Assassins (musical)

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Assassins
Original Off-Broadway windowcard
Music	Stephen Sondheim
Lyrics	Stephen Sondheim
Book	John Weidman
Basis	Original concept by Charles Gilbert Jr.
Premiere	December 18, 1990 (1990-12-18): Playwrights Horizons
Productions	1990 Off-Broadway 1992 London 2004 Broadway 2014 Off-West End 2021 Off-Broadway revival
Awards	Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by John Weidman, based on an original concept by Charles Gilbert Jr.

Using the framing device of an all-American, yet sinister, carnival game, the semi-revue portrays a group of historical figures who attempted (successfully or not) to assassinate Presidents of the United States, and explores what their presence in American history says about the ideals of their country. The score is written to reflect both popular music of the various depicted eras and a broader tradition of "patriotic" American music.

The musical opened Off-Broadway in 1990 to many mixed and negative reviews, and ran for 73 performances; in 2004, the show was produced on Broadway to highly favorable notices and won five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.^[1]