Canceling College Production of 'Assassins' Over Racial Slur in Script is a Mistake

The cast of ASSASSINS at East West Players in 2022 / Steven Lam

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

In a move that has sparked heated debate, the final performances of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins at Northwestern University(NU) were canceled due to complaints over a racial slur in the show’s script, namely the use of the n-word used to negatively describe African-Americans. While the intent behind such a decision may stem from a desire to protect audiences from offensive content, the act of canceling performances outright, in my opinion, is short-sighted.

Yesterday, the NU student theatre group Lovers & Madmen canceled their remaining performances of the show due to some complaints from the student body.

According to the student news site, The Daily Northwestern,

“Some students took to social media to condemn the usage of the N-word in a production featuring a predominately non-Black cast and crew, calling upon the production to either remove the word from the song or cancel its final two shows.”

SESP sophomore Noel Matthews was among the commenters under the “Assassins” account post. Matthews said to The Daily that as a Black woman, it was “frustrating” to see the word used in this context and that advocating for its removal “should not only be Black people’s fight.”

“Putting on this play and using that word in that statement is a form of violence,” Matthews said. “Whether you are complicit with it in solely a theatre sense or a non-theatrical sense, using the N-word is violent. It’s linguistic violence, and that should not be condoned by anybody.”

Other students were angered that there was no communication or discussion with the Black NU community over the use of the word in the show. Some also thought that changes to the script could have been made to ensure that the word wouldn’t be uttered during the show.

Let’s shut down that idea right now. The show’s license holders, MTI, would not allow changes to the script.

So, the issue becomes whether a performance that contains derogatory racial slurs should be performed on a college campus. In general, while I certainly don’t condone racial slurs being used in many ways, especially on college campuses, I do believe that in certain forms of theatre, literature, etc., they are needed to illustrate hate speech and the harm that it causes. As an Asian man myself, I want it fully known that racial slurs directed toward my community are harmful and never justified. Hearing them uttered as such in a musical is an effective tool to spread that message.

To me, the students at NU students are missing the point and had they seen the show, they might feel differently. This is where I think ‘Lovers & Madmen’ first erred. Someone in that group should have foreseen the potential drama that could ensue from performing this show at a college campus, as it has caused drama at other campuses. Meeting with the Black student groups at Northwestern would have been worthwhile to explain the show and get some buy-in before rehearsals and performances started.

Normally, I argue for not needing permission to perform art, especially art made by Stephen Sondheim, but on a college campus, in these times, it would have been productive to explain Assassins to the Northwestern black community.

Assassins is a bold, satirical exploration of American political violence, examining the motivations of individuals who attempted(or succeeded in) assassinating U.S. presidents. It is not a comfortable show, nor is it meant to be. Its power lies in its ability to challenge audiences, forcing them to reckon with the darkest corners of American history.

The inclusion of racial slurs in the script, as uncomfortable as they may be, serves a clear historical and narrative function.Its existence in the script is purposeful, is not to shock for shock’s fate.

The musical does not endorse the views it depicts; it interrogates them. It does not glorify racism or violence, but instead exposes the roots of these evils. When we start censoring art because it makes us uneasy, we risk losing our ability to confront and discuss these difficult subjects in any meaningful way.

This situation reminded me of something similar that happened in 2016 with a school production of Ragtime. A school board in NJ tried to censor the racial slurs in that show. I said then, “The word is said nine times in the show. It's never said casually nor celebratory. It's always said with hate and ignorance, therefore allowing a teachable moment and to showcase the abhorrent use of the word itself.”

I feel the same way now.

Having said that, a responsible staging of Assassins can and should include discussions about the historical use of language and why it remains in the script. A well-crafted dramaturgical note in the program, pre-show talks, or post-show discussions can frame the material in a way that educates rather than simply provokes. If anything, this is where the Lovers & Madmen creative team also erred,

This begs the question, should a college be performing Assassins in the first place?

This also begs the question, should a college be performing Assassins in the first place? Are college students the right audience for this production? We know some college students are still at a middle school level, maturity-wise, and could take the wrong lesson from hearing racial slurs openly at a performance. For this reason, we do not advocate any high schools taking on Assassins.

If we begin canceling performances of Assassins for its use of racial slurs, what precedent does that set for other works? Would we remove every offensive word from West Side Story or Ragtime? Should we avoid staging Cabaret because it depicts Nazism?

Rather than shutting down productions, we should encourage audiences to engage critically with the material. Colleges, theatre companies, and institutions staging Assassins have an opportunity to foster discussions about its themes, including the history of racial slurs in America and how language has been used as a tool of both oppression and resistance. By confronting these issues head-on rather than erasing them, we allow for a deeper, more thoughtful engagement with the material.

Theatre has long been a space where society’s most difficult questions can be explored in a safe and structured way. Instead of silencing Assassins, let’s use it for discussion. Let’s trust audiences to understand the difference between representation and endorsement, between critique and complicity.  And if we don’t trust the audience, explain it to them and use the performance as a teaching tool.

We owe it to the integrity of art, to the intelligence of audiences, and to the lessons of history itself to keep the conversation alive.