TNT pulls off ‘Assassins’ to entertain, educate

The play shows another side to the characters, which are well-portrayed by the actors.

By TRACEY D’ASTOLFO

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NILES — Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins” is not only very interesting, but educational as well.

The musical uncovers the personalities of people who’ve killed, or tried to kill, U.S. presidents. It opened Friday at Trumbull New Theatre.

Sondheim’s inimitable and unmistakable style permeates TNT’s “Assassins,” giving it a macabre tone with a carnival atmosphere.

The gaily out-of-place musical score is performed by a small combo behind a red, white and blue shooting gallery, which is the only prop on the bare stage.

The chorus scenes make it clear it is a carnival, with the forbidden fun and mystery that implies. “Step right up and kill a president,” the barker implores as the show begins.

The assassins, who form a strange chorus in the opening number and throughout the musical, are exceptionally well defined by a cast that is one of the strongest in recent memory at TNT. Each actor or actress clearly did his homework to get into the assassin’s psyche.

It’s easy to gauge an actor’s work when the role is based on a real person, because you have a model for comparison. But who really knows or remembers much about assassins? As infamous as they become, their flawed personalities are hidden by the public’s hatred and revulsion for them. But the TNT cast makes a fully dimensional person out of each assassin.

It is interesting to see what drove these angry men and women, and the explanations make “Assassins” a living history lesson.

For some, such as Leon Czolgosz (played by Tom Jones) and Giuseppe Zangara (Terry Shears), it was the rage born or disillusionment felt by many immigrants at the lowest rungs of society. Czolgosz, a Clevelander, killed President McKinley, while Zangara attempted to kill Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Childhood issues stemming from a nasty divorce were at the core of Samuel Byck, also played by Terry Shears in perhaps the most powerful portrayal in a play chock full of them. Byck tried to kill President Nixon.

For others, such as Squeaky Fromme, it was some kind of bizarre hero worship and airheadedness. Alexandria Mellinger is pretty close to perfect in the role, and fun to watch.

The list goes on. Sarah Jane Moore (Connie Cassidy, vivacious and in a great costume!) seemed like a nice lady with a screw loose. Fromme and Moore tried to kill President Gerald Ford.

Then there’s Charles Guiteau (exquisitely played by Chad Downs), who had delusions of grandeur. He killed President James Garfield.

John Wilkes Booth (an exceptional Al McKinnon) was a down-on-his luck actor and racist who hated Abraham Lincoln for tearing up his country. John F. Kennedy killer Lee Harvey Oswald (Mike McGrail) was contemplating suicide.

John Hinckley, the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan (played by Jamie Carroll), apparently did it for love.

Tying the musical’s vignettes together is the glib narrator, played by Greg Mocker. He capably handles the singing of Sondheim’s brilliant music, with its heavily expository, rhyming lyrics.

“Assassins” is directed by Heather Fenstermaker-Whetsone with music direction by Keith Stiver. The musical contains strong language.

X“Assassins” will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Nov. 15, 16 and 17; and at 2 p.m. Nov. 11 and 18. Trumbull New Theatre is at 5883 Youngstown-Warren Road. Call (330) 652-1103 for tickets.