CSC’s ASSASSINS Revival - Previews- Page 6

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 11/30/21 at 10:01pm

Well, I thought the opposite from what I saw tonight. I thought it was refreshing to see Judy Kuhn in this role; she was hilarious.

The unsung heroes of this production are the ensemble. All strong multi-instrumentalists and singer-actors. And the star of the show in my eyes was Ethan Slater, who never left the stage. His breath control in “The Ballad of Czolgosz” is a wonder.

I was left underwhelmed by Wesley Taylor (he had trouble singing the role, maybe he had an off night), and I’m unsure what the overall conceit was, especially at the top of the show and the ending with the Proprietor, but I otherwise really enjoyed this production.

[raddersons]

Posted: 11/30/21 at 11:56pm

Absolutely shocked by negative reports in here, although pleased to see them get more positive with time. Really thought this production was electric. Absolutely gripping. Loved the three sided staging which was TRULY three sided and didn’t leave the sides hanging at all wondering what things looked like. The final 15 minutes are so raw and emotional and TENSE. So much of the show is tension. I didn’t find anything particularly “heavy handed” other than a single projection at the end, but based on some other things I’ve seen recently, I’d rather a heavy handed statement than no statement at all. I don’t think I’ll see a better Assassins. 

[Synecdoche2]

Posted: 12/1/21 at 10:58pm

This production is not funny enough. I've seen community theatre productions with an audience that laughed three times as much. The pacing and the timing of the comic scenes here completely hide the extremely sharp construction of the book.

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 12/2/21 at 9:51am

Synecdoche2 said: "This production is not funny enough. I've seen community theatre productions with an audience that laughed three times as much. The pacing and the timing of the comic scenes here completely hide the extremely sharp construction of the book."

I agree. Overall I loved the production, but I love the show in general so I may be biased. I only remember one or two lines that really got laughs ("I do everything for this stomach!" "Have you tried shooting Franklin Roosevelt?" "You think it will help?" "It couldn't hurt." but in particular I remember Zangara's "I go down to Miami kill Roosevelt" not getting any laughs, which is unfortunate because the next line is supposed to be addressing the audience's laughter, and didn't make much sense.

[Codeman109]

Posted: 12/3/21 at 11:20pm

Just got back from the show - we had a wonderful time and have been waiting to see this for forever. The cast is top-notch; standouts for me were Steven Pasquale and Will Swenson. Was very impressed with Ethan Slater!  Would love to see this transfer to Circle in the Square or a tiny theater - would be a shame for anyone to miss out on this.  There wasn’t an empty seat in the audience tonight for those keep tracking of those things. I am not a fan of loud noises/gunshots and was all good with this. Beyond thrilled we finally got to see this :)

[52889j]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 12:51am

muscle23ftl said: " To see a Broadway legend like Judy Kuhn saying "****" is not my idea of a fun night at the theater. "

Fellas, is it not legendary to use profanity?
 

Anyway, I saw this today and Kuhn was brilliant.

 

[BJR]

Posted: 12/5/21 at 7:48am

Huge Doyle fan here and I must say I was let down by this. I have to echo some others that his approach didn't suit this material well.

That said, an incredible cast all doing absolutely incredible work. The show remains brilliant, the cast is brilliant, and shame the production isn't on the same level. Still very much worth seeing.

[binau]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 8:16am

“another national anthem” onwards was among the most thrilling of any a Sondheim production I’ve personally ever seen and re: earlier comments about not getting the purpose the ending really does spell it out quite explicitly with the two downstage actors and the projection (maybe they could have been more subtle but it works). 
 

I do think the production would have benefited from a bit more energy and faster tempos earlier in the show though. I’m sure it’s a directorial choice as the cast is stellar but I have to agree with some concerns that Doyle might have sucked a bit of the humour out and maybe a bit of the spark/passion too. I remember laughing so hard at some of these scenes before that seemed to fall flat. 

I would LOVE a cast recording and think it’s needed not just to capture the cast but the orchestrations too. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 12/8/21 at 3:27pm

Scored two last minute tickets for tonight. Definitely worth keeping an eye on the site day-of for seats. I noticed a couple other dates this month as well that are now gone.

I’m very excited, despite the mixed reports here. It’s my husband’s favorite Sondheim show and I’ve never seen a full production live (with the exception of the Encores concert). Not a fan of Doyle’s direction generally, but I guess we’ll see how it goes.

[BJR]

Posted: 12/9/21 at 8:16am

It's still worth seeing. For what it's worth, my date had never seen a production and absolutely loved it. (I didn't mention my misgivings because I wanted him to hold the experience of witnessing Assassins with him, untarnished.)

