Presidents in Parody: Assassins
Two Presidents (James Garfield and Gerald Ford) and four assassins of presidents and five attempted presidential assassins are among the cast of Assassins, a 1990 musical with music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim, based on a book by John Weidman. The musical uses the premise of a carnival game involving men and women who attempted (successfully in some cases) to assassinate Presidents of the United States. The musical style varies to reflect the popular music of the eras of the characters. The musical first opened off-Broadway in 1990, and the 2004 Broadway production won five Tony Awards.
The story goes something like this: The play opens in a fairground shooting gallery where human figures go past on a conveyor belt. One by one, a collection of misfits enter the stage, where the person running the game entices them to play in a song called "Everybody's Got the Right". He promised that their problems will be solved by killing a President. The customers are Leon Czolgosz (assassin of William McKinley), John Hinckley Jr. (attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan), Charles Guiteau (assassin of James Garfield), Giuseppe Zangara (attempted assassin of FDR), Samuel Byck (attempted assassin of Richard Nixon), Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, and Sara Jane Moore (attempted assassins of Gerald Ford) and John Wilkes Booth (assassin of Abraham Lincoln). The assassins take aim as "Hail to the Chief" heralds Abraham Lincoln's offstage arrival. Booth excuses himself, a shot rings out and Booth shouts, "Sic semper tyrannis!"
A character called the Balladeer appears and begins to tell John Wilkes Booth's story (in a song called "The Ballad of Booth"). The scene changes to Richard H. Garrett's barn in 1865, where a muddied Nooth, with a broken leg, is attempting to write his reasons for killing Lincoln in his diary but cannot hold the pen. He forces his associate David Herold to write for him at gunpoint. Booth blames Lincoln for the Civil War and for destroying the South, but the Balladeer sings that Booth's motives really had more to do with his personal problems. When a Union soldier calls for Booth's surrender, Booth throws the Balladeer his diary. The Balladeer reads out what Booth wrote and Booth sings of how the act for which he has given up his life will not be enough to heal the country. The Balladeer tells how Booth was a madman whose treacherous legacy only served as inspiration for other madmen like him to damage the country and he rips Booth's entry from his diary and burns the pages.
The rest of the Assassins gather in a bar. Guiteau toasts to the Presidency of the United States, speaking of his ambition to become Ambassador to France. Zangara complains about his stomach pains, and Booth suggests fixing them by shooting Franklin Roosevelt. Guiteau and Czolgosz get into an argument about the American Dream. A radio broadcast, narrated by the Proprietor, describes Zangara's failed attempt to assassinate Roosevelt and how Zangara missed Roosevelt and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead. Five Bystanders are interviewed, telling the audience how each personally saved the President (in the song "How I Saved Roosevelt"). From an electric chair, Zangara sings his refusal to be afraid and that he hadn't cared who he killed as long as it was one of the men who control the money. He is angry that there are no photographers at his execution as he is electrocuted.
In the next scene American anarchist leader Emma Goldman gives a lecture from offstage as Leon Czolgosz listens. He introduces himself to her and declares his love, but she tells him to redirect his passion to the fight for social justice. Meanwhile, Squeaky Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore meet on a park bench and share a marijuana joint. Fromme speaks of the preachings of Charles Manson, remembering how they met. Moore makes a series of false claims about herself and the two women connect over their shared hatred of their fathers. They shoot a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to pieces while laughing hysterically.
Czolgosz laments over how many men die in the mines, mills and factories just to make a gun. Booth, Guiteau and Moore enter one by one and join him in a barbershop quartet in which they honor a single gun's power to change the world (in a musical number called "The Gun Song"). Czolgosz decides his gun will claim one more victim: the President. Czolgosz arrives at the 1901 Pan American Exposition and sees that William McKinley is shaking visitors' hands in the Temple of Music Pavilion. The Balladeer sings "The Ballad of Czolgosz" as Czolgosz joins the receiving line, and shoots McKinley.
