Editing Assassins (musical) (section)

=== Pain, desperation, and disillusionment ===
Pain and desperation are central to Zangara's character: he is portrayed as a poor immigrant who suffers a very strong stomachache. In "How I Saved Roosevelt", Zangara's stomach pain and his desperation about not being able to cure his stomachache turn into his anger and hatred towards the upper class.<ref name=":03" /> According to Schrader, the real-life Moore attempted her assassination due to political reasons, yet in the musical, she does so due to an entirely different one: she is so frustrated and desperate about "how to understand and express herself" that she takes "drastic action."<ref name=":03" /> On the other hand, Byck's assassination attempt on President [[Richard Nixon]] is also to "satisfy his personal frustrations."<ref name=":52" /> His solo scene, titled "Have It Your Way" in the 2004 Broadway cast recording, presents his pain and disillusionment through his words and emotional expressions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stephen Sondheim – Have It Your Way|url=https://genius.com/Stephen-sondheim-have-it-your-way-lyrics|website=Genius.com|access-date=2021-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Maurer|first=Roy|date=August 27, 2019|title=Review: Sondheim's Assassins at Signature Theatre. Something just broke.|url=https://dctheatrescene.com/2019/08/27/review-sondheims-assassins-at-signature-theatre/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-30|website=dctheatrescene.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930064447/https://dctheatrescene.com/2019/08/27/review-sondheims-assassins-at-signature-theatre/ |archive-date=September 30, 2021 }}</ref>

Unlike all the other assassins in the musical, "[<nowiki/>[[Lee Harvey Oswald]]] is portrayed as a desperate man attempting to commit suicide and as the only assassin who had no intention of killing a President."<ref name=":03" /> In the scene corresponding to this (the original 1991 Off-Broadway version is called "November 22, 1963"), Booth, as the leader of all assassins, tries to convince Oswald to assassinate President [[John F. Kennedy]] instead of committing suicide using countless tactics, yet he has to rely on other assassins to ultimately convince Oswald to do so.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Stephen Sondheim – November 22, 1963/"Take a Look, Lee"/You Can Close the New York Stock Exchange|url=https://genius.com/Stephen-sondheim-november-22-1963-take-a-look-lee-you-can-close-the-new-york-stock-exchange-lyrics|website=Genius.com|access-date=2021-09-30}}</ref> Schrader argues that "audience members who have encountered depression may find a level of consubstantiality with [him], at least until he is convinced to commit murder."<ref name=":03" />