Opening just days after a California man was charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump, the Sarasota Players’s captivating production of the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical Assassins could not be more topical, no matter how coincidental the timing.

The proximity to another violent attack helps everything in this show about presidential assassins come alive a little more, though the impact would still be strong without the coincidence because it is performed with such commitment and understanding of the material and the people depicted.

It’s a challenging show for the actors, and for audiences who may feel uncomfortable at the subject in general or the way they start to feel about some of the would-be killers.

Sondheim created a tune-filled score that taps into the changing sounds of American history. There are bouncy melodies that play off irony to trigger laughter, or gentle ballads about disturbing subjects that heighten the feeling of horror. They are set to Wiedman’s book, which explores a wide range of presidential assassins (and a few who failed), and their common desire to call attention to themselves or a cause.

The setting is a carnival of sorts, where an assortment of troubled misfits are enticed by a brooding, clown-like proprietor (played by Brian K. Finnerty) to pursue their dreams because “everybody’s got the right to be happy.” It’s a shooting gallery where they can win prizes if only they take their shot. For most of them, happiness may mean the attention and infamy that an assassination can bring them. For some, personal grievances, family problems or work issues are behind their decisions.

Despite the grim subject matter, Weidman’s book is surprisingly filled with humor and insight. Sondheim’s vibrant score builds on those reactions as it hits you in the gut with songs that make you want to sing along even when the lyrics can be devastating.

It is directed and choreographed by Scott Keys, who first staged the show more than two decades ago at Venice Theatre. Presenting it in the round at the Sarasota Players, with the audience surrounding the small playing space, makes it more of an immersive experience.

That’s also due to the strong cast, aided by musical director Carl Haan, who bring out the best in the melodies and harmonies, the humor and the most dramatic and striking moments.

For humor, you can’t ask for more than watching Caitlin Ellis as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, and Michelle Anaya as Sara Jane Moore, a troubled, frequently divorced mother who can’t keep track of her pistol or just about anything in her life. Both women botched their separate efforts to kill President Gerald Ford.

Jason Ellis brings his strong voice and a casual charm to the role of The Balladeer, who musically narrates several of the segments, before shedding his jacket, hat and friendly demeanor to become a sullen and lost Lee Harvey Oswald. In this version of history, Oswald is planning to take his own life in the Texas School Book Depository when John Wilkes Booth (played by Craig Weiskerger), the patriarch of all assassins, coaxes him to make a greater statement by killing President John F. Kennedy.

Ellis also introduces audiences to Ben Tschirgi as the anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who killed President William McKinley, making you feel the pain of his factory life, and Bryan Rodin as the elegant Charles Guiteau, who imagined himself the Ambassador of France before killing James Garfield in 1881.

Jose Santana plays brings such intensity to his role (and accent) as the Italian-born Giuseppe Zangara, who tried to kill Franklin Roosevelt, he is sometimes difficult to understand even as his body language leaves you with chills.

You may be aware that mental illness is on display during “Unworthy of Your Love,” but that won’t stop you from getting caught up in this tender duet in which Kevin Moroney as John Hinckley, who shot Ronald Reagan, sings about his love for actress Jodie Foster, while Caitlin Ellis counters about her passion for Manson. In two impressively delivered monologues, Dylan Lack, dressed in a dirtied Santa outfit, talks about his plans to hijack a plane and crash it into the Nixon White House.

Weiskerger, who played Hinckley in Keys’ previous production, is commanding and somewhat debonair as Booth, who wanders through the show with a sense of entitlement as the first to kill a president.

There are some lively group numbers that include “How I Saved Roosevelt,” about onlookers who made claims that are mostly exaggerated; “Gun Song,” in which the characters extol the virtues of even the smallest weapon; “Another National Anthem,” which takes an alternative view of American life, and ”Something Just Broke,” about average people sharing where they were when they heard the news about Kennedy’s shooting.

Finnerty also designed the imaginative set, which features rear walls lined with flashing lights and signs offering games and prizes, as well as images of a rollercoaster and Ferris wheel. Jill C. Rodriguez’s costumes capture a range of periods (though Fromme’s red cloak looks like it is left over from Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods).

Those looking for something more than light-hearted fun will feel richly rewarded by the way Assassins captures your attention as it gets you thinking about all the problems that explode into political violence.

Assassins continues at the Sarasota Players through May 10, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, Suite 1130. Tickets are $35, $15 for students. For more information, go to the theplayers.org or call (941) 365-2494.