Boston's Lyric Stage brings dark sides of American history together in musical "Assassins"
BOSTON - A new production of Assassins is taking audiences at the Lyric Stage through the dark side of the American dream.
The Stephen Sondheim musical tells the story of all of the presidential assassins and would-be assassins in U.S. history.
At the theater in Boston's Back Bay, the production focuses on a cycle of political violence.
"Each of these assassins are angry, and that anger drives them to do something incredible. It drives them to do something that they believe to be extraordinary, but we as audience members know, is dangerous," actor Jackson Jirard told WBZ-TV.
During the musical, each of the assassins tries to justify their actions to the audience.
Dan Prior, who plays the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, said, "You are watching these assassins and going oh, they're not so bad. And then you have to go, 'Hang on a minute. What actually went on in history? What actually is similar to it now?'"
Courtney O'Connor, the show's director and the producing artistic director at the Lyric, says it's a topic we shouldn't shy away from.
"We have to run towards this story. We have to pay attention to the people who are feeling unheard. We have to pay attention to those who are saying, 'Please hear what I'm saying. Please hear my discontent.' And if we ignore them, if we've run away from it, they're stuck screaming in a void and that's what's going to lead to these kinds of actions. So it is dangerous to do this play but I also think it's necessary."
You can see Assassins at the Lyric Stage through October 15.
