David Campbell to Star In Hit Musical ASSASSINS

The Sydney Opera House today announced that the Hayes Theatre Co's critically acclaimed production of the darkly entertaining, revue-style musical Assassins, will play in the Playhouse this June, starring the acclaimed actor, singer and showman David Campbell.

Set in a fairground shooting gallery, the Tony Award-winning Assassins tells the story of nine misfit Americans who killed (or planned to kill) their President-of-the-day. The genius of America's greatest musical-theatre composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim (West Side Story, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods) combines with John Weidman's book, exploring the disillusionment associated with patriotic idealism. Deploying a dose of absurd humour and a century of musical pastiche, Assassins dissects the motivations of some of history's most notorious criminals.

The hit 2017 Hayes Theatre Co season received widespread critical acclaim and multiple nominations in last year's Sydney Theatre Awards. Continuing their roles from the Hayes Theatre Co season, David Campbell (Dream Lover) appears as Lincoln's assassin, 'John Wilkes Booth' alongside Connor Crawford (The Sound of Music, City of Angels), Hannah Fredericksen (Dream Lover, Heathers), Kate Cole (Ladies in Black, Sweet Charity), Bobby Fox (Ladies in Black, High Society, Blood Brothers), Jason Winston (formerly known as Jason Kos) (Cabaret, Miracle City), Rob McDougall (Les Misérables), and Justin Smith (The Detective's Handbook, Billy Elliott). The spectacular newcomer Maxwell Simon reprises his role of The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald after a sensational debut at the Hayes.

Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance, Olivia Ansell says "This startlingly bold production of Assassins grabs you with its immediacy, hilarity and timeliness. It was considered controversial when it premiered off-Broadway in 1990, but the times have caught up with it. Assassins is a smart musical that contemporary audiences will love. Just as they've enjoyed the opportunity to see other Australian music theatre productions by independent promoters that transferred to the Opera House from the highly-respected Hayes Theatre Co, like Sweet Charity (2015) and Heathers (2016)."

Director Dean Bryant (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors) says "Assassins is a wry celebration and indictment of a culture that adores their guns. A documentary, black comedy, revue and tour through a hundred years of popular music. Assassins couldn't be more right for Australia now when our newsfeeds are full of the sad impact of US gun violence and the whims of the incumbent President."

The creative team is completed by Helpmann Award-winning Choreographer Andrew Hallsworth (Anything Goes, Sweet Charity, Muriel's Wedding), Musical Director Andrew Worboys (Sweet Charity and Little Shop of Horrors), Costume & Set Designer Alicia Clements (After Dinner, Ivanov), and Ross Graham (Little Shop of Horrors, Sweet Charity) and Nick Walker on light and sound design respectively.

Contemporary Performance at the Opera House champions modern storytellers, pop-culture visionaries and work that is bold, entertaining and genre-straddling. The program presents the best Australian and international productions spanning contemporary dance, theatre, circus, magic, comedy, musicals and cabaret. This year Contemporary Performance has featured Michael Keegan-Dolan's Swan Lake/Loch na hEala, genre-defying Hot Brown Honey, the podcast trailblazer Brian Reed, and the Australian premiere screening of cult Netflix series Stranger Things 2. This summer featured the Sydney premiere of Green Day's American Idiot, variety spectacular The Unbelievables in the Concert Hall and circus-cabaret Limbo Unhinged. The hilarious late night rebel cabaret show - where the audience is the star - The Miss Behave Gameshow, continues until mid-March.