light of the events of the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Ernio Hernandez|title=The Shots Heard Round the World: Musical ''Assassins'' Opens on Broadway, April 22|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/the-shots-heard-round-the-world-musical-assassins-opens-on-broadway-april-22-com-119234|work=Playbill|access-date=August 14, 2022|date=April 22, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Sarah Beaumont|title=Something Just Broke|url=http://www.sondheim.com/news/something_just_broke.html|work=Sondheim.com|date=December 14, 2003|access-date=August 9, 2008}}</ref> After 101 performances at [[Studio 54]], ''Assassins'' closed on July 18, 2004. Directed by [[Joe Mantello]], with musical staging by [[Jonathan Butterell]], [[Neil Patrick Harris]] starred in the roles of The Balladeer and [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], with [[Marc Kudisch]] in an extended role as The Proprietor. [[Michael Cerveris]] played [[John Wilkes Booth]], for which he received a [[Tony Award]]. The 2004 production was noted for a ''[[wikt:coup de théâtre|coup de théâtre]]'': the [[Zapruder film]] of the assassination of [[John F. Kennedy]] projected onto [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]'s T-shirt by projection designer [[Elaine J. McCarthy]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Christopher Rawson |date=May 23, 2004 |title=Stage Reviews: Four Broadway plays suggest the range of art and commercialism |page=G-3 |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/frontpage/2004/05/23/Stage-Reviews-Four-Broadway-plays-suggest-the-range-of-art-and-commercialism/stories/200405230162 |url-status=dead |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |location=Pittsburgh |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422132051/http://www.post-gazette.com/frontpage/2004/05/23/Stage-Reviews-Four-Broadway-plays-suggest-the-range-of-art-and-commercialism/stories/200405230162 |archive-date=April 22, 2017 }}</ref> On December 3, 2012, the Broadway cast reunited for a special benefit. [[Annaleigh Ashford]] stood in for [[Mary Catherine Garrison]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hertzfeld|first=Laura|title=Neil Patrick Harris returns to 'Assassins'|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/12/03/neil-patrick-harris-assassins/|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=August 14, 2022|date=December 3, 2012}}</ref>

Other professional productions have included a 2006 production at [[Crucible Theatre]], [[Sheffield]], a 2008 production which ran from January 23 to February 2, 2008, at the [[Landor Theatre]], London,<ref>Giorgetti, Sandra.[http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/assassinslandor-rev.htm "Assassins"],''The British Theatre Guide'', review, 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Theatre-Review/assassins-landor-theatre "Assassins&nbsp;– Landor Theatre"],''Indie London'' listing, date unk</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831272546208/Union+Ticks+Leanne+Jones,+Sondheim+Assassins.html |title=Union Ticks Leanne Jones, Sondheim Assassins |access-date=July 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502233654/http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831272546208/Union+Ticks+Leanne+Jones,+Sondheim+Assassins.html |archive-date=May 2, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The South African premiere opened in December 2008 as the inaugural production of the NewSpace Theatre in [[Cape Town]]. This production was directed by Fred Abrahamse with a South African cast including Marcel Meyer as [[John Wilkes Booth]], Riaan Norval as [[Lee Harvey Oswald]], David Dennis as [[Charles J. Guiteau]] and Anthea Thompson as [[Sara Jane Moore]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguide.co.za/theatre_detail.php?theatried=3779 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20111006080539/http://www.theguide.co.za/theatre_detail.php?theatried=3779 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 6, 2011 |title=Meersman, Brent |publisher=Theguide.co.za |access-date=July 8, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fdcawards.co.za/base.php?top_id+1&side_id=10&editorial_id=681&category_id=5&page=10 |title=Henry, Zane |publisher=Fdcawards.co.za |access-date=July 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006080540/http://www.fdcawards.co.za/base.php?top_id+1&side_id=10&editorial_id=681&category_id=5&page=10 |archive-date=October 6, 2011 }}</ref> A 2010 production in Toronto by [[BirdLand Theatre]] and Talk is Free Theatre won the [[Dora Mavor Moore Award]] for Outstanding Production in the Musical Theatre Division.<ref>{{cite web|title=31st Annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards|publisher=www.tapa.ca|date=June 28, 2010|url=http://tapa.ca/files|access-date=January 18, 2011}} {{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The [[Union Theatre, London]] produced ''Assassins'' in July 2010, which went on the win Best (overall) Production at The Off West End Awards. It was staged and directed by Michael Strassen. It attained Show of the Week and Critics choice in Time Out.<ref>
[http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/shenton/2010/07/attention-finally-must-be-paid/ Attention Finally Must Be Paid] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128132345/http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/shenton/2010/07/attention-finally-must-be-paid/ |date=January 28, 2013 }} blogs.thestage.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://assassinslondon.co.uk/reviews.html Reviews] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308203657/http://www.assassinslondon.co.uk/reviews.html |date=March 8, 2012 }} assassinslondon.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://www.michaelstrassen.com Official Site, Strassen] michaelstrassen.com</ref>

