Marcus Olsen

This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence. By giving voice to figures from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Assassins invites audiences not to condone their acts but to confront the unsettling continuity between personal disillusionment and national mythology, turning the musical stage into a mirror for America’s darkest obsessions.

Two women. One white. The other black. Society mandated they be enemies. The gospel of Jesus Christ required they be friends. On the eve of the death of Joseph Smith, his widow, Emma, is on the brink of destruction. In order to stand with her friend in her darkest hour, one woman, Jane Manning, will need to hear the voice of God once more. Can she hear His voice again? And if so, can she find the strength to abide it?