Assassins Revived After Four Years

Musical “Assassins,” a story about assassinations of American presidents by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, will be performed at The Stage Sept. 26-Nov. 8 in Sinchon, Seoul. / Courtesy of OD Musical Company

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

The musical ``Assassins'' will give a revival performance for the first time in four years since it premiered in Seoul in 2005.

The musical, depicting American presidential assassinations, by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, is deemed the most controversial musical ever written as it shows, from the point of view of the killers, the lives of various men and women who have committed or attempted to commit the crime.

The Korean rendition was first put on stage in 2005 at Seoul Arts Center and was well-received by audiences.

The musical creates imaginary and transcendental scenes by mixing history and fantasy and focuses on dramatizing stories of presidential killers. The revue deals with nine presidential assassins ― from John Wilkes Booth, who shot Abraham Lincoln in 1865, to John Hinckley who shot Ronald Reagan in 1989 ― questioning why presidential assassinations repeatedly happen.

It demonstrates that each presidential assassin is made to confront the fact that his or her act of meaningless violence failed to bring about the desired results, revealing the dark side of the American Dream, politics and culture.

The show premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in December 1990 and sold out its first 73 performances. But the patriotic fervor in the United States at that time, resulting from the Persian Gulf War, prevented it from going to Broadway until 1992.

However, it began to receive critical acclaim for the release of the soundtrack, leading ``Assassins'' to earn five Tony Awards in 2004.

Renowned for various hit works such as ``West Side Story,'' ``Gypsy,'' ``Sweeney Todd'' and ``Company,'' Sondheim is praised for raising commercial musical shows to the artistic level, using his unique and creative styles and mixing provocative subjects.

This year's revival is co-produced by the two musical production moguls, the OD Musical Company and the Musical Heaven, and features a starry cast including Kang Tae-eul, Han Ji-sang and Choi Jae-woong.

The revival production will be upgraded from the 2004 rendition and will be staged in a small theater equipped with 230 seats to enhance the intimacy between actors and spectators.

The orchestral arrangement will be replaced by just two on-stage pianos.

The musical will be on stage from Sept. 26 to Nov. 8 at The Stage in Sinchon. Tickets cost 50,000 won. For more information, call 1588-5212.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr
Source: Korea Times