ASSASSINS at Encores Off-Center- Page 7

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/13/17 at 4:06pm

Newsday is mostly Positive, says the production never quite jells into an organic whole, but is still a treat.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/assassins-review-not-a-classic-version-but-it-deserves-a-shot-1.13799488

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/13/17 at 6:13pm

Jesse Green is a Critics Pick, but reads more Mixed-to-Positive, he has a few issues with the production.

Two of the last three Tony Award-winning best musicals — “Fun Home” and “Dear Evan Hansen” — have featured suicide as a central plot point. Other recent winners have spoofed serial killing and mocked religion. Still, I submit that the most shocking mainstream musical ever written is the 26-year-old “Assassins,” which begins with an invitation to “C’mon and shoot a president” and then goes considerably further.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/theater/review-assassins-offers-a-national-anthem-for-killers.html

Posted: 7/13/17 at 6:41pm

No -- NPH was the Balladeer/Oswald - at least in Roundabout production...  It was Kudisch at roundabout -- but according to wiki - Kudisch sang lead on Another National Anthem (not in original production) as well as How I saved Roosevelt and the opening everybody's got a right...Which is to say - it was an expanded part in 2004.  IDK how it is set now.

Also for the person who commented about the balladeer's "lack of costume" - NPH wore a white T-shirt in the 04 production as balladeer and as Oswald -- the JFK assassination was projected across his t-shirt towards the end of the show.

[jayinchelsea]

Posted: 7/13/17 at 11:13pm

Sorry, but my second attempt at seeing this show (first time in 1991) did not convince me of its greatness. It all felt fairly tedious, and with so few musical numbers, the nearly two hours felt interminable. The book scenes, even the "funny" ones with Sara Jane Moore, become repetitive, and the production seldom feels cohesive enough to carry the evening along. Some of the singing, notably Pasquale and Hensley, was fine, but other roles seemed undercast musically.

While it will never be a favorite of the Sondheim shows, the original production was far better, imo. Probably don't need to see it again, which is something I never feel after watching one of his shows.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 7/13/17 at 11:26pm

I talked to my friend on the phone today who saw the production and she elaborated on her opinion of the show.  I thought that I would share some of her thoughts.

I'm out of town right now so I won't be able to see this production, but I happen to adore Assassins, as does my friend.  We saw both the original and the absolutely brilliant Roundabout production, which I had the honor of working on, and also the incredible Menier Chocolate Factory production, which I wish would move to the city.  She told me right away that she really did not care for this production, at all.  Today she elaborated by explaining to me that the only cast member that she particularly enjoyed was Victoria Clark, but found Hensley and Pasquale very good, but perhaps not who she would've cast for this production.  She said that the rest of the cast faded away into the background.  She basically said that the show is still amazing, but this production is just a bit underwhelming.

[Addison D.]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:01am

I can't agree with the lukewarm reviews.  

I thought the production was splendid and the performances excellent.  In addition to the wonderful Victoria Clark, Steven Pasquale and Shuler Hensley, Clifton Duncan has a strong, colorful voice and a charming stage presence,  Erin Markey was perfectly, creepily, demonic as 'Squeaky' Fromme and I found Alex Brightman's Giuseppe Zangara  unexpectedly compelling.   A great show given a worthy production.

 

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:04am

To anyone who is going this weekend and wouldn't mind, I'd love a signed playbill if you happen to stage door. Would be more than happy to pay for postage and your time. Please PM me if you might be able to help me out. It's one of my favorites and I hate I have to miss it, so I'd at least love a small part of it. If not a signed one, I'd even take an unsigned one. Any help would be so so so amazing :)

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:21am

Deadline is a Rave.

perhaps the most moving and persuasive argument yet for Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Assassins.

Under Anne Kauffman’s miraculously seamless direction (and with Chris Fenwick as musical director), the ensemble soars; especially Pasquale,  along with Steven Boyer as Leon Czolgosz and Danny Wolohan as Samuel Byck. The concerts run though this weekend. Don’t miss one.

http://deadline.com/2017/07/review-oscar-isaac-hamlet-encores-sondheim-assassins-1202128215/

[Kad]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 10:31am

Really loved this concert. And I feel that it needs to be restated that this is a concert, since people seem to be judging it as if it were a full production.  Anne Kauffman clearly spent a great deal of her limited rehearsal time working the book scenes, and that is to a great benefit of the show, even if it means that "Another National Anthem" may have gotten shortchanged a bit and ends up lacking all the oomph it needs. 

