Customer Reviews

Assassins: The Broadway Cast Recording

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Having taught classes on the work of Steven Sondheim, I have long considered Assassins to be my favorite of his works - not his best work, but definitely my favorite. I have had a long and wonderful love affair with the Original Cast Recording of Assassins, and with Victor Garbor and Terrance Mann heading that incredible cast, I was apprehensive when I received my Broadway Cast Recording. In the final analysis, it is easy to say that they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but here they are:
1. The Orchestrations on this new Broadway Cast Recording are definitive. They are rich, full, and flesh out one of my favorite aspects of this work of Sondheims; the music that accompanies each Assassin is written in the style of their background and/or time period.
2. The Cast on this new recording is very good. Niel Patrick Harris, who I saw in Sweeney Todd, rises to new levels of excellence. His clarity of tone, diction, feeling, and comprehension make his recordings superior to those of Patrick Cassidy which I did not expect. For those in the fold, the Ballad of Czolgosz is worth the price of the CD alone.
I found that this Guiteau gives us far less vocal flourish and characterization than did the original; but strangely, this does not weaken the character.
The Fromme here is very good, and is "squeaky" only in name, unlike the original.
The only two characters here who are not either better or just as good as the originals are Booth and Moore. With Booth, I felt that he has a deep, rich, and beautiful voice, but he has decided that his acting should occasionally take place outside of the notes of the score. In The Ballad of Booth, he should have let the music be the source of the drama, not his characterization. With Moore... well, I hate to say this, but she ruins the Gun Song, which is a little out of groove to begin with.
Oh, and Zangara doesn't sell me at the end of "How I Saved Roosevelt"
3. The Songs - Yes, Unworthy of Your Love is great here, and the brass give it that extra something that it needs towards the end. Fromme goes slightly flat at one obvious point, but as a whole, a great recording (ESPECIALLY THE TAG WITH REAGAN). Everybody's Got the Right is just as haunting and beautiful as it has ever been. Another National Anthem and The Ballad of Guiteau are definitive recordings. There are also some magnificent tags and dialogue on this recording.
With the song Something Just Broke, which was added to Assassins later, I have always heard said was "out of place" in Assassins, and I now know why this criticism is common. It is not that the sentiment is out of place - the music is. This sounds just like Passion, not Assassins. (Passion was Sondheim's next show, which he was probably writing when he wrote Something Just Broke). This doesn't make it a bad song - actually, it's amazingly beautiful.
Overall, buy this one, love this one, and then buy the Original Cast Recording. (Or vice versa)

While the revival of "Assassins" was still running on Broadway, I was quite curious about this musical. The cast contained many performers I've enjoyed in the past (Michael Cerveris, Marc Kudisch, Denis O'Hare) but unfortunately, I was unable to see this production.

When I heard of the release of the cast recording, I immediately rushed out to purchase it. This recording is the first time I've heard the score to "Assassins" and I must say, I am pleasantly surprised.

The recording if full of pleasant surprises. While songs do have the familiar feel of other Sondheim pieces, they are accompainied by chilling orchestrations and vocal arrangements. There are surprises in the cast as well, especially Neil Patrick Harris as the Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald. Who knew he had that strong of a singing voice?

Denis O'Hare as Charles Guiteau surprised me as well. I enjoyed his Tony winning performance in "Take Me Out" but I had no idea he could sing so well. He is chilling in "The Ballad of Guiteau" and "The Gun Song".

Michael Cerveris, who portrays John Wilkes Booth, has been one of my favorite actors for sometimes now but after hearing this recording, I understand why he won a Tony this season. He is unrecognizable as Lincoln's assassin. His thick Southern accent causes chills to run up and down the listener's spine at points in the score.

Marc Kudisch, Alexander Gemingnani, and Mary Catherine Garrison are also enjoyable as the Proprietor, John Hinckley, and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, respectably. The ensemble, especially Kendra Kassebaum and Anne L. Nathan, is strong. The ensemble piece "Something Just Broke" is probably my favorite song of the score, led by an amazing Kassebaum.

My only complaint is Becky Ann Baker as Sarah Jane Moore. I found her annoying while listening to great pieces such as "The Gun Song", and "Another National Anthem".

Oh, and I must give honorable mention to comedian Mario Cantone, who is strong as Samuel Byck.

I was lucky enough to see the revival of Assassins twice before it closed on July 18th. I'd never heard the 1991 premier recording before seeing the show. I ADORED the show and counted down the days before I could buy the album.

