Review: Assassins

Review – Assassins | Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, Golden, CO | Curtain Up! | Eric Fitzgerald | August 12, 2025

In a nation where the line between heroism and notoriety is often blurred, Assassins remains one of Stephen Sondheim’s boldest artistic risks. The musical gives voice to the disillusioned, the infamous, and the forgotten. First met with critical recoil at its 1990 Off-Broadway debut, it has since evolved into a chilling reflection on American identity and grievance. Miners Alley Performing Arts Center embraces that evolution with a production that is both razor-sharp and emotionally resonant, inviting audiences not just to witness history’s outcasts but to confront the systems that shaped them.

Directed by Miners Alley Associate Artistic Director Warren Sherrill with musical direction by David Nehls, this production of Assassins finds a sharp balance between historical grit and musical control. Sherrill’s staging highlights the show’s psychological tension with well-timed pauses and bursts of intensity, while Nehls guides the cast through Sondheim’s intricate score with precision and impact.

Assassins gather nine individuals who attempted—or succeeded—in assassinating U.S. presidents, placing them in a surreal purgatory, where history, motive, and myth collide. As their stories unfold through song and scene, the musical interrogates the American obsession with fame, grievance, and the illusion of promised glory.

Though I consider myself a well-versed Sondheim fan, Assassins was a blind spot in my musical vocabulary. It’s rarely produced, and yet I’m glad to report that its score bears all the hallmarks of Sondheim’s signature brilliance—complex, unsettling, and unexpectedly lyrical. With a book by John Weidman and a concept originated by Charles Gilbert Jr., Assassins stands as a provocative and essential entry in the canon of American musical theatre.   

Cast

For this significant production, Miners Alley has assembled one of the region’s finest casts. At its center is Julia Tobey as the Proprietor—a commanding “mistress of ceremonies” whose performance is nothing short of sublime. She beckons, controls, cajoles, and ultimately anchors the show with a star turn that strikes just the right pitch, holding together the many angles of this complex narrative.

Each actor offers a compelling mosaic of performances, shedding light on the lives of their socialized outliers. Executed by hanging for the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881, Matthew Murry, with deft precision, inhabits the role of Charles Guiteau, balancing manic energy with eerie conviction. His song “The Ballad of Guiteau” is a high point in the second act, culminating in his final moments before an on-stage execution.

Act II opens with a jolt of manic energy as Samuel Byck—would-be assassin of President Nixon—records a tape addressed to Leonard Bernstein, the famed composer and one-time collaborator of Sondheim. Damon Guerrasio as Byck delivers the monologue with explosive precision, shifting between bitter humor and raw desperation. His Byck rails against political hypocrisy, celebrity worship, and personal failure, all while appealing to Bernstein as a symbol of cultural influence. The moment underscores Byck’s isolation and sets the tone for the act’s descent into fractured logic and ideological fervor.

Other standout performances include Drew Horwitz as John Wilkes Booth, who brings chilling conviction to Booth’s twisted justification of Lincoln’s assassination. Sharon Kay White is disturbingly funny as Sara Jane Moore—eerily ordinary until she starts target practice with a bucket of KFC. Clark Destin Jones pulls double duty as both the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, shifting seamlessly between roles and delivering with equal impact.

Direction

Director Sherrill delivers a focused, practical interpretation that consistently hits its mark. Rather than leaning heavily into the show’s more scandalous elements, he maintains a restrained tone that leaves space for the audience to form their own reactions. The result is emotionally layered and thought-provoking—neutrality feels impossible once the final notes land. It’s a masterclass in staging Sondheim, with a director fully in control of the material.

Musical Contribution

Musical director Nehls (Keyboard) has put together an onstage quartet including Dave DeMichelis (Banjo & Guitar), Adonai Randall Briggs (Bass), and Steve Wright (Drums). Together they form a dynamic musical presence, their interplay as compelling as the drama unfolding around them.

Stagecraft

Tina Anderson’s scenic design, Crystal McKenzie’s costumes, Vance McKenzie’s lighting, and John Hauser’s sound work in seamless harmony to transform the black box space into something resembling a vintage vaudeville house, rich with color, texture, and theatrical flair. Anderson’s revolving turntable anchors the action with kinetic energy; Crystal McKenzie’s costumes evoke period authenticity rich in silhouette and storytelling; Vance McKenzie’s lighting shines between nostalgia and unease; and Hauser’s sound design sharpens every moment with precision. Together, they conjure a world that’s both haunting and spectacular. Each is a master of their craft. Bravo, indeed.

Powerfully directed by Warren Sherrill, with sharp musical direction by David Nehls and a standout cast firing on all cylinders, Assassins is a bold, unflinching theatrical event—one that demands to be seen.