I’ve been attending Auburn’s theatre plays since I was a freshman at Auburn. I always love going to see what new production is being performed at Telfair Peet Theatre.
Saturday evening, Feb. 28, I attended the Auburn University Theatre production of “Assassins.” I try my best to at least make it to one or two plays a semester, and to put it simply, “Assassins” didn’t disappoint.
The musical challenged the audience to take a different look at historical presidential assassinations and the motives with which the assassins acted upon.
The opening and closing songs were upbeat, with the cast — playing the assassins and attackers of presidents McKinley, Ford, Lincoln, Garfield, Reagan, Nixon and Kennedy — emphasizing the idea that “everybody has a right to be happy.”
I appreciated that the play allowed the audience to see that, while some of the attackers portrayed in “Assassins” were mentally unstable, several of them were rational men and women acting out because of their past, their inability to cope with their current situation or their desire to be revered and remembered — even if hated by the masses for the rest of history.
Throughout the play, I was thinking on those around me daily who truly are hurting, or have a deep desire for love and attention, and how that simple desire can lead to a lot of good or a lot of bad.
I applaud the cast and crew of “Assassins” for doing a wonderful job challenging me as an Auburn student — especially with the political and social climate of hate and intolerance of minority groups within our country during this time — to stand up and remember to let every voice be heard.
And I hope the rest of the Auburn Family does the same.
Leann Martins is a junior in mechanical engineering.
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