Kristy

Assassins
John Weidman
Adrienne Arsht Center

Discription
The genre of the play was a combination of comedy and tragedy. It is a serious topic,
The history of the madmen that tried to assassinate the president of the United States of
America. All of this addressed in a humoristic way. The story has a space in limbo where all the
assassins meet and converse with one another. Their background stories are told and then the
play proceeds to show how they attempt the assassination.
The stage was designed in a sort of podium with the flag of the US in the middle.
I huge banner with the words Take your shot is displayed for the crowd.
Boxes were scattered across the stage which the characters used as props. They also used fake
guns.
All characters were dressed as their antagonist assassin. The clothing varied from the occupation
they had, and the time they lived in.

The character that stood out for me was John Wilkes Booth, he was the main character of
the story, and the assassinator of Abraham Lincoln. He was very passionate about his legacy. He
was also the leader of the order of assassins. He orchestrated the play entirely , only showing
weakness when he killed himself.

Analysis.
The story started of every chapter with a brief insight on whom the assassins were. They
explained their life situations and, illustrated the point in which they decided to try to assassinate
the president. Some of the motives were very vague and had me wondering if this truly was the
reason for killing a president, or if it was all made-up.
Regardless, all of them fired at the president at the climax of their individual spotlights.
There is a status of limbo in this play, were all the assassins meet up. (A place with no time, or
specific location). Talking to each other, before moving on to the next chapter of the
assassinations. The main character (John Wilkes) uses this place to stir the gears of the play. I
would argue that he is the consciousness of the assassins. After he assassinated Abraham he
opened the gates for other madmen. Leading all the way to the killings of JFK.

Interpretation.
I had a difficult time making relationships with any of the characters. They all seemed
mad beyond understanding. Some of them looked normal up until the point they took aim, and
shot the president. Others were just fusions of comedic satire and gruelish intent. The audience
was very intrigued. I was sitting next to the professor: Ms.Nelson, and she was quiet throughout
the majority of the play. I will argue that most the crowd was just reflecting on the humoristic
part of the show. Whereas those with an eye for quality tried to understand the story and the
motives. Which clearly, were not detailed enough. They could have concentrated less on the
humour clichs, and actually show the intent of these characters.
I can say that the play is an accurate satire of all the assassins that have lived. Hinting on
their madness, but still illustrating their human side. How the system drove them all to doing
this. In the name of their country and people. Patriots.
The play also made excellent use of the light to portrait the location the characters were
in. Locations such as a fire, towns, execution rooms were all properly displayed. The intention
of the playwright was to humouristically display the mindset of the assassins. Eventhough the
humour was too strong, it was still relatable.

Judgment
I simply could not believe the play. I am too much of a critique. The motives behind why
someone would shoot the president of the US are supposed to be some of the strongest ever.
Sadly enough, the motives were those such as, stomach aches , segregation, to free Charlie and
other far-fetched reasons.
I would have preffered to see a more realistic motive, or even the original one. The

humour of the play was what made it bearable and enjoyable. But when it came to the
actualization , I was let down.
By the end of the story, I have given up on trying to understand why they did what they
did, and just enjoyed the play as a satire. If I could speak to the author during production, I
would influence him to be more factitious. The history of the assassins is something serious and I
dont believe that it should be satired. It is a very strong issue, and should be respected.
The youth should know the truth, and not be entertained by some of the most gruesome crimes in
history.