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''Assassins'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or not) to assassinate Presidents of the United States. The music varies to reflect the popular music of the eras depicted. The musical first opened Off-Broadway in 1990, and the 2004 Broadway production won five Tony Awards. ==History and productions== As a panelist at producer Stuart Ostrow's Musical Theater Lab, Sondheim read a script by playwright Charles Gilbert, Jr. Sondheim asked Gilbert for permission to use his idea. Gilbert consented and offered to write the book; but Sondheim declined, having already had collaborator John Weidman in mind. Weidman had written the book for ''Pacific Overtures'' and would work with Sondheim again on ''Road Show''. ''Assassins'' opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on December 18, 1990, and closed on February 16, 1991 after 73 performances. Directed by Jerry Zaks the cast included Victor Garber, Terrence Mann, Patrick Cassidy, Debra Monk, Greg Germann, and Annie Golden. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', "The show has been sold out since previews began, reflecting the strong appeal of Sondheim's work among the theater crowd."〔Fox, David.( "Critics Say 'Assassins' Will Have to Bite the Bullet : Stage: Some reviewers find Stephen Sondheim's Off Broadway musical fails to hit the target." ) ''Los Angeles Times'', January 29, 1991〕 Frank Rich in his ''New York Times'' review wrote "''Assassins'' will have to fire with sharper aim and fewer blanks if it is to shoot to kill."〔Evans, Greg. "Crix Hang 'Assassins;' B'way Out of Range?" Variety (4 Feb. 1991): 95. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 147. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002〕〔Rich, Frank.("Review/Theater; Sondheim and Those Who Would Kill" ), nytimes.com, January 28, 1991.〕 On October 29, 1992, ''Assassins'' opened in London at the Donmar Warehouse with direction by Sam Mendes and a cast that included Henry Goodman as Charles Guiteau and Louise Gold as Sara Jane Moore. The show ran for 76 performances, closing on January 9, 1993. The first US regional production was mounted by the San Jose Civic Light Opera in San Jose, California in 1993. This was the world premiere of the 13-piece orchestration by Michael Starobin.〔http://www.ovrtur.com/production/2900054〕 Next was the New Line Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri in 1994, and it was re-mounted by that company in 1998 and 2008. Roundabout Theater Company's Broadway production was originally scheduled for 2001 but was postponed to April 22, 2004, because the content was sensitive in light of the events of September 11, 2001. After 101 performances at Studio 54, ''Assassins'' closed on July 18, 2004. Directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Jonathan Butterell, Neil Patrick Harris starred in the roles of The Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, with Marc Kudisch in an extended role as The Proprietor. Michael Cerveris played John Wilkes Booth, for which he received a Tony Award. The 2004 production was noted for a ''coup de théâtre'': the Zapruder film of the death of John F. Kennedy projected onto Lee Harvey Oswald's T-shirt by Projection designer Elaine J. McCarthy. On 3 December 2012, the Broadway cast reunited for a special benefit. Other professional productions have included a 2006 production at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, a 2008 production which ran from January 23 to February 2, 2008, at the Landor Theatre, London,〔Giorgetti, Sandra.("Assassins", )''The British Theatre Guide'', review, 2008〕〔("Assassins – Landor Theatre", )''Indie London'' listing, date unk〕〔(Union Ticks Leanne Jones, Sondheim Assassins )〕 The South African premiere opened in December 2008 as the inaugural production of the NewSpace Theatre in Cape Town. This production was directed by Fred Abrahamse with a South African cast including Marcel Meyer as John Wilkes Booth, Riaan Norval as Lee Harvey Oswald, David Dennis as Charles J. Guiteau and Anthea Thompson as Sara Jane Moore.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Meersman, Brent )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Henry, Zane )〕 The Los Angeles premiere opened in 1994 at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and included Patrick Cassidy (the original Balladeer) playing Booth, and Alan Safier as Guiteau. A 2010 production in Toronto by BirdLand Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Production in the Musical Theatre Division. The Union Theatre, London, produced ''Assassins'' in July 2010, which went on the win Best (overall) Production at The Off West End Awards. It was staged and directed by Michael Strassen. It attained Show of the Week and Critics choice in Time Out.〔 (Attention Finally Must Be Paid ) blogs.thestage.co.uk〕〔(Reviews ) assassinslondon.co.uk〕〔(Official Site, Strassen ) michaelstrassen.com〕 A new production of ''Assassins'' starring Catherine Tate as Sarah Jane Moore, Aaron Tveit as John Wilkes Booth, and Jamie Parker as the Balladeer opened on November 21, 2014 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London and ran until March 7, 2015.〔 (Assassins ) londonboxoffice.co.uk〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Assassins (musical)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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