A new production of ''Assassins'' starring [[Catherine Tate]] as Sarah Jane Moore, [[Aaron Tveit]] as John Wilkes Booth, [[Mike McShane]] as Samuel Byck, [[Andy Nyman]] as Charles Guiteau, and [[Jamie Parker]] as the Balladeer opened on November 21, 2014, at the [[Menier Chocolate Factory]] in London and ran until March 7, 2015.<ref>
[https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/assassins-tickets ''Assassins''] londonboxoffice.co.uk</ref>

''Assassins'' was produced in the 2016-2017 season at [[Yale Repertory Theatre]] from March 17 to April 8, 2017. The Cast included Robert Lenzi as John Wilkes Booth, [[Stephen DeRosa]] as Charles Guiteau, and [[Julia Murney]] as Sara Jane Moore<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.yale.edu/2017/03/21/yale-rep-stage-assassins-stephen-sondheim-s-musical-masterpiece | title=Yale Rep to stage 'Assassins,' Stephen Sondheim's 'musical masterpiece' | date=March 21, 2017 }}</ref>

''Assassins'' was produced in the 2017 season of ''[[Encores!]] Off Center'' at the [[New York City Center]] from July 12–15 of that year, with a cast including [[Steven Pasquale]] as John Wilkes Booth, [[Victoria Clark]] as Sara Jane Moore, and [[Shuler Hensley]] as Leon Czolgosz.<ref>{{cite web |last=McPhee |first=Ryan |title=''Assassins'', Starring Steven Pasquale, Victoria Clark, and More, Begins at City Center |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/assassins-starring-steven-pasquale-victoria-clark-and-more-begins-at-city-center |website=Playbill |date=July 12, 2017}}</ref>

In October/November 2019 The [[Watermill Theatre]] Newbury and [[Nottingham Playhouse]] co-produced a new version in the UK, using a full cast of actor/musicians for the first time. The role of the Balladeer was switched to a female part for this production. A poignant moment was added at the end of the final scene, where a young child walks onto the stage from the audience, retrieves a gun from the vending machine (from which the main characters received their weapons at the start of the show) and fires the final gunshot out into the crowd.

[[John Doyle (director)|John Doyle]] was to direct an Off-Broadway production at [[Classic Stage Company]] scheduled for 2020.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/theater/john-doyle-assassins.html|title = John Doyle to Direct 'Assassins' at Classic Stage Company|newspaper = The New York Times|date = March 20, 2019|last1 = Cohn|first1 = Gabe}}</ref> On September 24, 2019, it was announced that the cast would include [[Judy Kuhn]] as Sara Jane Moore, [[Will Swenson (actor)|Will Swenson]] as Charles Guiteau, [[Brandon Uranowitz]] as Leon Czolgosz, [[Wesley Taylor]] as Giuseppe Zangara, and Pasquale reprising his role as John Wilkes Booth.<ref>{{cite web |last=McPhee |first=Ryan |title=Tony Nominees Will Swenson, Judy Kuhn, and Brandon Uranowitz, More Set for Off-Broadway Revival of ''Assassins'' |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/tony-nominees-will-swenson-judy-kuhn-and-brandon-uranowitz-more-set-for-off-broadway-revival-of-assassins |website=Playbill |date=September 24, 2019}}</ref> Other additions to the cast include [[Ethan Slater]] as Lee Harvey Oswald/The Balladeer and [[Tavi Gevinson]] as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme.<ref>Editorial Staff. [https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/ethan-slater-assassins-csc_90420.html "Ethan Slater Joins Assassins Off-Broadway"] TheaterMania, January 13, 2020</ref> The show was delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. On September 9, 2021<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Classic-Stage-Companys-ASSASSINS-to-Begin-Performances-in-November-20210909|title = Classic Stage Company's ASSASSINS to Begin Performances in November}}</ref> it was announced that the production would begin performances on November 2, 2021 - January 8, 2022 with an official opening on November 14, 2021. And on November 9, 2021,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harms|first=Talaura|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/classic-stage-companys-off-broadway-revival-of-assassins-extends|title=Classic Stage Company's Off-Broadway Revival of ''Assassins'' Extends|website=Playbill|date=November 9, 2021}}</ref> it was announced that the production would extend through to January 29, 2022. The production ended up officially closing January 24, 2022 due to positive COVID-19 cases in the company. On March 18, 2022, a cast recording album of this production received a wide digital release, which featured all songs as well as an abridged version of the climactic scene between Booth and Oswald.

In June 2023, a revival played at the [[Chichester Festival Theatre]] in [[West Sussex]], United Kingdom. The production starred [[Danny Mac]] as Booth, Luke Brady as Zangara, [[Peter Forbes (actor)|Peter Forbes]] as the Proprietor, [[Harry Hepple]] as Guiteau, Nick Holder as Byck, [[Charlotte Jaconelli]] as Goldman, and [[Jack Shalloo]] as Hinckley.<ref>[https://www.abouttheartists.com/productions/184875-assassins-at-chichester-festival-theatre-2023 Assassins 2023 Revival]</ref>