Aliso Laguna News was invited to a performance of Assassins at Saddleback College last night. The sold-out musical was thought-provoking and the actors were remarkable. Director Mark McQuown calls this cast, “his dream cast”. This popular Sondheim Musical was well attended and unfortunately for those that still want to see it, all nights are sold out. (Remember to buy your tickets early for all Saddleback performances as they sell out quickly and you will be competing for tickets with students who are required to attend shows throughout the year).
Photo credit: David Jayden Anthony
The purpose of this musical is more than entertainment. It speaks volumes about societal norms and the problems that are always brewing in free countries. The show memorializes the pitifulness of the Assassin’s lives – which give some light or rather some insight into why they might commit these dark acts of violence.
The genius of Sondheim’s work uses contrasting rhythmic song and dance through dark and disturbing scenes. The ‘Assassins’ think that they are entitled to their right to be happy, not even aware or concerned that they are taking away the rights of the people of this country to feel safe and happy. They kill people that are important; individuals that people look up to and admire. Those hunted and shot at were leaders and role models that while alive some took for granted.
This is beautifully expressed in the number ‘Something Just Broke”. Added to the show for the Broadway revival to cover fears of the show coming off as anti-establishment in a post 9/11 world, it shows the emotions and actions of the general public after the assassinations. After seeing the world through the eyes of the Assassinators, it is nostalgic and sad to take a step back and remember what it was like to be alive during a traumatic event such as these, and that we really don’t truly understand how important our leaders are to us until they are gone.
Photo Credit: Ricky Alleman
All the actors were outstanding. Jared Schrimp as Giuseppe Zangara gave an ovation performance. Zangara was an Italian immigrant that attempted and failed to assassinate FDR. He complained about major stomach pains his adult life that was later attributed to his gallbladder but was left untreated during his life and ultimately drove him insane. His execution lacked media coverage which produced the song “How I Saved Roosevelt”. Jared Schrimp is truly believable as Giuseppe and it was heartbreaking to watch him perform. I just cringed through every scene where he is playing a character who is in such intense physical and emotional pain. Jared Schrimp is a current student at Saddleback College majoring in English. He attended San Juan Hills High School. Previous roles at Saddleback College include Bess Truman/A Presidential Aide/President Eisenhower in First Lady Suite, Donald in You Can’t Take It With You, Mr. Maraczek in She Loves Me, Matt in Bare: A Staged Reading, and Bernstein in Dogfight. At San Juan Hills High School, he played Bela Zangler in Crazy for You, Jud Fry in Oklahoma!, and Caldwell B. Cladwell in Urinetown.
Ronan Cho was both hilarious and terrifying as Sam Byck (in his disheveled Santa Costume) who caused so much mayhem while trying to achieve his hijacking plot to take a 747 and crash it into the White House to kill Richard Nixon. Ronan Cho is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. He is now a student at Saddleback College studying Vocal Performance. He attended Tesoro High School. This is his first role in a play.
Photo Credit: David Jayden Anthony
It was a great night of theatre. So intense and so surreal, but also entertaining in a very creative and challenging way. If you are going to see it sometime, I would recommend that you read up on all the back stories. There is a lot of information covered. I put some time into learning about the show beforehand and that made the night less complicated for me. I was able to follow the plot well and keep the characters straight as they went through the various Assassinations.