In another scene Samuel Byck sits on a park bench in a dirty Santa suit, talking into a tape recorder, preparing a message to Leonard Bernstein telling the famous composer that he can save the world by writing more love songs, and explaining that he is going to change things by crashing a 747 into the White House and killing Richard Nixon. He accuses Bernstein of ignoring him, just like the other celebrities he has recorded tapes for, such as Hank Aaron and Jonas Salk. He goes into an expletive-laden rage, standing on the bench and angrily sings the chorus to West Side Story's song "America" before storming offstage.
John Hinckley sits in his basement playing a guitar. Lynette Fromme enters and tries to convince him to play her a song but he refuses. Fromme notices a picture of Jodie Foster, who Hinckley claims is his girlfriend. When Fromme realizes the picture is a publicity photo from a film, she pulls out of a picture of Charles Manson and mocks Hinckley for being in love with a woman he's never met. He throws her out in a fit of rage. Alone, he swears that he will win Foster's love "with one brave, historic act" and sings a love song to her while Fromme does the same to Manson. An image of Ronald Reagan appears on a wall in the back of the stage, and an enraged Hinckley shoots it over and over again, but the picture keeps reappearing.
Back at the Proprietor's shooting range, Charles Guiteau flirts with Sara Jane Moore while giving her marksmanship tips before trying to kiss her. When she rebuffs him, he becomes enraged and attempts to attack her. Her gun goes off in his ear, and he backs off, angrily proclaiming that he is extraordinary and will be the next Ambassador to France. The scene changes to a train station, where Guiteau goes to meet James Garfield. He asks to be made Ambassador to France, but Garfield mockingly refuses, prompting Guiteau to shoot him. Guiteau is arrested and sent to the gallows, where he recites a poem he wrote that morning titled "I Am Going to the Lordy". When Guiteau finishes, the Balladeer enters and sings about Guiteau's trial and sentencing while Guiteau walks up to the noose. Guiteau sings along with the Balladeer about Guiteau's optimism before he is finally hanged ("The Ballad of Guiteau").
Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore prepare to assassinate Gerald Ford. Moore has brought along her nine-year-old son and her dog which causes an argument between the two women, who briefly turn on each other. Moore accidentally spills her gun's bullets just as President Ford enters the stage. Not recognizing him at first, the two women allow him to help them, but upon discovering who he is, Fromme tries to shoot him, but her gun jams. Having no other resource left, Moore try to throw her bullets at Ford, shouting "bang" as she does so.
Samuel Byck is driving to the airport to hijack a plane, which he plans to crash into the White House. He records a message addressed to Richard Nixon, complaining about contemporary American life, how the American public is constantly lied to, and announces that killing him is the only solution.
The assassins congregate in the Proprietor's shooting range once again and enumerate their reasons for taking action. Led by Byck, they lament that they haven't gotten the rewards they were "promised." The Balladeer tells them that their actions didn't solve their problems or the country's. The assassins realize that they will never get their prizes, that no one will ever care if they live or die, and briefly sink into absolute desperation. The Balladeer attempts to convince them to be optimistic and seek other ways to be happy.
The scene changes to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald sits with a radio and a pistol, preparing to kill himself, but he is interrupted by Booth. Booth slowly and carefully attempts to convince him to not become his own victim and to instead assassinate John F. Kennedy. Summoning the other assassins from the shadows, Booth tells Oswald that by joining them he will finally make a difference, but Oswald refuses. Oswald tries to leave, but the other assassins attempt to convince him to go through with the act. Oswald then crouches at the window and shoots. After the assassinations, a group of citizens recount what they were doing when they heard that the President had been killed and lament that even though only a single man died, the nation has changed forever (in a number called "Something Just Broke").
The assassins regroup once more at the shooting range, now with Oswald among their ranks, and they proudly restate their motto, "Everybody's got the right to be happy," before loading their guns and opening fire on the audience ("Everybody's Got the Right (Reprise)").
Historian and commentator Sarah Vowell wrote a book in 2005 called Assassination Vacation in which she discussed the Lincoln, McKinley, and Garfield murders. In the book she tells how she attended a performance of Assassins, the musical, which prompted her writing the book.
The original Broadway performance closed after 73 shows. A 2004 revival performance closed after 101 performances, but won 5 Tony Awards. In the performance Neil Patrick Harris starred in the roles of The Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald. Michael Cerveris played John Wilkes Booth, for which he received a Tony Award.