Many of the actors in this recording stand out - Michael Cerveris deservedly won a Tony for his portrayal of Booth, Neil Patrick Harris brings humanity to Lee Harvey Oswald and melodic beauty to the Balladeer. I have to say James Barbour is my favorite with his rich baritone when singing "The Gun Song". The only two that are a bit under par are Jeffery Kuhn (Zangara) - his enunciation and emphasis really annoyed me, I couldn't even understand him in the actual show - and Becky Ann Baker, which disappointed me because she was A LOT more fluid and on pitch in the live show. (She sounds like she might be sick when they recorded this)

Many people say they prefer the original's Charles Guiteau, but I disagree. I find Denis O'Hare to be delightfully insane, still I can understand how one who hasn't seen the show might be turned off by his vocal quality on the CD. It's more his characterization that's wonderful, rather than his singing.

"Unworthy of your love" has a more pop sound here, but that makes it more fun to listen to (It's my favorite song on the CD)

Finally, the packaging makes this all the more enjoyable. (ooh glossy photos!) The songs are individual tracks (a pet-peeve I have with Original Cast Album) and are interspurced with dialogue from the show. (The Reagan comments from the Proprieter are worth the album alone!)

Anyways, this is an almost flawless recording from a powerful, witty, satirical and poignent show. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have! :)

People, THIS is a Broadway revival- definitely not a disappointment. The cast is amazing, and though the interpretations of the characters often vary considerably from the original cast's (Denis O'Hare's Guiteau is much more subtle, Micheal Cerveris' Booth is less charming), all the songs are equally enjoyable. I was unimpressed with Becky Ann Baker (Moore), who kind of ruined "Gun Song" for me- she sounded fairly off-pitch. Neil Patrick Harris, as the Balladeer, also doubles in this show as Lee Harvey Oswald, and while his voice took a bit of getting used to (he sometimes comes off as a little too eager), he really shines in "Ballad of Czolgosz", which is a difficult number anyway. The updated orchestrations are really lovely, and the extra dialogue tracks are great for fleshing out characters like Samuel Byck, who got shoddy treatment on original recording. "Something Just Broke", a song added in London and retained for this revival, is typical Sondheim, and while enjoyable I don't think it really fits in with the pacing and feel of the rest of the show. Overall, this revival really kept the integrity of the original show while adding its own flair. Versus the original recording? I say, listen to both, and make your own judgements. Both are amazing.

I picked up the original cast album of "Assassins" simply because it was a work by Stephen Sondheim. The next thing I knew I had a student doing the final scene between John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald as a dramatic interpretation at high school speech contests and our speech team was attending productions of "Assassins" in the Twin Cities and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. So when the 2004 Broadway revival cast won several Tony Awards it was nice to see that this strange little example of American musical theater was finally receiving its due on the Great White Way.

The setting is a carnival shooting gallery where the assassins who tried, successfully or not, to claim the lives of American Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan come together. Each in turn gets to tell their story on their own terms, usually through one of Sondheim's brilliant songs that allow each assassin their own voice. Who else but Sondheim, aided and abetted in this instance John Weidman, would have John Hinckley (Alexander Gemignani) and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (Mary Catherine Garrison) singing a sweet duet entitled "Unworthy of Your Love" as they bemoan their unworthiness to be loved by Jodie Foster and Charles Manson respectively. The simple melody stands in stark contrast to our knowledge of what these two people went out and did in the name of love.

Part of what makes "Assassins" unsettling is that it really does give each character their own say, from the vitriolic attack upon the memory of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth (Michael Cerveris) in "The Ballad of Booth" and the bitter fury of Giuseppe Zangara (Jeffrey Kuhn) in "How I Saved Roosevelt" to the religious fervor of Charles Guiteau (Denis O'Hare) in "The Ballad of Guiteau" and the cold outrage of Leon Czolgosz (James Barbour) in "The Ballad of Czolgosz." Then there is the off the wall insanity of Samuel Byck (Mario Cantone), who has a rant ("Have It Your Way") instead of a song, followed closely by Sarah Jane Moore (Becky Ann Baker).

Helping the assassins to tell their story are the Proprieter (Marc Kudlisch) and the Balladeer (Neil Patrick Harris), although the later doubles as Lee Harvey Oswald at the end. Of course, the idea of television's Dogie Howser as JFK's assassin is a nice little angle for marketing the show. Other historical figures from David Herold and Emma Goldman to Presidents Garfield and Ford pop up at times, played by the Ensemble, as we look at the reasons given by the men and women that made political assassination a peculiar American blood sport. There are few musicals as provocative as this one. You feel like there should be discussion topics that come with the libretto.

True, it is a bit strange to hear these songs sung by a new cast and in often different ways, but having been exposed to a pair of radically different stagings of "Assassins" I am certainly open to the variations. The booklet that comes with the CD has John Weidman's recollections from June of 2004 on the strange twists of fate by which a show that never made it to Broadway ended up with a Tony Award for Best Musical Revival (although the album title simply notes this is "The Broadway Cast Recording") and short biographies of the nine assassins, along with the tradition synopsis and song lyrics.