Susan Espenschied
Publisher Aliso Laguna News/ Green Local News
The Cast of Characters:
Proprietor – Edwin McCormick
John Wilkes Booth – Ricky Alleman
Leon Czolgocz – Nick Garabedian
Samuel Byck – Ronan Cho
John Hinkley – Kyle Ray
Lee Harvey Oswald – Collin Cadili
Balladeer – Madison Banks
Emma Goldman – Allie Crupi
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme – Jennifer Hardy
Sara Jane Moore-.Jessa Cole
Giuseppe Zangara – Jared Schrimp
Charles Guiteau – Max Kauffman
Ensemble – Edwin McCormick, Michael Lahaderne, Brigitte Espenschied, Allie Crupi, Seth Forkish, Joseph Perez
Production:
Production Crew Artistic & Production Staff Stage Manager: Assistant Stage Manager: Theatre Production & Operations Manager: Technical Director: Acting Costume Supervisors: Charge Painter: Light Board Operator: Spot Operators: Production Crew Running Crew: Construction Crew: Marley Rindshoj Alex Lum Michelle Macdougall Jackson Michael McCormick Ineke Pretorius, Mehran Kalantari Chris Holmes Joshua Smothers Michelle Keys, Jacob Yurkovich Greyson Brengle, Miranda Carpenter, Ty Kaneishiro, Kyle Rutman, Kristina Savage, Andrew Tepas Jacob Yurkourch, Kristina Savage, Andy Teper, Mikayla Katlensky, Ty Kaneshiro, Joshua Smothers, Michelle Keyes, Kyle Rutman, Miranda Carpenter.
Mark McQuown (Director) has worked in theatre as an actor, director, technical director, educator, playwright, designer and artistic director.
David Jayden Anthony (Musical Director) has been an Orange County-based director, music director and vocal coach for the past 20 years.
Marley Rindshoj (Stage Manager) is a current student at Saddleback College majoring in Entertainment and Theatre Technology.
Directors Note From Mark McQuown
Assassins, the book, is written by John Weidman and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim. The piece opened Off-Broadway in 1990 at Playwrights Horizon and played for 73 performances. The show opened in London two years later, 1992, at the Donmar Warehouse under the direction of Sam Mendes and played for 76 performances.
Assassins came back to life in 1993 at The San Jose Civic Light Opera in California and then later in 1994 at The New Line Theater in St. Louis Missouri. This show was remounted again in 1998 and 2008. In April of 2004, the show opened as a Broadway Production at Studio 54 by The Roundabout Theater Company of New York and played 101 performances with Michael Cerveris playing John Wilkes Booth and winning a Tony Award for his performance.
There have been 16 attempts to assassinate the President of the United States and four were successful. Many of these attempts are little known including the attempt on Clinton, both H.W. Bush and W. Bush, and President Obama. Assassins tell a brief story about nine of those assassination attempts. These nine stories include John Wilkes Booth killing Abraham Lincoln in 1864, Charles J Guiteau killing President James A Garfield in 1881, Leon Czolgosz killing President Mc Kinley in 1901, Giuseppe Zangara’ s attempt to kill Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933,
Lee Harvey Oswald’s killing of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Samuel Byck’s attempt to kill President Nixon by crashing a 747 into the White House in 1974, both Lynette ‘squeaky’ Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, sixteen days apart, attempted to kill President Gerald Ford in 1976 and John Hinkley Jr who attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Assassins is not an attempt to make light of or pardon those men and women who made these assassination attempts, many of them in our own lifetime. Assassins tells their stories so that an audience might see other aspects of their lives and their surroundings which may have compelled each of them, in the end, to attempt an assassination of our President in order to get some kind of justice or satisfaction for wrongs committed against them or against our own country in their eyes. The other facts that I feel are relevant is how old these men and women were and whether or not their age may have played a significant difference in what they finally decided to do and a few facts about Stephen Sondheim.
John Wilkes Booth 27 Samuel Byck 41
Charles Guiteau 41 Lynette ‘squeaky’ Fromme 27
Leon Czolgosz 27 Sara Jane Moore 45
Giuseppe Zangara 33 Lee Harvey Oswald 24
John Hinkley Jr. 26
It may be interesting to note that Lynette ‘squeaky’ Fromme, Sara Jane Moore and John Hinkley Jr. have all been released from prison recently and now live among us, much older than when they started their killing sprees. John is 62, Lynette is 69 and Sara is 87.
Stephen Sondheim wrote; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, and Passion. He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy. Stephen Sondheim is 87 years young and lives in New York City.
