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Assassins

Stephen Sondheim (1930–2021): The Last Giant, Seen From Our Seats

October 27, 2026

Stephen Sondheim, the composer and lyricist who reshaped the American musical, died on Friday, November 26, 2021, at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut. He was 91. His lawyer, F. Richard Pappas, said that the death was sudden. The day before, he had celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and spent Wednesday at two Broadway performances,“doing what he most loved to do.” No cause was given. The news broke twelve days after the Classic Stage Company opened its Assassins, a production TheaterScene reviewed that month. This is a look back at how our critics heard him, which they did in some 40 posts over two decades. [more]

Assassins

November 18, 2021

As always in a John Doyle presentation, the production is professional, polished and accomplished. This time around he has not made changes to the script or the score except to include the climactic song “Something Just Broke” which was not in the original Off Broadway production but was added to the first London version in 1992 and has been used ever since. While the actors give excellent performances, the revival lacks emotion and heart which is strange considering the number of characters who die or who are wounded in the course of the show. It is as though they (and we) are numbed by much depiction of killing. Is there a way to fix this in a show which repeatedly has its cast shooting at presidents of the United States, in this case only in a fun house setting? [more]