by KYW's Bob Nelson

If the idea of John Wilkes Booth trying to talk Lee Harvey Oswald into assassinating President Kennedy seems a stretch --especially when it takes place in the presence of nine men and women who tried to, and in four cases actually did, kill a president -- you must understand this is part of the fabric of the Steven Sondheim-John Weidman darkly disturbing comic musical Assassins, which enjoyed a brief run on Broadway and is now kicking off the Arden Theatre's 20th anniversary season.
 
The passage of time may allow us a better look at what some have called a "Vaudeville bad dream."
  
It's certainly a stretch to have assassins amplify their pain and flimsy rationalizations. Yet, from a production standpoint, it's a fascinating show. 
   
The songs are intermittent but catchy. The electronic and televised signage is impressive and slickly coordinated.  And the cast is most impressive, due in large measure to the efforts of director Terrence Nolen.
 
Assassins may extend the "what if" factor to the extreme, yet there's enough creative energy here to illuminate a city.

Assassins runs through October 21st at the Arden Theatre, 40 North Second Street in Old City Philadelphia.