Think Pink’s Assassins is a creative use of space and exceptional use of talent.

Last night, as I was sitting outside the performance space for Think Pink’s presentation of Assassins, I couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to pull it off. The show was happening inside the Browning Room of Evansville’s Central Library. Taking a Tony Award-Winning Broadway production and adapting it to fit inside a library meeting room has to be as crazy as any of the assassins feature in the show.

Luckily, Think Pink’s Artistic Director, Kensington Blaylock-Eck, is just the right amount of crazy to make it work. And boy, does it work.

This show makes better use of the relatively small space than some larger budget shows I’ve “endured” this year. Adapting the “shooting gallery” concept of the original and adapting it into a book club is a stroke of artistic genius.

After losing their space of two years earlier this year, the 2018-2019 season of Think Pink shows have been on the move. September’s Luna Gale was staged in an actual furniture store. For those of you who may not be familiar with the theatre (said in the most pretentious way possible), furniture stores aren’t typically known for their theatrical productions. Yet, again, Think Pink made it work because they used the material to make the space part of the show.

I could rave about the ingenuity Think Pink has cultivated over the past two years for another five paragraphs, but I should probably get into the actual show. Assassins follows the stories of the individuals who have either attempted to or successfully assassinated the President of the United States. It starts with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth (played by Brandon Eck) and leads up to the assassination of John. F Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald (played by Cody Webb). Eck’s Booth was a stellar portrayal as he fully captured the character in dress, mannerisms, and accent. As someone who has been playing way too much Red Dead Redemption 2, Eck nails the accent and swagger of someone post-Civil War. Webb does a wonderful job transforming into Lee Harvey Oswald and has one of the best voices in the cast. I’m also incredibly jealous of how pretty he is. It’s not fair to be able to sing well and be handsome. Choose one, Cody…

On the female side, Molly Rupert as “Squeaky” Fromme was just as creepy as you would expect a Charles Manson follower to be. This has been a strong year for Rupert as part of Think Pink, as she was also great in this past May’s Stupid Fucking Bird.

Assassins also marked the Think Pink debut for a number of new cast members. Think Pink has always prided itself on having a strong ensemble they can pull from for productions, but it’s always a treat to see new faces and watch their growth from show-to-show. This show marked the debut of Randy Murray as one of the librarians that drive the story, Rhashaad Lee as Giuseppe Zangara, Laura Witte as Sarah Jane Moore, and Lydia Schmidt as a member of the ensemble. Assassins also brought back Think Pink Alumni such as Heath Kluemper as John Hinckley Jr., Zach Bryant as Charles Guiteau, and Naem Madi as Leon Czolgosz. Think Pink regulars Alex Wilkison, Michele Rose, and Kara Gray to round out the ensemble.

Each cast member gives their all to bringing each character to life. Every actor was assigned to study their assassin in order to give a more honest portrayal, an act which paid off in their performance.

The stand-out in the show for me, had to be Logan Vickers as Samuel Byck, the attempted assassin of President Richard Nixon. His scene-length monologues were both chilling and hilarious, a feat pulled off effortless. Vicker’s Byck paces among the audience, delivering his rant while never once breaking concentration or character. I also felt I learned more about Byck than I had known before, which was next to nothing (SPOILER: It was nothing).

If I had one critique of the show, it would be how often myself and other audience members had to twist in our seats to see what was going on, as the audience was in the round, while the action happened around us. However, this is a very minor complaint as I didn’t mind twisting and turning when the content being presented was enthralling. This critique is more of a comment on the restriction of the actual space, as opposed to anything the production team did.

Overall, the entire Think Pink team pulled off a major feat in bring Stephen Sondheim’s classic to Evansville. Think Pink continues to do shows audiences ask for, while still maintaining their mission of “…bringing new, under-produced, and challenging theatre to Midwest audiences by upholding professional standards and producing material that cannot be found in other local venues.”

If 2018 was the year people caught on to Evansville’s best-kept theatre secret, imagine what audiences are in for in 2019.

 

There are still two more chances to check out this production at Evansville’s Central Library:

Dec. 1st, 2018 at 7:30pm

Dec. 2nd, 2018 at 6pm

Tickets can be purchase here.