Of course you should have both CDs because the original has the entire "November 22, 1963" scene when Booth (played by Victor Garber) and the other assassins show up at the Texas Book Depository to persuade Lee Harvey Oswald to join their ranks. However this new recording has "Something Just Broke," the new song that comes between the Kennedy assassination ("Take a look, Lee") and the finale with the reprise "Everybody's Got the Right." The song is sung by ordinary folks, touching on how people remember where they are and what they were doing when they hear the President has been shot, and serves as a serious counterpart to the Ensemble's other big number, "How I Saved Roosevelt." There is a bit more of the dialogue on this CD, including most of Byck's rant.

It's too bad that this revival didn't have a longer stay. The cast was absolutely incredible, especially Michael Cerveris & Dennis O'Hare. At least it won a Tony for Best Revival!

This is one of my favorite Sondheim scores ("Company" & "Sweeney Todd" being the best) and the orchestrations are terrific on the cd. Lyrically, Sondheim does a terrific job introducing us to these "troubled" people, without suggesting that we agree/disagree with their actions.

Best Tracks include:

Everybody's Got The Right [it's melody sticks with you]
The Ballad Of Booth
How I Saved Roosevelt
Gun Song
Unworthy Of Your Love [a beautifully haunting song]
Another National Anthem

The revival cd also contains "Something Just Broke", which was not introduced to the show until after it's original run in the early 90's.

Both the original & revival casts are great, but I tend to slightly favor the voices of the original production.

In any case, another Sondheim classic!

ASSASSINS was originally supposed to transfer to Broadway after an initial try-out at Playwrights Horizons in January 1991. The poor reviews, a slumping Broadway economy and the Gulf war all conspired against the show being given a full commercial production and after 9 weeks all that remained was a cast album. A successful London staging in 1992 led to more productions in regional theatres giving more people had a chance to see this show. Still it was NOT allowed to be performed at the Kennedy Centre as part of the Sondheim Celebration in 2002. A Broadway revival was announced for the fall of 2001, but the events of 9/11 scuttled those plans. Finally the revival happened at Studio 54 in the spring of 2004. The reviews this time were all raves, and the production won the Tony Award as Best revival. Sales were excellent, though not capacity and the Roundabout announced the show would extend its run.

Except... the Republicans were holding their convention in New York City in August 2004. Their members were barred from attending any "controversial" shows (NAKED BOYS SINGING incurred the wrath of the Republicans when it appeared on a list of plays and musicals for which tickets were available.) Considerable pressure was put on the Roundabout theatre company. The Republicans simply did not want to be holding a convention in town while a show that - they felt - glorified presidential assassinations was playing in one of Broadway's prominent theatres. The Roundabout bowed to political pressure and announced the show would close in mid-July, even though it had been selling out 90% of its seats ever since it opened.

So now we have 2 CD's of ASSASSINS. Which one to get? Hard to choose. The original cast, especially Victor Garber and Patrick Cassidy are so perfect in the roles that it becomes difficult to hear other interpretations. The revival disc includes a little more of the dialogue and one of Sam Byck's powerful monologues. It does skip most of the Texas Book Depository scene, which was a dramatic high point of Victor's off-Broadway cast album. But the ace here is the first (and only) recording of the song "Something Just Broke" which was added to the show for the 1992 London production and was not heard on the original off-Broadway recording. It's a devastating number, and one that gives the finale added poignancy. The song alone might tip the balance in favour of this newer recording.

The packaging is wonderful and includes many beautiful full-color shots of the revival, as well as a detailed synopsis and all the lyrics and text of the included dialogue.

ASSASSINS is an incredibly powerful show leaving you with a lot to think about long after you have left the theatre. The final image is shocking: the assassins line up across the apron of the stage at take aim at various targets in the audience. The music ends. The lights black out. The guns go off in the darkness.

For those familiar with the original cast recording of Assassins, or those trying to decide between the two, I recommend picking this one up. This is easily one of Sondheim's more interesting scores and the subject matter is delightfully controversial in the USA's post 9/11 'gotta love your country' attitude. The obvious advantage over the original recording is the inclusion of so much dialogue, helping us to understand the context of each song a little but better and letting us hear the transitions into and out of songs.

The Broadway Cast is is also terribly impressive, most noticeably Neil Patrick Harris as the Ballader and Lee Harvey Oswald (though I must admit, I miss Victor Garber as Booth, not to belittle Michael Cerveris' work, because he does just fine.) The new orchestrastions are brilliant without being too big for the music itself, and the inclusion of 'Something Just Broke' (the 'I remember exactly where I was when JFK was shot' song, written while the show was in London) is another clear advantage.

