Stephen Sondheim, Neil Patrick Harris, Marc Kudisch, Michael Cerveris, Denis O'Hare, James Barbour - Assassins (2004 Broadway Revival Cast)

"Everybody's got a right/To their dream." So begins Stephen Sondheim's 1991 show Assassins--and in this case, said dreams involve killing an American president. The characters form a veritable rogues' gallery, including John Hinckley, Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth of course, but also half-forgotten luminaries such as Leon Czolgosz (who killed McKinley) and "Squeaky" Fromme (who aimed for Gerald Ford with an unloaded gun). While Sondheim's lyrics are trenchant as ever, his music, which ranges from Sousa pomp to clever little waltzes, is technically brilliant but also oddly uninvolving. (Many fans prefer the recording of the 1991 Off-Broadway version, though "Something Just Broke," which was added to the 1992 London production, makes its recorded debut here.) Still, there are several high points. In "Unworthy of Your Love," for instance, Hinckley and Fromme wax poetic about their unrequited love for Jodie Foster and Charles Manson, respectively, in a Burt Bacharach-style ballad that's deliberately (I hope!) sappy. And of course as with most Sondheim shows, the cast of this revival--Michael Cerveris, Mario Cantone, Becky Ann Baker, Marc Kudisch, Denis O'Hare--is very good. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Amazon.com

Terrifying & Imposing Musical

Only a composer of Sondheim's genius would have the guts take on such controversial subject and pull it off with such skill and humanity. Assassins is a unique musical; both thought-provoking and catchy. Sondheim's songs are alternately haunting (The Ballad of Booth, Another National Anthem) and darkly humorous (How I Saved Roosevelt, Unworthy of Your Love, The Ballad of Guiteau). It's rare that every song in a musical is a home-run, but Assassins is start-to-finish full of brilliant, memorable songs.

So much for Assassins as a show, but why this recording, why not the original 1991 version? I liked the 1991 version alright, the singers do an adequate job, but the orchestration and casting of the revival bring the show to life in a way that the original never does. From the opening with Everybody's Got the Right the surreal, carnival world of Assassins unfolds as vividly as a soundtrack possibly can. The cast is superb; alternately frightening, pathetic, and contemptible. Michael Cerveris as Booth, Denis O'Hare as Guiteau, Jeffrey Kuhn as Zangara and the rest of the assassins sound truly insane at times. Neil Patrick Harris is pitch-perfect as the Greek Chorus onlooker who becomes the cornerstone of the Assassins' pantheon.

I've never seen Assassins performed, but it caught me from the first listen. In the list of Sondheim's inspired musicals, this one stands out; it's terrifying, imposing and unforgettable. October 8, 2008

Uninspired

I can muster only two stars for this revival of "Assassins" and I think I'm being a bit generous, considering that I cannot listen to more than one song at any given time and I usually don't make it through to the end of one. I have listened to it once, in its entirety, and that was more than enough for me; it's since been relegated to occupying space under a pile of DVDs; out of sight, out of mind. In order to write this review, I tried listening to the whole thing again, operative word being "tried."

One thing I immediately noticed about this recording when I first bought it was that something sounded "off," only I couldn't quite figure out what. Once I tried a second listen, with headphones, I realized what it was; rather than being traditionally recorded like most CRs, in studios with proper acoustics, the actors were recorded in a soundproof booth. That may seem like a minor complaint, but it definitely has an adverse effect on the vocals and, by extension, the listening experience as a whole. Rather than re-create the atmosphere of the theatre, in which the voices and instruments seem to fill the room (and provide the wonderful "ring" produced with proper acoustics), the voices here are smothered, deadened, absorbed by the soundproofing material of the studio booth. Several times, one can hear the voices striving to ring out, only to have them sucked into that merciless black hole of foam which makes everything sound unbearably leaden.

Baker gives a wholly detached performance as Moore, sounding as if she's still half asleep and couldn't be bothered to muster the necessary energy. Near the end of the opening number "Everybody's Got the Right," Cerveris and Kudisch (as the proprietor) sound so much alike, I can't tell which man is singing which line. The proprietor comes across far too smug and smarmy, rather than slick, smooth and Machiavellian (for the latter, think "Chicago"'s Billy Flynn had he failed at law) and Cerveris' accent does shift around during the course of the recording. Although O'Hare does manage to sing a dozen or so pleasant "I am going to the Lordy"s in "The Ballad of Guiteau," it's not enough to win me over. His voice isn't particularly strong and the effeminate quality in his delivery could be considered offensive by some; I merely find it irritating (I freely admit to being partial to Hadary's interpretation of Guiteau - you shall be remembered! indeed). In all the performances, notes, at times, seem flat, harmonies not as intricate, and sustained notes are few and far between. All the humor has been completely leeched from "Gun Song."