Here's a clip of the song "Everybody's Got the Right" from the 2005 Tony Awards:
The story goes something like this: The play opens in a fairground shooting gallery where human figures go past on a conveyor belt. One by one, a collection of misfits enter the stage, where the person running the game entices them to play in a song called "Everybody's Got the Right". He promised that their problems will be solved by killing a President. The customers are Leon Czolgosz (assassin of William McKinley), John Hinckley Jr. (attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan), Charles Guiteau (assassin of James Garfield), Giuseppe Zangara (attempted assassin of FDR), Samuel Byck (attempted assassin of Richard Nixon), Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, and Sara Jane Moore (attempted assassins of Gerald Ford) and John Wilkes Booth (assassin of Abraham Lincoln). The assassins take aim as "Hail to the Chief" heralds Abraham Lincoln's offstage arrival. Booth excuses himself, a shot rings out and Booth shouts, "Sic semper tyrannis!"
A character called the Balladeer appears and begins to tell John Wilkes Booth's story (in a song called "The Ballad of Booth"). The scene changes to Richard H. Garrett's barn in 1865, where a muddied Nooth, with a broken leg, is attempting to write his reasons for killing Lincoln in his diary but cannot hold the pen. He forces his associate David Herold to write for him at gunpoint. Booth blames Lincoln for the Civil War and for destroying the South, but the Balladeer sings that Booth's motives really had more to do with his personal problems. When a Union soldier calls for Booth's surrender, Booth throws the Balladeer his diary. The Balladeer reads out what Booth wrote and Booth sings of how the act for which he has given up his life will not be enough to heal the country. The Balladeer tells how Booth was a madman whose treacherous legacy only served as inspiration for other madmen like him to damage the country and he rips Booth's entry from his diary and burns the pages.
The rest of the Assassins gather in a bar. Guiteau toasts to the Presidency of the United States, speaking of his ambition to become Ambassador to France. Zangara complains about his stomach pains, and Booth suggests fixing them by shooting Franklin Roosevelt. Guiteau and Czolgosz get into an argument about the American Dream. A radio broadcast, narrated by the Proprietor, describes Zangara's failed attempt to assassinate Roosevelt and how Zangara missed Roosevelt and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak instead. Five Bystanders are interviewed, telling the audience how each personally saved the President (in the song "How I Saved Roosevelt"). From an electric chair, Zangara sings his refusal to be afraid and that he hadn't cared who he killed as long as it was one of the men who control the money. He is angry that there are no photographers at his execution as he is electrocuted.
In the next scene American anarchist leader Emma Goldman gives a lecture from offstage as Leon Czolgosz listens. He introduces himself to her and declares his love, but she tells him to redirect his passion to the fight for social justice. Meanwhile, Squeaky Fromme and Sarah Jane Moore meet on a park bench and share a marijuana joint. Fromme speaks of the preachings of Charles Manson, remembering how they met. Moore makes a series of false claims about herself and the two women connect over their shared hatred of their fathers. They shoot a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken to pieces while laughing hysterically.
Czolgosz laments over how many men die in the mines, mills and factories just to make a gun. Booth, Guiteau and Moore enter one by one and join him in a barbershop quartet in which they honor a single gun's power to change the world (in a musical number called "The Gun Song"). Czolgosz decides his gun will claim one more victim: the President. Czolgosz arrives at the 1901 Pan American Exposition and sees that William McKinley is shaking visitors' hands in the Temple of Music Pavilion. The Balladeer sings "The Ballad of Czolgosz" as Czolgosz joins the receiving line, and shoots McKinley.
In another scene Samuel Byck sits on a park bench in a dirty Santa suit, talking into a tape recorder, preparing a message to Leonard Bernstein telling the famous composer that he can save the world by writing more love songs, and explaining that he is going to change things by crashing a 747 into the White House and killing Richard Nixon. He accuses Bernstein of ignoring him, just like the other celebrities he has recorded tapes for, such as Hank Aaron and Jonas Salk. He goes into an expletive-laden rage, standing on the bench and angrily sings the chorus to West Side Story's song "America" before storming offstage.
