85. Assassins

This week, Mackenzie reunites with Scott Hurst and welcomes back former cohost Autumn Smith for a long-overdue conversation about one of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's most daring musicals, Assassins.Together, they explore why Assassins remains one of the most challenging shows ever written, debating whether productions lose their power when they play the material "safe" instead of forcing audiences to sit with its discomfort. They also celebrate Sondheim's masterful use of musical pastiche while finding themselves divided over the show's final emotional turn. Does the late added song "Something Just Broke" offer audiences a necessary moment of collective grief, or does it provide a convenient escape hatch that lets us identify with the victims instead of confronting the uncomfortable humanity of the assassins themselves?All this, and remember—everybody's got the right... on this week's all-new episode!Don't forget to leave us a review and share your thoughts on this episode on our social media pages. Follow the links below to reach our pages.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