Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The show is profoundly cynical, often an effective point of view for a musical, but somehow always troubling here because the existence of this impulse to shoot is so singularly productive of human pain. “Assassins” is always hard to watch, and yet usually worth the effort. This one, flawed and uneven as it can be, is still an impressive, risk-taking exploration of the title. It’s well worth seeing by those who love ... well, you know who you are."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...As the audience’s guide through the production’s historically rooted and often surreal series of vignettes, the Balladeer does much of the heavy lifting in Assassins. O’Keefe lures the audience in from the start with a voice that’s smoother than an oiled mirror. With a casually luminous presence and ever-shifting emotional vocabulary, he’s a killer choice for a musical where the lyrics have fangs. With “Another National Anthem,” O’Keefe and Liz Bollar’s Proprietor lead a thundering 11 o’clock anthem that is either profoundly frightening or a love letter to the potential of the U.S.—Sondheim leaves it open to interpretation. Theo makes sure it’ll be burned into your memory."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This is not an easy topic which to do a musical about, but Sondheim and Weideman found a way to do so. Theo showed me that they are not afraid to attempt anything and then proved they could with this production of "Assassins"."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This isn’t a musical that will charm every theatergoer, but it’s a beautiful production that’s well worth seeing. Despite the dark humor that abounds throughout, it can be daunting watching so many guns being waved in the air and aimed at their intended victims. Assassination, as a quick way to gain fame and go down in history, can be a hard nut to swallow. But this company of talented young actor/singers, under the direction of the incomparable Darryl D. Brooks, take a chance, pushes the envelope and delivers a Gun Song that the audience won’t soon forget."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s musical Assassins, for those who know it, might seem a deliciously fun one to see in mixed company. Being a revue starring nine people from the national rogue’s gallery who sought to assassinate the President of the United States, the cognoscenti can surely clock the lines when the hush descends over the house. When the room gets just that much more still. When hammer meets primer and bona fide laughs break out."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...I would say that Assassins is an atypical Sondheim play if I believed that there is such a thing as a “typical” Sondheim play. There isn’t, not when his subject matter moves from pointillistic painters to overlapping fairy tales to ancient Greek slaves to operatic unrequited love to romantic/pastoral comedy, but even against this backdrop, Assassins stands out. Who writes musicals about killers and would-be killers of US Presidents? And why? And how in the world could any playwright make such a musical entertaining?"
Evanston Roundtable - Highly Recommended
"...The cast is captivating as they perform the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim in one of his – and one of musical theater’s – more provocative pieces."
Splash Magazine - Recommended
"...Assassins - based on a book by John Weidman and an idea by Charles Gilbert Jr. - follows nine people, four of whom killed presidents and five who planned or attempted to. Full of themes of celebrity and violence, the disturbing and humorous musical has won five Tony Awards."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...If you have never seen this musical, I implore you to see this production. “Assassins” doesn’t get much stage time compared to the other entries in Sondheim’s canon. But if you have yet to fall for it, Theo’s production will light the fuse."