Erin Markey and Vicki Clarke end up nearly walking away with the show- and for Clarke, who doesn't even get a substantially musical character, it is especially impressive. It is a terrific comedic performance that really makes you realize how much she has been typecast following Piazza, and what a disservice that is doing her talents. I hope this leads to more interesting opportunities for her. 

I was not bothered by Ethan Lipton and think the bafflement his performance has been garnering is baffling itself. It is a very understated, indifferent, mid century lounge singer take on the character, and while Lipton isn't exactly a Pasquale or Kudisch in terms of voice, he can sing and never attempts to reach beyond his abilities.  His Proprietor's indifferent sleaziness contrasts nicely with Clifton Duncan's earnest and naive yet condescending Balladeer. The Balladeer's casual (but very dismissive) barbs toward the assassins he sings about come across very strongly and really reinforce the idea of the American dream having left these people behind- the Balladeer is not a neutral observer, but an advocate and believer in a philosophy, one that has no place for these people. The Proprietor, meanwhile, comes across as an amoral devil's advocate, offering another national anthem simply because it refutes the other option. A full production would definitely deepen both of these characterizations and the roles both characters have in the show, but the rendering here worked for me and I saw clearly what Kauffman was doing. 

The show packs a wallop- "Something Just Broke" was surprisingly moving to me, and Kauffman's choice for the final moment of the show drew gasps and was a totally logical extension of the show's themes. 

The acting across the board is top-notch, and by filling the cast with performer of varied backgrounds, Kauffman creates an ensemble as idiosyncratic as the assassins themselves. I can only dream of what a full rehearsal period would produce here, given the richness already on display.

Updated On: 7/14/17 at 10:31 AM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 10:41am

I'm very excited to see this on Saturday!  I first discovered Clarke when she played Smitty in the 90's revival of How to Succeed.  She was daffy and brassy and an utter delight.  I don't know why she hasn't done more true blue musical comedy.  

 

[Addison D.]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 11:00am

^^^What Kad said.

I had not previously "felt" the contrast--"competition"?--between the Balladeer's and the Proprietor's points of view until this production.  The staging of 'Another National Anthem' made that manifestly clear, and I found it added an interesting emotional layer to the show,.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 11:51am

Exactly what Kad said.  Every word!

Regarding Victoria Clark:

SoRJ - I'd LOVE to see her do more musical comedy.  

She performed Katisha in the Chorale's performance of THE MIKADO and she got rave reviews for her comedy!  

Review:
"The big surprise was Victoria Clark as Katisha. She gained fame in the musicals Titanic and The Light in the Piazza, and I had seen her as an excellent Nadina in a Connecticut production of Oscar Straus's The Chocolate Soldier.

Clark certainly seized every opportunity to be manically comic. She played with chopsticks in her wig, she conducted the orchestra with them at the end of the first act, and near the second-act finale managed to throw Ko-Ko off the stage, into the parquet. Her voice was not the typical contralto one expects as Katisha, rather a mezzo-soprano register. She made an impression with the first two number in the first-act finale:  "Oh fool that fleest" and "The Hour of Gladness".  She was devastatingly funny. It is rare one gets a truly humorous Katisha."

Updated On: 7/14/17 at 11:51 AM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:07pm

It should be noted that Clarke was also the understudy for Faith Prince in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, which I consider one of the greatest comic characterizations created in my lifetime.

Imagine her Lovett...or Dolly...or Mame...or Miss Mona.  She's one of the most well-rounded, complete singing actresses working in the theater.  

[Musicaldudepeter]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:14pm

It's such a shame she doesn't get more leading lady opportunities. I'd love to see her do Adelaide now, along with Mame, Dolly, Lovett, Rose, Desiree. But no, instead of this, we just see her play the Grandmother role in everything. Oy! 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:20pm

I don't know her personally, but I see her on the street sometimes and she is also absolutely beautiful and glamorous in person.  I'm always confused by the matron she's been playing when I see her looking like a knockout walking down the street.  

[Kad]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:35pm

I agree, Robbie! I've seen her at shows and events, and she always looks stunning. Playing Margaret really seems to have stamped her as "matron" in the eyes of casting people. 

