When one thinks of Stephen Sondheim, the terms \u201cpost-modern\u201d and \u201ccontroversial\u201d don\u2019t oftencome to mind.<\/p>\n
When your CV includes classics like \u201cWest Side Story,\u201d \u201cInto the Woods,\u201d \u201cSweeney Todd,\u201d and even Warren Beatty\u2019s \u201cDick Tracy,\u201d it\u2019s hard to be considered a non-conformist. Yet, Sondheim frequently took unconventional approaches to storytelling, especially as he took more control: \u201cInto the Woods\u201d blurred the line between the narrator and characters and \u201cMerrily We Roll Along\u201d used a reverse-linear narrative structure.<\/p>\n
The composer was also drawn to material no one else wanted to touch: juvenile delinquency; murder; the sexual and violent origins of fairy tales. Those shows may be mainstream now, but they all were controversial upon release.<\/p>\n
Another theater entity known for experimentation and controversial material is the OaklandTheater Project. Their 2026 \u201cLand of the Free\u201d season continues with Sondheim\u2019s incendiary1990 musical \u201cAssassins,\u201d playing through April 19. As with their preceding show, \u201cThe Mountaintop,\u201d this one also examines a watershed American killing outside the laws of space and time.<\/p>\n
Whereas \u201cMountaintop,\u201d about the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,was from the perspective of the victim, Sondheim and librettist John Weidman here give voice to the killers \u2014 all would-be assassins of U.S. presidents. The Commander-in-Chief-killing ensembleincludes no less than John Wilkes Booth, John Hinkley, Leon Czolgosz, Charles Guiteau,Giuseppe Zangara, Samuel Byck, Lynette \u201cSqueaky\u201d Fromme, and Sara Jane Moore. Not all were successful, but each carved out their place in history.<\/p>\n
OTP being OTP, a straightforward staging wouldn\u2019t do. Director Weston Scott\u2019s post-moderntake makes the existence of the musical itself part of the narrative. Actor Adam KuveNiemannplays our nameless extremist, seen doomscrolling through politically charged TikTok videos inhis garage. He begins to record of his own, but can\u2019t seem to think of what to say. It\u2019s then thatthe published script for \u201cAssassins\u201d falls from thin air.<\/p>\n
Perhaps unfamiliar with the show, the extremist listens to a cast recording on Spotify. But doing is better than seeing, so he stages his own solo version of the show right there in his garage,\u00a0 personifying all the killers he idolizes. After all, the show is about the aforementioned killers goading one another into carrying out their attempts, so why not have it radicalize a social media hermit?<\/p>\n
Once again, a great deal of credit has to go to OTP\u2019s go-to set designer Sam Fehr. It\u2019s one thingto make a set elaborate, which he\u2019s done before, but it\u2019s quite another to be both minimalist andintricate. It\u2019s been a while since the FLAX art & design garage has actually looked like, well, a garage. The touches of the conspiracy corkboard board (complete with red string pinned tophotos of Trump cabinet members), the eviction notice, and the spare tools lying about tell astory about our nameless protagonist before he utters a word.<\/p>\n
KuveNiemann, a familiar face to New Conservatory Theatre audiences in SF, certainly has the look nailed for the kind of anti-social white incel who\u2019d be lurking in the comments of a TikTok feed. One doesn\u2019t envy his personifying a full ensemble of killers, but he and Scott\u2019s approach of having them represent the protagonist\u2019s fractured psyche rings true. Modern extremists aren\u2019t known for their love of Broadway, but a song about impressing a girl by killing a president takes on new meaning when sung from the\u00a0lips of a social media loner.<\/p>\n
The singing varies throughout the show. KuveNiemann clearly has range, but a few ill notes make one wonder if his voice cracked from exhaustion (he shouts quite a lot) or if it\u2019s a choice to show the character isn\u2019t a trained vocalist?<\/p>\n
Unlike Sondheim and Weidman\u2019s book, OTP ends their production with our protagonist at acrossroads: he hasn\u2019t killed anyone yet, but there\u2019s nothing stopping him from doing so. After all,neither choice will erase that eviction notice from his door. The deconstructed production isbound to divide viewers, particularly Sondheim fans. Indeed, its approach often veers fromintriguing to grating at times. Still, the actor and company take a bold approach with theirunpolished look at a classic musical. The production gets audiences to do what Sondheim himself always said he wanted his audiences to do: pay attention to the lyrics.<\/p>\n
Charles Lewis III claims to be an award-nominated journalist, culture critic, and performing artist born and raised in San Francisco. He alleges to have been published in the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, the San Francisco Examiner, and many more. Dodgy evidence of this can be found at The Thinking Man\u2019s Idiot.<\/p>\n
\u2018ASSASSINS\u2019<\/p>\n
By Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and John Weidman (book), presented by Oakland Theater Project<\/p>\n
Through: April 19<\/p>\n
Where: FLAX art and design, 1501 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland<\/p>\n
Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, no intermission<\/p>\n