Producers Notes

Producer Notes:  Many people have asked me, “Why now,” and “Why this show?”  The answer is not easy in many ways, but obvious in others.  Personally, the show is a tribute to a friend of mine who performed it in the early 1990’s (as Sam Byck).  The show was captivating and I have wanted to mount a production for it since then.  

The obvious is a nod to today’s political environment.  Turmoil and distrust, finger pointing and bickering have become the norm in American politics.  Today, this extends to hurtful and harmful meaning far beyond the muckraking of the American past.  While ASSASSINS does not give much in review of the history leading up to the attempts to assassinate the President, a quick review of the historical surrounding reminds us how the political climate contributes.  Couple that with the fragile mental conditions that feed the American need for instant celebrity and gratification and it is quite clear how this leads these figures to cross a most terrifying threshold.