Assassins I The Age

See article in its original context here by Rebecca Harkins-Cross for The Age.

Reviewer rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Stephen Sondheim
fortyfivedownstairs
Until April 21

Staging an independent musical is not an easy affair, when you’re up against budgets of the likes of last year’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the most recent Stephen Sondheim musical to play in Melbourne.

Director Tyran Parke has done remarkably well with this production of Sondheim’s lesser-known Assassins, first staged off-Broadway in 1990 and locally by the Melbourne Theatre Company in 1995.

In the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre and consequent debates over gun control, its themes are eerily apposite. This revue-style musical reimagines the assassins who have targeted American presidents, from Lincoln’s infamous slayer, John Wilkes Booth, to the forgotten ones who missed their target.

Assassins questions the flipside of the American character – how the God-given right to the American Dream can turn murderously sour; why the lost, the downtrodden or the delusional will express their frustrations with firearms when they don’t win the prize.

This production requires a large ensemble, and here their ranges vary considerably. Nadine Garner is a joy as Sara Jane Moore, a scatterbrained, droll and screechy housewife who attempted to assassinate Gerald Ford. Shane Nagle, Aaron Tsindos and Nick Simpson-Deeks also put in good performances.

A few bung notes early on are soon smoothed out – though some questionable accents endure – and the final numbers are brilliantly realised.

This is social critique with high kicks and harmonies.