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 12:38pm

I don't know who this turned into a Paen to Victoria Clarke, but I'm happy to keep it going.

I'll never forget her performance in the Encores Follies...when the curtain lifted to reveal her standing in a white gown for Losing My Mind, I gasped.  She was sexy and stunning.  

[JBC3]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 1:31pm

So many of her talents were on display in this slightly cheesy number.

"Don't Laugh" - Sondheim! : The Birthday Concert (2010)

 

[Owen22]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 2:04pm

Wonderful production (as most productions of the show to be).  The Menier is still the peak for me (followed immediately by the original at Playwrights Horizon).

 

Obviously thrown together in a week (Encore productions are rarely tight, though that's part of the charm) it has some standout performances, such as Stephen Pasquale as a definitive John Wilkes Booth and Erin Markey, a rising star of the downtown alt cabaret scene as Squeaky Fromme. She underplayed the character, giving new life to lines I've heard at least a dozen times now.  She will always be, I believe, my favorite Squeaky Fromme ever.

 

Actually the director Anne Kaufman asked actors to underplay a lot of the show. No huge histrionics from Stephen Boyer's Hinkley.  And this guy is an actor we all know can do over-the-top.  Unfortunately, Squeaky was so good, he all but disappeared into "Unworthy of Your Love".

 

Ethan's singing was not Broadway caliber; his is the first voice you hear singing. And it wasn't good. But, I eventually sorta came to love his very spooky take the role, not a very well defined character usually, but this guy gave him a very sinister snake-like quality. And during the "Everybodys Got the Right to Be Happy" (which does not start out well) it becomes clear the he and the (gorgeously sung) Balladeer are warring over the souls of the Assassins, with the Balladeer obviously losing.)

 

I had forgotten Victoria Clark had started out as a comic actress (Smitty in "How to Succeed" and the social climber in "Titanic".). She was excellent, her physicality delightful. She and Squeaky made a darling pair.  Though, Julie White is so exceptional, I would love to see her tod the role some day.

 

Alex Brightman sang beautifully, but didn't do much with the role, though quite a different character than what he played in School of Rock...Shuler Hensley was, as always, perfect. 

 

Kaufman is not a musical theatre director and it shows, as demonstrated in the above mentioned underplaying. There were some stagings that looked, I kid you not, like high school productions (not that the talent wasn't completely A+ New York musical theatre). But the book scenes were crisp and as beautifully directed (and acted) as I have ever seen. 

 

Jesse Green in his review said the show might transfer. I can't imagine it, not in the age of Julius Ceasar-as-Trump getting protests and people yelling at the stage. But it would be wonderful to see what Kauffman could do with this show with some time and some help.

Updated On: 7/14/17 at 02:04 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 2:30pm

Where did Green say it might transfer?

[NYadgal]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 3:36pm

I'd take this cast in a transfer any day!  

(and to close out the Victoria Clark love-fest:  I've had the great good fortune to have met and spent time with her, in rehearsals and at events for the Chorale -- to which she devotes a great deal of time and love --and she is stunning and fun and generous and has a great sense of humor!)

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 10:15pm

Walking out now. I was very impressed with the size of the production that City Center put up, and think Victoria Clark is a total scene stealer (though the performances were very strong all-around). However, large chunks of the show just felt utterly interminable to me. Sondheim's score is delicious, but the book frequently felt like it would never end. I'd love to revisit it later on with perhaps more substantial direction (of course, I get that City Center only get two weeks to mount it), but with the exception of a few moving moments, it felt lacking for me.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 10:28pm

To continue with the Victoria Clark love fest: I had the great good fortune of being selected to be a student observer in a master class she gave at City Center probably about 6 or 7 years ago. She is as magnificent a teacher as she is a performer. 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 7/15/17 at 3:31am

I had a chance to see it again and thought it was tighter although the book scenes were still dragging and at times I found myself thinking about needing to pick up some milk on my way home.

[mar97]

Posted: 7/15/17 at 8:22am

For the most part a great concert production.  A few miss-fires with the staging. Steven Pasquale is excellent as JWB.  Ethan Lipton ruined the opening number. He should never be allowed to sing on the musical theater stage. Ever. Unless you like to hear tone deaf singing.