This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a nightmarish rollercoaster ride in which assassins and would-be assassins from different historical periods meet, interact and in an intense final scene inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the American Dream.

Book by John Weidman
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Cast

Chuck Wilson as John Wilkes Booth
Charles Wagner as Charles J. Guiteau
Glen Cleveland as Leon Czolgosz
Jon Johanson as John Hinckley
Michael Hitchcock as Lee Harvey Oswald
Patrick Murphy as Guiseppe Zangara
Shanna Longo as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme
Melissa Hart as Sara Jane Moore
Steve Schulz as Sam Byck
Rebecca Gallatin as The Balladeer
Rob Dayoc as The Proprietor

Ensemble:
Rob Dayoc
Susan Furst
Tina Sheing
David Yashin

Staff

Director:  Rory Zummo 
Musical Director:  Laura Burhans 
Technical Director:  Tim Bean 
Stage Manager:  Jennifer Rosencrance 
Light Crew:  Mia Rotondo and Kristi Morrisroe 
Sound: Erin Murphy

About "Assassins"

from director Rory Zummo

A musical about murderers?

Yes, and about the conditions in our country which produced them ... about guns ... about facing truths that, as a nation, we try to ignore. This is a musical about the American Dream and what can happen to those who cannot realize it.

That said, you should know that this show is hysterically funny and will provoke enough thought to send you back to the history books, but it is not at all for children. The men and women of this play lived intense and violent lives and they used all of the language available to them.

Composer Stephen Sondheim has used many American musical forms such as folk ballads, pop songs, standard musical comedy tunes, even a traditional cakewalk to reinforce the theme. The show is more a musical revue than a linear story. Times and places blend as assassins from one era meet others they would never have encountered in real time. What were their motives? What values do we hold that failed these men and women? And, living in a time of foreclosed homes, plummeting stock market values, broken political promises, privatizing social security, street crime, energy blackouts, troubled teens, and availability of guns (etc., etc., ad nauseam!), can we wonder if (or when!) it will happen again? This show doesn't glorify the assassins, but challenges us to examine an American culture potentially out of control.

Our production will be performed without intermission. After most performances, the actors and production team will be available for talkback sessions. I hope this information will help you to think about the play before you see it, but it is just a scribble compared to the volumes of material available. Bookstores, libraries and the Internet have lots of resources to help you investigate the mysteries surrounding some of the most reviled persons in the American storybook.