The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre is Bringing ASSASSINS to the Stage

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages Assassins, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's revue-style musical examining the motives of notorious Americans who take aim at the president of the United States-and what they believe is their best shot at the American Dream. Daringly original and darkly comic, Assassins is a timely exploration of the nation's fixation on celebrity and its potentially dangerous consequences. Against a carnival setting, Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella and Musical Director Lila Kane weave the stories of nine successful and would-be presidential assassins by way of Sondheim's stunning music and signature satirical lyrics.

Assassins made its off-Broadway debut in 1990. Its 2004 Broadway production won five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. The Gamm's production is the theater's first musical in its 35-season history.

"I often get asked, 'Why doesn't The Gamm ever do musicals?" said Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella. "My half-joking reply is 'because I'm a terrible singer.' So have no fear, I won't be performing in this show. But I am fortunate to direct a cast filled with incredible singer-actors who can powerfully deliver Sondheim's beautiful score and the absurdity and single-minded ferocity of the story's stranger-than-fiction historical figures.

"Assassins is the perfect play for America today," Estrella added. "As I write this the president not only just ordered an assassination on a political rival, but is undergoing an impeachment trial that is playing less like a sober legal proceeding and more like a run-down three-ring circus. Sondheim and Weidman wrote Assassins in 1990 and famously opened their story at a carnival. Thirty years on, it's barely a metaphor."

Assassins runs March 5-29 at The Gamm Theatre, 1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI.Tickets are $45, $55 and $65; preview performances (March 5-8) are $33. Tickets: 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org.

The nation's most notoriously successful and would-be presidential assassins inspire each other to dreadful acts in this Tony Award-winning sensation. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Sondheim's revue-style exposé bends time and space to reveal the underbelly of the American Dream and the country's culture of celebrity. Don't miss this audacious and alarmingly funny experience from the master of the modern American musical (A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods). Contains mature themes, gunshots, and depictions of violence.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Assassins
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman
Assassins is based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.
Directed by Tony Estrella+
Music direction by Lila Kane

CAST

Sara Jane Moore.......... Casey Seymour Kim*
Leon Czolgosz.......... Michael Liebhauser
Samuel Byck.......... Tom Gleadow*
John Wilkes Booth.......... Alexander Platt*
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromm.......... Amanda Ruggiero
John Hinckley.......... Chris Stahl*
Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald.......... Nile Scott Hawver*
Proprietor.......... Eden Casteel
Giuseppe Zangara.......... Andrew Iacovelli
Charles Guiteau.......... Gabriel Graetz*
Emma Goldman/Ensemble..........Helena Tafuri
Ensemble.......... Moira Costigan-Carraher

CREW

Assistant Direction by Milly Massey

Assistant Music Direction by Emily Turtle

Set Design by Michael McGarty
Costume Design by Meg Donnelly
Lighting Design by David Roy
Music Design by Peter Hurowitz
Production Management by Jessica Hill
Stage Management by Robin Grady*

+Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

CALENDAR OF PERFORMANCES

Thursday, Mar. 5 preview at 7:30

Friday, Mar. 6 preview at 7:30

Saturday, Mar. 7 preview at 7:30

Sunday, Mar. 8 press preview at 2:00

Sunday, Mar. 8 press preview at 7:30

Tuesday, Mar. 10 opening at 6:30

(New time!)

Wednesday, Mar. 11 at 7:30

Thursday, Mar. 12 at 7:30

Friday, Mar. 13 at 7:30

Saturday, Mar. 14 at 7:30

Sunday, Mar. 15 at 2:00*

Sunday, Mar. 15 at 7:30

Tuesday, Mar. 17 at 7:30

Wednesday, Mar. 18 at 7:30

Thursday, Mar. 19 at 7:30

Friday, Mar. 20 at 7:30

Saturday, Mar. 21 at 7:30

Sunday, Mar. 22 2:00
Sunday, Mar. 22 at 7:30
Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 7:30

Wednesday, Mar. 25 at 7:30

Thursday, Mar. 26 at 7:30

Friday, Mar. 27 at 7:30

Saturday, Mar. 28 at 2:00 (New this season!)

Saturday, Mar. 28 at 7:30

Sunday, Mar. 29 at 2:00

*Followed by humanities discussion with special guests. Discussion is open to the public and free of charge.