Assassins  
Out of Box Theatre
through April 15, 2017

This is a pretty large show for this theatre, but staged like a cabaret.  Sondheim’s Assassins is one he created more than 20 years ago, and it had a somewhat checkered history.   It did make it to Broadway in 2004 and actually won several Tony’s, albeit this is not one of those shows that is going to become a classic favorite.

You do have to give him credit for taking a subject matter that few would find humorous and being able to weave humor into the history.   It is in a carnival-like setting where patrons are urged to come into a hall where they can fire blanks at various presidents, each of whom had been to object of an assassin, although not all of the would-be assassins actually accomplished their aims, no pun intended.

Of course it starts with John Wilkes Booth (Steven Devillers) who we all recall from grammar school.  But, how many of us recall that this piece of work was actually an actor?  Charles Guiteau (Kiernan Matts), who shot Garfield who then died some weeks later from infection.  Leon Czolgosz, (John Coombs) who most of us never heard of; actually shot and killed William McKinley.   And Guiseppe Zangara (Jim Dailey) tried to off FDR in Miami but missed.  He did manage to whack the Mayor of Chicago and got fried for doing so.

And from the pages of more current history we meet Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy Cooper, who also doubles as a balladeer) who did in JFK.   Then there is a nut case named Samuel Byck (Dylan Parket Singletary) who wanted to kill Nixon but he crashed first.  And “Squeaky” Fromme (Julianne Whitehead) who took a shot at Gerry Ford;  and an even nuttier gal, Sara Jane Moore (Emily T. Kalat) who took a shot at Ford barely a couple of weeks after Squeaky failed.

Keep in mind that Sondheim created this one, so a few bars sound a lot like Into the Woods, but that one was penned about 4 years later.  In this one, there are ten non-memorable musical numbers which move the action along.  And the music is essential not only because the songs are the plot, but this cast of 15 players can really grab you with their silly antics.

Directed bhy Michelle Davis, with Annie Cook on the keyboard and Tisa McDougald Schuurman on flute and piccolo and Ray Caputo on the reeds.  They’d right there on stage with the players.  Out of Box is easy to get to up near the Big Chicken, with free parking.  The show runs about 90 minutes in one act.  More info at OutOfBoxTheatre.com

The Magic Negro
Alliance Theatre
through April 15, 2017

Mark Kendall wrote this one-man show which he performs with great gusto on the Hertz Stage.  In The Magic Negro and other Blackity Blackness, as told by an African-American Man, who also happens to be Black; he runs through a series of schticks akin to the kind of things you may have seen him do at Dad’s Garage.

He works the house to a great extent, and the underlying theme of the show is, of course, racial prejudice and how it may exist in our days.  Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay designed a terrific set for him which works to help move each scene; and the image projections by Rasean Davonte Johnson, are just great.

There’s not a lot of inappropriate language other than some occasional s**t, but some ultra prims might not dig the essence of the segments.  Albeit most of the audience is a bunch of honkeys, they all just loved the show, and felt that it was an enlightening form of entertainment; especially in these days of our weird political situations.

It runs about 75 minutes, so easy to get to and you can grab a bite before or after.  More info and tickets at AlianceTheatre.org

Strait of Gibraltar
Synchronicity Theatre
through April 23, 2017

This is the world premiere of Andrea Lepico’s story of Miriam (Maggie Birgel), a New York Jewish woman who meets up and falls in love with Zameer (Benjamin Sims), who is Muslim and from Morocco.

Unknown to them, Zameer is on a watch list.  He’s overstayed his visa, and they both become persons of interest when Miriam agrees to open a bank account and deposit some money in it for Zameer so he can help get his sister to come to NYC.

The set by Elizabeth Jarrett looks somewhat stark at the opening, but it moves around with ease and the projected images by Amanda Sachtleben contribute greatly to setting the scenes as the story unfolds.

Directed by Rachel May, also featuring Kathleen Wattis, Suehyla El Attar and Brian Ashton Smith; this show is certainly not for the kiddies nor the faint of heart.  Anybody who has ever been persecuted and/or abused by a government will recoil at the action in Act II.  On the other hand, it is a story that needs to be told, for it relates to the world in which we currently live, and seem to be stuck with for some time to come.

Syncronicity performs at the Invesco Building at 1545 Peachtree Street and is easy to get to with on-street and garage parking available.  More info and tickets at SynchroTheatre.com