Assassins - Roleystone

I think Theo that your review, while very correct in some of its points could have been written with a little more care. Firstly Carmen Miles, "the girl that opened the show", she did have difficulties staying in tune and at times I found her vocal quality very weak. She however had a very good stage prescene and managed to switch quite effectively between her various roles. Let's not forget that she is playing a role which was written for a man in addition to taking on the part of Emma Goldman. Which songs in particular could you not hear? I must say that I did find some songs difficult to hear over the band but not "most" and I was sitting four rows from the back. It was more difficult to hear dialogue which was taking place towards the back of the stage. I do agree, however, that the songs "Unworthy of Your Love" sung by Matthew Lister and Emma Stevenson difficult to hear (moreso Matthew than Emma - she seemed to be the stronger of the two) as well as the opening number. I don't think however that the band was too loud merely the actors were simply that, actors and not singers. As for your comment about the song where the president walks into the crowd as being unnecessary. Do you mean that the song was unnecessary or that the movement of the president into the crowd was unnecessary? If you mean that the song was unneccessary, then I I must point out two things. Firstly the theatre company didn't write the song, Stephen Sondheim did so they had no choice but to include it in the show. Secondly the song is quite essential to the storyline as it explains the circumstances surrounding why Czolgosz killed this president (after all the show is called Assassins). If however you are referring to the presidents movement, then I must agree with you to some extent. I quite enjoyed his movement into the crowd but felt it detracted from what was being performed on stage. Perhaps he should have simply moved up the side aisles or only shook hands with the front row? "The guns they had onstage were just something to play with and were not used with the right intentions" I don't even understand what you mean by this comment. The guns were used, at least in my memory, to either shoot presidents or attempt to shoot presidents. I didn't really see anyone 'playing' with them but using them as each scene dictated. If I recall correctly most characters kept them either in their pockets or in bags until they were needed in a particular scene. My one grievance with the guns was the gunshots. They were either very mistimed or simply didn't happen at all. It also sounded like the shots were coming from backstage. Maybe investment in a sound effect would have been wise? I find your closing comment also very confusing. You have stated that the show was well directed but there is not a single positive comment in your review...maybe you could share with us what you did enjoy from the show? Please don't take this as a personal attack on you Theo but rather as a request that people take the time to write carefully constructed criticisms of shows. Even simple things like grammar and sentence structure should reflect that the author has taken time and effort to construct their review. It is one thing to write that a show is crap. It is a completly different thing when someone explains why a show has faults. ...but then that's just my opinion... :)