Assassin’s
John Weidman
Adrienne Arsht Center
Discription The genre of the play was a combination of comedy and tragedy. It is a serious topic, “The history of the madmen that tried to assassinate the president of the United States of America.” All of this addressed in a humoristic way. The story has a space in limbo where all the assassins meet and converse with one another. Their background stories are told and then the play proceeds to show how they attempt the assassination. The stage was designed in a sort of podium with the flag of the US in the middle.
I huge banner with the words “Take your shot” is displayed for the crowd.
Boxes were scattered across the stage which the characters used as props. They also used fake guns.
All characters were dressed as their antagonist assassin. The clothing varied from the occupation they had, and the time they lived in.
The character that stood out for me was John Wilkes Booth, he was the main character of the story, and the assassinator of Abraham Lincoln. He was very passionate about his legacy. He was also the leader of the order of assassins. He orchestrated the play entirely , only showing weakness when he killed himself.
Analysis. The story started of every chapter with a brief insight on whom the assassins were. They explained their life situations and, illustrated the point in which they decided to try to assassinate the president. Some of the motives were very vague and had me wondering if this truly was the reason for killing a president, or if it was all made-up. Regardless, all of them fired at the president at the climax of their individual spotlights.
There is a status of “limbo” in this play, were all the assassins meet up. (A place with no time, or specific location). Talking to each other, before moving on to the next chapter of the assassinations. The main character (John Wilkes) uses this place to stir the gears of the play. I would argue that he is the consciousness of the assassins. After he assassinated Abraham he opened the gates for other madmen. Leading all the way to the killings of JFK. Interpretation. I had a difficult time making relationships with any of the characters. They all seemed mad beyond understanding. Some of them looked normal up until the point they took aim, and shot the president. Others were just fusions of comedic satire and gruelish intent. The audience was very intrigued. I was sitting next to the professor: Ms.Nelson, and she was quiet throughout the majority of the play. I will argue that most the crowd was just reflecting on the humoristic part of the show. Whereas those with an eye for quality tried to understand the story and the motives. Which clearly, were not detailed enough. They could have concentrated less on the humour clichés, and actually show the intent of these characters. I can say that the play is an