Other reviewers have mentioned the brighter or "cartoonish" quality of the music and I have to agree with them. The mood created isn't as dark as it should be and I believe Sondheim's score suffers from this particular orchestration. By lightening the tone, the subversiveness is negated and if "Assassins" is anything, it's subversive.

I am appreciative of the inclusion of the spoken parts that tie into the musical numbers, as well as the monologues of Sam Byck, but I can't warm up to, or connect, with this recording. The characterizations seem lackluster, without electricity or nuance. I was disappointed, I wanted to like it and went in with an open mind and high hopes, but, unfortunately, this revival recording is unable to match the brilliance of the original. It would seem that Garber, Hadary, Mann, Korbich et.al did leave an indelible stamp on the material.

"Assassins" is a wonderfully provocative, food-for-thought musical revue that certainly isn't for everyone but, for those who don't mind darker, more cerebral material, it's time well spent. However, if you want to experience it, I can't recommend doing so via this revival recording; go for the far superior, original, off-Broadway cast recording instead. September 5, 2008

Parting shots

Stephen Sondheim's 1991 revue-style musical about US presidential assassins, which intelligently shows the drak Dionysian underside of the Apollonian American dream, has acquired a great cult following since its premiere. In 2001 it was decided to re-mount the show in New York, this time on Broadway, but the events of 9/11 prompted the producers to put it off for another three years until feelings were less raw about national tragedies. In many ways this is a much more successful re-mounting of the show than the original off-Broadway production: the orchestrations are much richer and more clever, and allow for more texture to the entirety. Moreover, this version retains the song added during the London run of the musical, "Something Just broke," which shows the shock and horror of ordinary US citizens when they heard of the four successful presidential assassinations (of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy), which may7 not be musically the most beautiful song Stephen Sondheim has ever written but which is absolutely necessary to convey the repercussions of what the assassins have done. In the original production, Oswald's assassination of Kennedy was treated as more important and more devastating than the assassinations of Garfield and McKinley (and perhaps even of Lincoln), a sentimental choice which may have reflected the personal experience of Sondheim and his collaborator James Lapine but which seemed to work strongly against the transhistorical perspective of the musical (which has all the assassins existing and committing their crimes in near simultaneity). Here all the assassinations are treated as devastating, which seems much more in keeping with the show's intentions and seems much fairer to the memories of those who lived in the time of Garfield and McKinley.

The best thing about this show is it offers a wonderful showcase for singing actors to show their stuff as the assassins and as their two provocateurs and commentators, the Proprietor and the Balladeer (who later morphs into Lee Harvey Oswald). The cast here features several absolutely splendid singers, led by Marc Kudisch (in glorious voice as the Proprietor), Michael Cerveris (who won a Tony Award for his sweet-voiced portrayal of John Wilkes Booth), Jeffrey Kuhn (as Giuseppe Zangara, the explosively furious unsuccessful assassin of FDR) and Neil Patrick Harris (as the Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald). Equally strong is Denis O'Hare, who gives an adorably optimistic and scruffy voice (somewhat reminiscent of Paul Winchell's Tigger for the Disney films) to Charles Guiteau, the assassin of Garfield. April 20, 2008

Brain Candy

Assassins is another one of those uncoventional musicals by Stephen Sondheim. Brilliant in its musical execution but lacking in the kind of heart one often seeks from musical theater. That said, it really does offer a lot of mind fodder as it explores the psyches of those who have attempted to assassinate America's chief executive officers throughout history. You'll be perversely pleased by Sondheim's zesty wit as displayed in the overly cheerful, sweet as candy songs. But soon his saccharin tone leaves you feelin' a bit bitter in the stomach as you try to digest the fact that we are talking something as serious as taking the life of another. Not sure this is palatable for all. But if you want something that makes you think, something that plumbs the playhouse's darker corners, you'll get some kick out of Assassins. Suggested for mature musical hounds. April 5, 2008

Good but lacking crucial parts

Well I was really looking forward to this recording because it has "SOMETHING JUST BROKE," unfortunately they left out major parts of the dialogue of the Lee Harvey Oswald scene. That was a real disappointment. Neil Patrick Harris was very good in the show and in the recording as well. February 18, 2008

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