With a cast and crew approaching 50 people, Assassins aims to tell the story of both the assassins and their targets, giving the audience a look at both perspectives.

Henry MacCarthy, assistant professor Theatre and Dance and Latin American, Latino, and Carribean Studies (LALACS), is the director of this spring’s musical.

Over this past January Interim Experience, the cast and crew worked the entire month, with practice times anywhere from 10:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

While the musical premiered more than 20 years ago, it is relevant to events happening today.

“It feels like it was written a couple of years ago. It touches on issues going on in the country now, and shows how people view entitlement and the sense of the American dream,” MacCarthy said.

The cast is made up of a variety of years and majors, giving the production a great representation of students at Gustavus.

“It is a great advantage to work with different people. It is rewarding to see what each person brings to the table,” MacCarthy said.

One of the students working with MacCarthy is Senior Dance Major Renee Guittar. For her Senior Honors project, Guittar has accepted the challenge of choreographing the musical. After helping with the musical Urinetown, which was performed in 2010, Guittar had a lot of fun and wanted to experience having a leadership position.

“When we sat down to talk about how we should approach this, Henry and I had ideas that started matching up and that was really exciting,” Guittar said. With the opportunity to decide how the production should flow, Guittar has received feedback from her advisor, Theatre and Dance professor Michele Rusinko, as well as fellow peers.

As opening night comes closer the cast continues to practice with passion in order to deliver the story the audience.

“This is a gripping story. It is fantastic. Everyone should go to live theatre so they can open their mind and their heart. We have a very talented group at Gustavus,” MacCarthy said.