'Assassins' take shot at spotlight tonight

You thought you'd heard every theory there was about who shot JFK. The lone shooter. The grassy knoll. You sat through the all of Kevin Costner's ranting and raving, but you've never heard this one: John Wilkes Booth came to convince Lee Harvey Oswald to join the ranks of past and future assassins in the spotlight of everlasting fame. Showcasing the innermost thoughts of assassins and would-be assassins from Booth to John Hinckley, Quadramics will present Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. "It has a sort of macabre charm," said director Samara Epstein, a College and Wharton senior. With motives from book promotion to an ulcer, America's favorite murderers dance and sing, wielding a wide array of weapons. "Quadramics has always had a firearms fetish, and this was our opportunity to finally fulfill that," said College junior Mike Phillips, who plays Leon Czolgosz. "We used to think [the assassins] were nuts, but they thought this was the only option," said College junior Megan Wozniak, who plays Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. "They might have been a little psychotic, but they really believed in what they were promoting." College junior Mike Shames, who plays Booth, speculated about the musical's twisted message, saying, "I guess it's saying to people that they should stand up and be heard. . . and if the only way to do that is to shoot a President, then, by God, that's their human right." Because Assassins is one of Sondheim's lesser-known musicals, Sean Aherne, a College junior and ensemble member, said he believes it to be a contrast to last year's show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. "I think it's just a really different concept for a musical," Wozniak said. "It's not the flashy, fluffy stuff." Similarly, Epstein explained, "It's not about heroes and love songs. It's about villains and the flip side of the American Dream." Assistant director Tom McManus, a College junior, warned that the show might be disconcerting for most audience members. "It deals with a subject that is basically at the soul of entire generations," he said. "America has a very bloody history, and it's something that people don't have immediately in their conscious mind." With a running time of just under two hours, Assassins is performed with no intermissions. Quadramics will present the show tonight and tomorrow night as well as April 14 through 17. All shows will start at 8 p.m. Tickets will be sold for $5 on Locust Walk this week and next week, and they can be purchased at the door.

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