Flax Art and Design
1501 MLK Junior Way, Oakland
March 22-April 5, 2026
Assassins seems an apt choice of musical for the times we live in. It premiered, and flopped in 1990, and was later reincarnated as a hit in 2004. It has now been reimagined as a one man show at Oakland Theater Project, and it is magnificent.
With score and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, this uncomfortable and unlikely musical covers the real life assassination attempts on US presidents, beginning with Lincoln and ending with Reagan. Originally a snarky criticism of the 1990s version of the American Dream, in the hands of director Weston Scott and actor Adam KuveNiemann it becomes something much deeper and more resonant. The performance comes with trigger warnings for sounds of gunshots, flashing lights, talk of assault, and smoke. It does not, however, warn you that it might crack your heart wide open.
From beginning to end, KuveNiemann holds the audience’s attention, deftly switching from character to character. Each assassin comes with a prop, such as a microphone, iPhone, flashlight, mirror, or recorder. His energy does not falter for the entire production. As confusing as this sounds, by the end there is no doubt as to which character KuveNiemann is playing. He is that good. One moment he is an arrogant Charles Guiteau, who assassinated President James Garfield, then a righteous John Wilkes Booth, a hilariously loopy Sara Jane Moore, who targeted President Gerald Ford, or a mad eyed Giuseppe Zangara, who attempted to kill Franklin D. Roosevelt. Through all of the switches, KuveNiemann remains entirely captivating as he tells the story of how each character came to the decision to take out a president.
KuveNiemann sings his way through the stories, with some songs almost as mumbling afterthoughts and others requiring more intention and skill. You will not find any Sondheim earworms in this production. There are moments of awe, most especially when KuveNiemann belts out "Unworthy of Your Love" as John Hinckley and Squeaky Fromme, in as much of a duet as one man can manage, with a video montage of Jodie Foster and Charles Manson playing in front of him. It is a scene as brilliant as it is unhinged.
On one level, this is a séance of assassins channeled through an unstable man speaking in tongues in an empty room that resembles a woodshop workspace. Scott and KuveNiemann have crafted an intensely lonely landscape. It is not comfortable on Sam Fehr’s set, and the projection design by Sarah Phykitt lends depth to the production, enhancing the story of each assassin while giving us the eerie feeling that the stage itself is watching us.
In the hands of Oakland Theater Project, Assassins becomes a story of the profound loneliness felt across society. It is a story of how solitude and doom scrolling can lead to frantic searches typed out in the dead of night on a laptop. It is something we can all recognize. Then there is these characters’ jump from that lonely ledge into the decision to assassinate a president, which is where empathy gives way to a closer look at the madness. We see solitude morph into obsession and how the 24 hour news cycle feeds on the terrible things that people in this state can do. KuveNiemann shows how the heroic vigilante cowboy is only a small step away from the assassin, and how desperate people might mistake the two. With the exception of John Wilkes Booth, they do not rail against the presidents they ultimately plan to kill. There is a futility in glorifying their collective madness, except for Lee Harvey Oswald, who somehow makes all of their stories feel chillingly valid.
Assassins will challenge your emotions, your heart, and your mind in unexpected ways. This is one of the most well crafted works to hit a Bay Area stage in some time.
For tickets, visit Oakland Theater Project’s website. The play’s runtime is 1 hour 45 minutes without intermission.
