THEATRE REVIEW: ASSASSINS
8 Feb'10

'Assassins' to die for

JOHN COULBOURN -QMI Agency
Rating: 5 out of 5

Every now and again, a production comes along that offers a stunning reminder that, theatrically speaking, the word 'ensemble' is more than merely a collective noun to be used when one doesn't have the space to list an entire cast. ASSASSINS, a production from BirdLand Theatre and Talk Is Free Theatre that opened at the Theatre Centre last Thursday, is one such production.

Written in 1990 by musical theatre genius Stephen Sondheim in a collaboration with John Weidman, Assassins is not so much the thinking man's musical as it is the thinking American's musical, concerned as it is with the uniquely American penchant for taking potshots at people in power — particularly, the popular pastime of attempting to unseat the sitting President of the United States of America through the use of deadly force.

From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald to Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme and John Hinckley, Sondheim and Weidman culled the history books to assemble a unique cast of characters. Ignoring timelines and other constrictions of logic, they bring everyone who has ever approached a president with murderous intent to a single stage and wring them dry for the sole purpose of examining their motivations and their madness with a view to establishing the links between the American dream and the American nightmare.

Considering its subject matter, it is perhaps not surprising that, while ASSASSINS has achieved something akin to cult status with Sondheim fans, it has never found the wider American audience it so richly deserves. Happily, Sondheim's popularity doesn't recognize borders — so ASSASSINS has enjoyed success both in London's West End and here in Toronto, where an earlier production earned a following more than a decade ago.

But this new one is a production for the ages, despite the fact that it is obviously produced on a shoestring — and the reason can be found in that single word, ensemble.

Somehow, actor-turned-director Adam Brazier has assembled a rich mix of well-known musical theatre performers and developing talents for his project and fused them in such a way that they rise so far beyond the sum of all their parts that one suspects the word 'ensemble' might just be defined as a theatrical state of grace.

Under Brazier's direction, Graham Abbey, Jay Davis, Kaye Hewlett, Martin Julien, Trish Lindstrom, Paul McQuillan, Mike Ross, Steve Ross, Eliza-Jane Scott, Christopher Stanton, Jonathan Tan, Alicia Toner, Geoffrey Tyler and Kieran McNally-Kennedy all come together in a production entirely devoid of star turns. Instead, each performer is focused almost entirely it seems on telling their story in the best possible fashion. And to add to their accomplishments, many play musical instruments while they are doing it.

And Brazier doesn't stop there, deftly incorporating the handiwork of musical director Reza Jacobs and his three musicians, as well as that of set designer Beth Kates, costume designer Erika Connor and lighting whiz Gareth Crew in such a way that their contributions support the ensemble as well.

Miraculously, they conspire to transform the shortcomings of the space and the limitations of their budget into virtues that make the production even more memorable. The result is not merely riveting, but often thrilling too, as actors like McQuillan, Julien, Lindstrom and Tyler turn in what may be the best performances of their careers to date, supported at every turn by the solid, grounded skills of castmates like the two Rosses, Scott and Stanton and their director's heretofore unexplored ability.

Together, they transform ASSASSINS into a team undertaking that , for a theatre lover, is certain to make anything that happens centre ice or centre field (short of a cup for the Leafs) pale by comparison.

If you love musical theatre and somehow manage to miss this show, you just might feel like shooting yourself.