I'll echo the tempo and energy/punch thoughts. Again, huge Doyle fan and often find by stripping things away, he reveals. But in this case, by moving in a more lyrical direction, the show lost some of the rhythms it has as a revue, of sorts. There's something very American, bold, and brass about the piece. And the lyricism softens these edges, makes it more contemplative, and I fear for little gain.

But again, still worth it for the cast alone.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 12/15/21 at 8:56am

I saw it on Sunday. As this is a Sondheim piece I’d had no familiarity with it’s been on the top of my list since it was announced. While it’s an unsurprisingly strange show I thought it was rather thrilling. I thought the show was very funny when it tried to be (I thought Tavi and Judy were particularly fun) but chilling at others. Ethan Slater was the standout for me, he has such a wonderful sounding voice that he can do so much with. I found the ending moments actually goosebump inducing, like mouth dropped, it felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I’d recommend it.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 12/24/21 at 9:14pm

Very curious to hear how Something Just Broke and the last segment are staged, because that song has always struck me as Sondheim at his most unnecessarily treacly.

[AuroratheGeek]

Posted: 12/24/21 at 10:25pm

Charley Kringas Inc said: "Very curious to hear how Something Just Broke and the last segment are staged, because that song has always struck me as Sondheim at his most unnecessarily treacly."

I agree. I had never seen a production until this one. Really enjoyed it but Something Just Broke felt out of place and didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the show. I wasn't emotionally moved by it (maybe I'm just used to too much sad stuff, or maybe it was the production). Otherwise it just is such a huge turn that isn't necessary. 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 12/25/21 at 3:28am

I really enjoyed this production! My friend won lottery tickets, so we only paid $15 per ticket. 1000000000% worth it at that price, lmao. She seemed to have a life-changing experience of some sort in that theater. I love her very much, but I did not. It was still phenomenal though. The performances were incredible and I loved the staging. I'd totally love to see this go to the Circle in a Square at some point! It definitely came across as lighthearted to me, but not necessarily super funny. 

[benfox2]

Posted: 12/25/21 at 8:33am

I’m looking for 2 tickets for Saturday January 29th. Preferably Matinee but the evening show would work too! 
 

Does anyone know where you enter the lottery, and what time I should try to enter? I’ll be in the city that day regardless and would love to try to win.

Thanks!

[gleek4114]

Posted: 12/25/21 at 8:00pm

benfox2 said: "I’m looking for 2 tickets for Saturday January 29th. Preferably Matinee but the evening show would work too!


Does anyone know where you enter the lottery, and what time I should try to enter? I’ll be in the city that day regardless and would love to try to win.

Thanks!"

I’m friends with Judy Kuhn on Facebook and from day 1 she’s been encouraging people to come wait in line at the theatre about an hour before showtime and standby for cancellations. Apparently they’ve had a lot of success in not turning many people away.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/25/21 at 8:26pm

The lottery is on TodayTix. It opens at midnight and closes 4 hours before showtime.

https://www.classicstage.org/headlines/assassins-digital-lottery

Yeah, coming to the theater for cancellations may work too; when I saw it, they were filling people into the remaining empty seats right before showtime, though I'm not sure how much demand there will be on the last day that might make a seat more difficult to get.

Updated On: 12/26/21 at 08:26 PM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/26/21 at 8:38am

"The Special Panic of Singing Sondheim", a Tavi Gevinson essay in the New Yorker on her initial fears and what she's learned from singing Sondheim.

"There’s no reason to believe that Sondheim wrote songs to function as lessons, and yet they contain so many. They allow anyone who sings, professionally or not, to feel that we’re Sondheim’s collaborators, animated by the question of whether we’re getting it right."

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/26/21 at 5:40pm

gleek4114 said: "benfox2 said: "I’m looking for 2 tickets for Saturday January 29th. Preferably Matinee but the evening show would work too!


Does anyone know where you enter the lottery, and what time I should try to enter? I’ll be in the city that day regardless and would love to try to win.

Thanks!"

I’m friends with Judy Kuhn on Facebook and from day 1 she’s been encouraging people to come wait in line at the theatre about an hour before showtime and standby for cancellations. Apparently they’ve had a lot of success in not turning many people away."

I wish - tried a couple of times and no go and no luck with the lottery either so far!

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 12/27/21 at 12:59am

For anyone who has seen this production already... are they selling any merch at all for it? And is there a Playbill of any kind? Thanks in advance!!!

