Fri 2/4-Sat 2/5, Fri 2/11-Sat 2/12 & Fri 2/18-Sat 2/19 @ 7:30PM
Sun 2/6, 2/3 & 2/20 @ 2PM
Broadway musical composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who died last November at the age of 91, left a legacy of musicals that drew on offbeat and difficult subjects — even among modern-day musicals, which are far less upbeat than The Sound of Music, Oklahoma or even an early Sondheim lyric-writing assignment, West Side Story, still a traditional romance even if it ended unhappily.
His 1990 musical Assassins took on the unlikely topic of presidential assassins and attempted assassins, exploring their motivations for their act. It wasn’t a hit when it first debuted, although a 2004 Broadway revival was favorably received. And while there’s no “Send in the Clowns,” Sondheim’s music is always highly listenable.
Now Lakeland Theatre and Lakeland Community Community College are presenting Assassins, directed by noted local director and theater professor Martin Friedman, who’s previously directed such Sondheim works as Merrily We Roll Along and a sensational 2009 production of Sweeney Todd, among others.
Tickets must be purchased in advance due to COVID restrictions. Go here.