Assassins (1990)
Synopsis
This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence. By giving voice to figures from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Assassins invites audiences not to condone their acts but to confront the unsettling continuity between personal disillusionment and national mythology, turning the musical stage into a mirror for America’s darkest obsessions.
Release Date: 1990-12-18
Runtime: 90 minutes
Director: Jerry Zaks
Top Cast
- Patrick Cassidy as Balladeer
- Victor Garber as John Wilkes Booth
- William Parry Leon as Proprietor
- Terrence Mann as Leon Czolgosz
- Greg Germann as John Hinckley
- Jonathan Hadary as Charles Guiteau
- Eddie Korbich as Giuseppe Zangara
- Lee Wilkof as Samuel Byck
- Annie Golden as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme
- Debra Monk as Sara Jane Moore
Soundtrack
Original Music Composer(s): N/A
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