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 12/27/21 at 1:10am

At the show they only give you a small sheet of paper listing the cast and crew. There are photos on Instagram and Twitter. Looks like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXZK6luvRaM/
https://twitter.com/goIdenjordan/status/1461910825418072074

But there's a digital program on their website you can download:

https://www.classicstage.org/s/Assassins-Program_121721.pdf

I didn't see any merch, but they were giving away buttons after the show. They look like this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWrEQYkrIqw/

https://twitter.com/classicstage/status/1458479772074381318

Updated On: 12/27/21 at 01:10 AM

[benfox2]

Posted: 12/27/21 at 10:56pm

thanks for your help everyone! I didn't even realize the date I wasn't was the final show day. Yeesh for my luck then. 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 12/29/21 at 7:51pm

I’m another one who went into this having never seen the show, and I was really entertained. I enjoyed the balance between the comedic moments and the intensity. It was interesting to start with masks and occasionally use them. They were appropriately flag themed and it take me out of the show every once in a blue moon when they put them on, but in this current climate, do what you need to do, people.
 

I’d only seen Tavi on screen and wasn’t overly impressed, but she and Judy were a very funny twisted duo. I was most surprisingly impressed by Ethan Slater. He was more versatile than I would’ve expected from SpongeBob. I’m always impressed by Steven Pasquale’s vocal intensity and Will Swenson did a great job with his psychotic charm. Brandon Uranowitz also sounded different than what I’m used to from him, and he was fantastic. The weakest link for me was Wesley Taylor, and I going in, I thought a role that sits in darkness like this would be his strength. He had the intensity, but it was the accent that lost me. 
 

I enjoyed the whole show, but the last ten minutes were the most impactful. I wasn’t sure how a show like this could wrap up and what I should take from it, but that ending was so sad and real. And the final image on the screen told me that we’ll always have a lot of work to do.

Updated On: 12/29/21 at 07:51 PM

[sethepstein12]

Posted: 12/30/21 at 12:35am

DramaTeach said: "I’m another one who went into this having never seen the show, and I was really entertained. I enjoyed the balance between the comedic moments and the intensity. It was interesting to start with masks and occasionally use them. They were appropriately flag themed and it take me out of the show every once in a blue moon when they put them on, but in this current climate, do what you need to do, people.


I’d only seen Tavi on screen and wasn’t overly impressed, but she and Judy were a very funny twisted duo. I was most surprisingly impressed by Ethan Slater. He was more versatile than I would’ve expected from SpongeBob. I’m always impressed by Steven Pasquale’s vocal intensity and Will Swenson did a great job with his psychotic charm. Brandon Uranowitz also sounded different than what I’m used to from him, and he was fantastic. The weakest link for me was Wesley Taylor, and I going in, I thought a role that sits in darkness like this would be his strength. He had the intensity, but it was the accent that lost me.


I enjoyed the whole show, but the last ten minutes were the most impactful. I wasn’t sure how a show like this could wrap up and what I should take from it, but that ending was so sad and real. And the final image on the screen told me that we’ll always have a lot of work to do."

Uranowitz was the star for me. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite Broadway actors. Comparing this with his Tony-nominated performance in Burn This just shows how versatile he is. And he was my favorite part of Falsettos, too! I was hesitant when I saw he was playing Czolgosz, especially since the character is a bass, but he was perfect.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 10:12pm

Saw this tonight. Wow. Just wow. Admittedly, I haven’t seen as much off-Broadway (only 11 shows counting tonight) compared to 70 Broadway shows (72 after tomorrow) I’ve seen, but this my favorite thing I’ve seen off-Broadway. And that’s saying a lot because I’ve seen the recent Sweeney Todd off-Broadway revival and Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish among others. 

All the principal actors were in and I don’t think we had any understudies in the ensemble either.  Everyone was on fire. I loved every performance, but if I had to single one out it would be Will Swenson. I loved how even when he was in the background, he was still visibly in character without pulling focus if that makes sense. I know that’s supposed to be a given, but somehow his commitment to his character was just beyond.   

II’ve never seen Assassins before and I know that some people had said that this production doesn’t have as much humor in it as previous productions.  But I felt like I and the audience laughed plenty including awkward laughter which was appropriate. But I also got a little emotional at the end. I would gladly go back and see this again if I was in town longer.  

i know some have said they don’t see what the point of the show is but for me it felt very relevant. So glad I got to see it. 

Sondheim’s passing was the impetus for this trip and tomorrow I see Company. I managed to stop by TKTS and grabbed tickets for tomorrow’s matinee for my friend and I. $82.50 each. Third row center orchestra, last two seats off the right aisle. Can’t wait! 
 

P.S. I counted at least 20 empty seats tonight.