Everybody's got the right... (Hayswood Theater)

Assassins Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by John Weidman Directed by Taylor Clemons A review by Kate Barry

Entire contents are copyright © 2024 Kate Barry. All rights reserved.

“The President has been shot.” A chilling phrase. Since George Washington, there have been numerous attempts to assassinate the commander-in-chief. An act of terror, for sure but is it a cry for help too? Or an act for love? Assassins at Hayswood Theater explores the lives and motives of those who attempted to shoot the president and those who succeeded and what makes them relatable, if at all.

Conspiracy theories have linked the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to John F. Kennedy. And this is not lost on this musical. Here we see John Wilkes Booth (played with an abundance of flair by Jareth Gaddis) literally guiding and influencing Lee Harvey Oswald (played with a sensitive plight by Tyler Akin). A firm plotline does not serve the play but rather, a common link between nine social outcasts who yearn for change in their lives, society and the world.

These assassins mix and mingle with each other, trading secrets and reasons for their deeds. Some find connection while others are more isolated than before. Jareth Gaddis’ Booth leads the ensemble of killers at the top of the show with “Everybody’s got the right.” Gaddis brings a performance that is fiery and passionate yet calculating. His vocals are lovely in the rendition of “The Gun Song” which he shares with Jeff Mangum’s Czolgosz, Greg Collier’s Guiteau and Jenifer Allen’s Sarah Jane Moore. One thing was for certain, one flick of the trigger could change the world.

As each historical figure is examined, the cast does well to bring vulnerability and humanity to the stage. Greg Collier’s Guiteau is a silly song and dance man with big dreams which never come through. His big dreams are expressed with just the right amount of irony in the “The Ballad of Charles Guiteau. “ Jesse Brown’s Guiseppe Zangara and Jeff Mangum’s Leon Czolgosz are embittered immigrants betrayed by promises of the American dream.

Love and obsession help provide motives for the other killers. Mark Merk is a lonely schlub with an infatuation of a teenaged Jody Foster. Emily Vergason is a hippie with demonic devotion to Charles Mansion as Squeaky Fromme. Vergason is hilarious as she rambles off Manson’s manifesto and rhetoric without even batting an eye. Together, Vergason and Merk version of “Unworthy of your love” briefly shows how a murder could be seen as an act from the heart.

The remaining murderers prove how “lone wolves” can be ordinary people. Jennifer Allen delivers a quirky performance as an unhappy mother who practices shooting Gerald Ford by using a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Zach Trinkle’s performance of the maniacal Samuel Byck resonated deeply in these divided times. As Trinkle’s Byck rambles nearly incoherently into his tape recorder, I could not help but think of those who doom scroll through social media or who get their information from unreliable sources.

Traveling though this review of presidential murders and attempts are two key characters: Mike Bittenbender as The Proprietor and Tyler Akin as a balladeer and later Lee Harvey Oswald. Bittenbender holds a presence of a carnival barker, playing tricks and starting games. He does well to hold up a sense of commotion with each attempt on the president’s life. Tyler Akin is a knowledgeable narrator in the part of the balladeer and he is not afraid of a wink or a nudge at the audience. Akin’s turn as Lee Harvey Oswald shows his range as a performer. Like his predecessors, he shows Oswald as an isolated loner who cannot handle what life has handed him. Akin brings enough emotional strife to Lee Harvey Oswald that one would almost nearly feel sorry for the man responsible for the Kennedy assassination.

In these dwindling days leading up to the election, I could not help but think about the most recent assassination attempts on the former president. These days, such shocking news is sent quickly through social media feeds and text messages. Assassins might turn the point of view onto those who attempted to kill the President but it is clear how such heinous acts can change the world.

Assassins Hayswood Theater October 17-27 2024 115 S Capitol Ave Corydon, IN hayswoodtheatre.org