”Assassins,” a Stephen Sondheim musical, opens tonight at 2nd Street Theater (see “If you go”), and comes with a warning from its producers: “for mature audiences.”

As it says right there in its name, this darkly comical musical is about assassins — and attempted assassins who were thwarted or had “bad” aim — of U.S. Presidents, from Lincoln through Reagan.

You may be surprised how many of them you’ve never heard of. As a theater man and self-described “historian of sorts,” director David DaCosta counts “Assassins” among his favorites.

“This is my third time doing the show,” said DaCosta, who put on the musical in his former home of Boston. “I enjoy it that much. It’s an incredible show.”

DaCosta also serves as a member of the one-act musical’s cast, starring in the role of John Wilkes Booth. Joining him in this dark, edgy comedy is a host of Central Oregon talent, including Adam Eagle, Brad Ruder, David Finch, Clinton K. Clark, Karen Sipes, Greg Thoma, Matt Vigil, Chris Gallagher and DaCosta’s wife, Mallory DaCosta.

The show takes the audience through the lives and circumstances of nine individuals who wanted to kill a president. You may not know Leon Czolgosz from Charles Guiteau — William McKinley’s and James Garfield’s killers, respectively — but you don’t need to be a historian to know some of them succeeded.

“It explores that kind of underbelly of society,” David DaCosta explained, “and why they were motivated to do what they did. It combines them in this kind of netherworld.”

The songs are downright catchy and are appropriate to the era of each assassin. (Cancan dance, anyone?)

While Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics, John Weidman — a veteran of National Lampoon and “Sesame Street,” among others — wrote the book. Weidman is also known for collaborating with Sondheim on “Road Show” and “Pacific Overtures.”

By the end of the show, the assassins “have an ultimate effort concerning one of the other assassins. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to give away what’s revealed at the end,” DaCosta said.

“I don’t think there’s an overt political statement,” DaCosta said. “It’s not about glorifying the acts of these people.”

The timing of this production is all but impossible to ignore. The inevitable response he’s been hearing from people is “Why are you doing a show like that at this time?” DaCosta said.

He counters with a question of his own: “What better time to present a show like this? (The presidential election) only comes around once every four years. What better time to remind us of these lessons and the history? It’s an intriguing show, and people like intrigue.”

While the subject matter screams anything but “funny,” credit Sondheim and Weidman for mining their source material — and knowing what to do with it.

“There are many, many hilariously light and funny moments,” DaCosta said. “We have people in the cast who are saying, ‘I’ve seen this three or four times now, and I still belly laugh over it.’”

However, underlying the upbeat songs and belly laughs, DaCosta believes, is a more serious message about the need for awareness of America’s past, along with close examination of that past.

“The purpose of the story,” DaCosta said, “is we need to re-examine our history, good and bad, so we understand who we are as a nation, why we do what we do, what kind of people we are, and what the American dream is. It works for some and doesn’t quite work for others.”

If you go

What: “Assassins”

When: Opens tonight and runs through Nov. 24; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, matinees at 2 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Nov. 18. Special show at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21; no show Thanksgiving

Where: 2nd Street Theater, 220 N.E. Lafayette Ave., Bend

Cost: $21, $18 for students and seniors

Contact: www.2ndstreettheater.com or 541-312-9626