Viterbo University's production of the Broadway musical "Assassins" is not easy.

The musical, which highlights the lives of nine real-life assassins, asks the audience to question American values, society's love affair with guns, political rationale, and behaviors and extremism, said Rick Walters, chairman of Viterbo's theater department.

"It is not a celebration of murder, and it doesn't honor assassins," Walters said. "It's how these people came to be and what it means to us as a society."

Dana McConnell, a Viterbo theater faculty member who is directing the musical, said Stephen Sondheim uses the musical theater form to tell a disturbing story. Sondheim considered "Assassins" his most perfect musical, she said.

"This musical has everything to do with the American identity - who are we, and how big is that we?" McConnell said.

"Assassins" opens Friday in the La Croix Black Box Theatre. The musical is for mature audiences, and the cast and Viterbo faculty will hold post-show discussions after the two Saturday performances.

McConnell said too many people dismiss assassins as simply crazy or insane. They committed their crimes, McConnell said, for what they perceived as rational reasons, some even quoting the founding fathers and talking about their constitutional rights.

John Wilkes Booth killed because he believed President Abraham Lincoln was taking the country down the wrong path, McConnell said. Leon Czolgosz killed President William McKinley because he thought the president was the enemy of good people, she said. Guiseppe Zangara blamed the capitalist system in trying to shoot President Franklin Roosevelt, she added.

"This is our time to learn from what happened in our past, to inform our actions and to work for the common good," McConnell said.

The story in "Assassin" is told in episodes, McConnell said, and the audience sees the assassins before and after their acts. The assassinations don't take place on stage, and theater-designed cap guns are used, not real firearms, she said.

The assassins meet in limbo and interact on stage with each other. Paul Hibbard plays the balladeer who narrates the historical record.

McConnell said the musical offers rich text and strong characters, both of which are essential for students' artistic and learning experiences. Students researched their roles, studied images and historical events, and read biographies, she said.

"The intention is not to imitate but to illuminate," McConnell said. "'Assassins' offers our students very challenging work. Although 'Assassins' is very entertaining, it is not entertainment.

"Work like this extends the historical function of theater," she said. "Theater artists embody, enact, engage and reflect on the events that continue to affect our lives."