John Hinckley sits in his basement playing a guitar. Lynette Fromme enters and tries to convince him to play her a song but he refuses. Fromme notices a picture of Jodie Foster, who Hinckley claims is his girlfriend. When Fromme realizes the picture is a publicity photo from a film, she pulls out of a picture of Charles Manson and mocks Hinckley for being in love with a woman he's never met. He throws her out in a fit of rage. Alone, he swears that he will win Foster's love "with one brave, historic act" and sings a love song to her while Fromme does the same to Manson. An image of Ronald Reagan appears on a wall in the back of the stage, and an enraged Hinckley shoots it over and over again, but the picture keeps reappearing.
Back at the Proprietor's shooting range, Charles Guiteau flirts with Sara Jane Moore while giving her marksmanship tips before trying to kiss her. When she rebuffs him, he becomes enraged and attempts to attack her. Her gun goes off in his ear, and he backs off, angrily proclaiming that he is extraordinary and will be the next Ambassador to France. The scene changes to a train station, where Guiteau goes to meet James Garfield. He asks to be made Ambassador to France, but Garfield mockingly refuses, prompting Guiteau to shoot him. Guiteau is arrested and sent to the gallows, where he recites a poem he wrote that morning titled "I Am Going to the Lordy". When Guiteau finishes, the Balladeer enters and sings about Guiteau's trial and sentencing while Guiteau walks up to the noose. Guiteau sings along with the Balladeer about Guiteau's optimism before he is finally hanged ("The Ballad of Guiteau").
Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore prepare to assassinate Gerald Ford. Moore has brought along her nine-year-old son and her dog which causes an argument between the two women, who briefly turn on each other. Moore accidentally spills her gun's bullets just as President Ford enters the stage. Not recognizing him at first, the two women allow him to help them, but upon discovering who he is, Fromme tries to shoot him, but her gun jams. Having no other resource left, Moore try to throw her bullets at Ford, shouting "bang" as she does so.
Samuel Byck is driving to the airport to hijack a plane, which he plans to crash into the White House. He records a message addressed to Richard Nixon, complaining about contemporary American life, how the American public is constantly lied to, and announces that killing him is the only solution.
The assassins congregate in the Proprietor's shooting range once again and enumerate their reasons for taking action. Led by Byck, they lament that they haven't gotten the rewards they were "promised." The Balladeer tells them that their actions didn't solve their problems or the country's. The assassins realize that they will never get their prizes, that no one will ever care if they live or die, and briefly sink into absolute desperation. The Balladeer attempts to convince them to be optimistic and seek other ways to be happy.
The scene changes to the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Lee Harvey Oswald sits with a radio and a pistol, preparing to kill himself, but he is interrupted by Booth. Booth slowly and carefully attempts to convince him to not become his own victim and to instead assassinate John F. Kennedy. Summoning the other assassins from the shadows, Booth tells Oswald that by joining them he will finally make a difference, but Oswald refuses. Oswald tries to leave, but the other assassins attempt to convince him to go through with the act. Oswald then crouches at the window and shoots. After the assassinations, a group of citizens recount what they were doing when they heard that the President had been killed and lament that even though only a single man died, the nation has changed forever (in a number called "Something Just Broke").
The assassins regroup once more at the shooting range, now with Oswald among their ranks, and they proudly restate their motto, "Everybody's got the right to be happy," before loading their guns and opening fire on the audience ("Everybody's Got the Right (Reprise)").
Historian and commentator Sarah Vowell wrote a book in 2005 called Assassination Vacation in which she discussed the Lincoln, McKinley, and Garfield murders. In the book she tells how she attended a performance of Assassins, the musical, which prompted her writing the book.
The original Broadway performance closed after 73 shows. A 2004 revival performance closed after 101 performances, but won 5 Tony Awards. In the performance Neil Patrick Harris starred in the roles of The Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald. Michael Cerveris played John Wilkes Booth, for which he received a Tony Award.
Here's a clip of the song "Everybody's Got the Right" from the 2005 Tony Awards:
Click to view