Bullseye!

As we head into the stretch of the 2003-2004 theater season, the big guns are coming out. That phrase certainly apropos in regard to Assassins: It’s a virtual NRA convention on the stage of Studio 54, where Stephen Sondheim’s sinister satiricon of American upheaval has been revived. American assassins about whom volumes have been written and other killers and wannabes who are no more than historical footnotes gather together under Joe Mantello’s stunning direction and give us a blood-curdling peek into a world of outsiders driven, for a whole host of reasons, to acts of infamy. This is Sondheim at his darkest. Put Assassins next to Sweeney Todd for its bleak, brooding, biting sense of humor — and you can also put it next to Sweeney Todd on your list of great American musicals.

Assassins is not a musical with much warmth; Sondheim and book writer John Weidman don’t ask you to love these characters, only to understand what drives them. In that respect, it’s more of an intellectual exercise than anything else — but, oddly enough, it’s not really a political statement. More than once during the course of the show, Sondheim and Weidman make the reassuring point that these terrible acts of violence have never destroyed the greatness of America.

The musical is book-ended by the two most infamous assassins in U.S. history, John Wilkes Booth (Michael Cerveris) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Neil Patrick Harris). They present themselves on a ghostly carnival sideshow set masterfully realized by designer Robert Brill. Overseeing the parade of killers is the “Proprietor” of the carnival; that role is played by a very scary Marc Kudisch, his head shaven and his baritone menacing as he entices the sad clowns of history into his shooting gallery.

From the powerful, heartbreaking performance of James Barbour as the politically motivated Leon Czolgosz, who killed President William McKinley, to the delightfully dark dementia of Denis O’Hare as Charles Guiteau, who shot President James Garfield twice in the back, Assassins is, indeed, a carnival of killers. Some of the most talented performers on Broadway are involved in this Roundabout production — after all, it’s a Sondheim show! — and all of them are first rate here.

This production is a must see for anyone who takes the American musical theater seriously as an art form. Sondheim’s music and lyrics for songs like “Everybody’s Got the Right,” “Unworthy of Your Love,” and “Another National Anthem” will touch the dark recesses of your soul. In a generally disappointing Broadway season, Assassins is number one with a bullet.

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Daniel Sullivan Plays the Viola (Davis)

Assassins is rightfully getting a great deal of attention. But very quietly, through the sheer force of its delicate artistry, the Roundabout’s Off-Broadway staging of Intimate Apparel at the new Laura Pels Theatre (where the American Place Theater used to be on West 46th Street) has turned out to be one of the most admired productions of a new play this season. Sensitively written by Lynn Nottage and subtly, impeccably directed by Daniel Sullivan, this could be the sleeper hit of the year.

The story swirls around a plain black woman in 1905 who makes her living sewing “intimate apparel” for women of fashion. The clothing is a metaphor for the intimate secrets of her clientele, not to mention her own desperate yearnings. Although there are elements of Cyrano de Bergerac in the script, this is not a romance. Yet love is the underlying emotion that drives this rich and compelling play.

The quality of the writing is matched by the acting. As the play’s central character, Viola Davis gives a performance that could not be improved upon; one of the great dramatic actresses of our time, she is blessed here with a role worthy of her talent and a director who knows how to help actors do the very best work of which they’re capable. In support, Russell Hornsby, Corey Stoll, Lauren Velez, Lynda Gravátt, and Arija Bareikis all provide memorable characterizations.

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The MAC Dilemma

The 2004 MAC Awards, honoring the best work in cabaret as voted upon by the members of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, will be bestowed on May 17 at Symphony Space. The final vote to determine the winners is taking place right now. We’ll be at the awards ceremony, anxious to find out who won the popular vote. But MAC has a lot of work to do to enhance the value of its awards.

A great many talented people are on the final ballot this year; in most cases, whoever wins will be a worthy choice. But there is an unspoken truth that underlies the awards this year: A very large percentage of cabaret’s most gifted performers simply did not apply for consideration. As a result, the pool of performers from which the membership could choose its final slate of nominees was severely limited. If this trend continues, the MAC Awards will wither and die for lack of relevance.

Some years ago, anyone who performed the requisite number of shows in a cabaret club was eligible for a MAC Award. One did not have to nominate oneself. MAC needs to do a better job of getting performers to participate in the awards process; if not, the organization may have to rethink its current rules to insure a strong and representative slate of nominees.

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[To contact the Siegels directly, e-mail them at siegelentertainment@msn.com.]