So why only 4 stars? It loses half a star for an abridged version of the scene between Oswald and Booth, and another half star for, at times, almost sounding too polished. While I'm sure it's brilliant llive, one or two points come across a little sanitized on CD. But this is a minor minor quibble and the CD delievers on every conceiveable level.

I was captivated by the musical Assassins when my brother handed me the original Off-Broadway cast album. I listened to it on repeat for days at a time. The subject matter and music was some of the best I had ever witnessed. After hearing that a revival was in progress (exactly what this CD is,) I knew I had to go to New York and see it. I saw it exactly one week before it closed on Broadway and it has become one of my favorite musicals.

Assassins is not your normal musical. Like Sondheim's Company, It deals more with theme than story. We are told the stories of eight men and women who attempted to assassinate the President of the United States. But, Sondheim and Weidman don't merely dismiss them as insane creatures like American history books do, we are told rich stories of who they are and what they meant to the country and to life itself. Without them, our country would be much different than it would today. It also shows us how these people are no different like us. They have dreams and do what they can to achieve them, "even though at times they go to extremes." As you can see, a show that explains seriously and sometimes even promotes cruel assassins is not one most people would want to see. But as a musical lover as well as a history lover, it is something I looked into very seriously and it has changed my views of people and life itself. This music can do that for you.

If you enjoy Sondheim music, especially more contemporary ones like Company and Merrily We Roll Along, you'll love this musical. It is extremely rich in melodies and lyrics. These songs will get into your head and keep coming up throughout your day. It definitely has one of the best scores of any musical that has appeared on Broadway. If you are open to new ideas in musical theater, especially for serious subject matter, then this soudntrack is for you. If you want a musical that makes you think instead of one you can just listen to and enjoy, then this soundtrack is for you. It also contains numerous portions of Weidman's book, which is superb. Had this musical first come out in 04, it would have no doubt won a Tony. The best pieces are the monologues said by Sam Byck (played by Mario Cantone on the soundtrack). One of them is on the CD and it is just as riveting as it was in the theater. Also, a small piece of the final scene is on the CD, and it once again is exceptional.

There are many reviews arguing which soundtrack is better, this one or the original cast. They are both great, but I think this revival cast has a bit more flare and understanding in it. Victor Garber is amazing, but Michael Cervanis goes beyond all of that and is jaw-dropping (thus winning the Best Featured Actor Tony in 2004). Denis O'Hare (Charles Guiteau), Mario Cantone (San Byck), and Marc Kudisch (Proprietor), go above and beyond the actors in the original cast. There is also a new number on this CD (Something Just Broke,) which is a great addition. That coupled with numerous scenes left out of the first CD make this one the must buy. If you like this cast and want to also purchase the next one, then do that, but this is a good place to start. Do yourself a favor if you like contemporary theater and Sondheim and just purchase this CD. It will be one you pop in for years to come.

Although "Assassins" is generally considered one of Stephen Sondheim's more minor works, I think it's one of his most compelling scores. First of all, this is a musical about presidential assassins and would-be assassins--an inherently fascinating topic. Also, the approach is daring and original--"Assassins" is not a history lesson, but actually combines history with fantasy in examining the various figures and trying to make sense of what made these troubled souls tick. Sondheim's songs are varied, and each works brilliantly. They are highly effective in giving the assassins voice, and, when necessary, do a good job of conveying various time periods. Among the score's highlights are the ironically jolly "Everybody's Got the Right," which imagines the assassins mingling in a surreal shooting gallery, and "The Gun Song," in which the assassins sing lovingly about their weapon of choice. My only complaint is that I wish there were a few more songs in the score-- it seems a tad too short.

As for this revival recording, it actually improves on the original version. The cast, headed by Michael Cerveris and Neil Patrick Harris is top-notch, and give the material a bit more immediacy and excitement than the original (also fine) cast. This recording also features more transitional material between numbers, which creates a more cohesive feeling overall. Also included is "Something Just Broke," a dramatically effective number that gives a necessary voice to ordinary Americans impacted by the assassins (The song also happens to sound exactly like it came from "Passion," which I guess proves that even Sondheim occasionally plagiarizes himself-- an accusation usually reserved for Andrew Lloyd Webber). This recording does, however, cut much of the Lee Harvey Oswald scene that was included on the original. Still, it doesn't feel like much of a loss-- that scene felt too long on the original, as if it was being used to fill up the somewhat short running time. Besides, here we get a biting and hilarious rant by Mario Cantone as Sam Byck.