This darkly satirical musical reframes American history through the eyes of those who attempted – successfully or not – to kill US presidents. Structured as a surreal carnival sideshow, the piece weaponises American musical traditions – vaudeville, folk ballads, barbershop quartets, patriotic Sousa-style marches and Bacharach pop – to undercut the myth of the “American Dream,” exposing how frustration, alienation and entitlement can curdle into violence.
Sara Jane Moore
Leon Czolgosz
Samuel Byck
John Wilkes Booth
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme
John Hinckley Jr.
The Balladeer / Lee Harvey Oswald
The Proprietor
Giuseppe Zangara
Charles Guiteau
James Blaine / President Gerald Ford / Ensemble
President James Garfield / Ensemble
Billy / Ensemble
Ensemble
Emma Goldman / Ensemble
David Herold / Ensemble