Three weeks to go and the advertising push has started. This is part of an email I received today which give a fair bit of detail:
"The Launceston Players present
ASSASSINSMusic and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman
Directed by Jeff Hockley.
Musical Director: Petrina Jahnz
EARL ARTS CENTRE29 March - 1 April at 8.00 p.m.;
2 April at 4.00 p.m.;
5 - 8 April at 8.00 p.m.
Adults $25 Concessions & Groups 10+ $20
Bookings at the Princess Theatre Ticket Office
Early bird ticket offer ( first week only, Wed March 29-Sun April 02)
Just book your tickets before 5:00 March 17 and receive:
Preferential seating,
Complimentary program
Complimentary glass of wine.
Limited to first 50 seats of each performance March 29 – April 02
Assassins.Bold, original, surreal, disturbing, thought-provoking and alarmingly funny.
A musical about the American Dream, and what nine assassins have done about it.
This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States, in a one-act historical 'revusical' that explores the dark side of the American experience. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, Stephen Sondheim bends the rules of time and space, taking us on a thrilling roller coaster 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.
In order of appearance:
The Proprietor: owner of a carnival shooting gallery with a unique game... Shoot A President, Win A Prize.
Played by Cameron Skirving
Balladeer: an omniscient moral conscience, representing the audience's point of view. Comments on the story as it happens, until the assassins gang up and throw him out - they don't need someone else to tell their story.
Played by Dean Cocker
John Wilkes BoothApril 14, 1865 - Assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
Played by Patrick O'Halloran
Charles GuiteauJuly 2, 1881 - Assassinated President James Garfield
Played by Mark Horner
Leon CzolgoszSeptember 6, 1901 - Assassinated President William McKinley at the Pan American Exposition, in Buffalo, NY
Played by Mark Humber
Giuseppe ZangaraFebruary 15, 1933 - Attempted to assassinate President: Franklin Roosevelt, but missed and killed Mayor Cermak instead.
Played by Richard Clarke
Lee Harvey OswaldNovember 22, 1963 - [Allegedly] assassinated President: John F. Kennedy, Dallas.
Played by Jonathan Hendriks
Samuel ByckFebruary 22, 1974 - Attempted to assassinate President Richard M. Nixon by trying to crash a plane into the White House.
Played by Dan Speed
Lynette "Squeaky" FromeSeptember 5, 1975 - Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford, but forgot to load her gun.
Played by Denise Sam
Sara Jane MooreSeptember 22, 1975 - attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford but was stopped when a taxi driver saw her gun.
Played by Carol Devereaux
John Hinckley Jr.March 30, 1981 - Attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan
Played by Danny Gibson
With Georgie Todman, Susie Daw, Lyndell Geeves, Tash McCulloch, John Towers, Matt Sheehan and Marcus McKenzie in support roles.
Bold, original, surreal, disturbing, thought-provoking and alarmingly funny, Assassins is perhaps the most controversial musical ever written. This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States, in a one-act historical 'revusical' that explores the dark side of the American experience. 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 roller coaster 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.
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An intimate acting piece for an ensemble cast, Assassins contains some of the finest scene writing in recent memory as well as a brilliant, melodic score which pastiches American music throughout the ages, from folk to ragtime to 1970s soft rock.
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A musical about killing the President of the United States? I'm game. An interesting choice given the current political climate. Assassins, a Stephen Sondheim musical, centres on the lives and motives of some of America's most infamous assassins and yes, they all killed, or attempted to kill, the President. Billed as 'perhaps the most controversial musical ever written' it seems Sondheim and John Weidman, who wrote the book, are trying to convey an overtly political message within the darkly comic script, alleging that the assassins are as much products of society as the political leaders they are trying to dispatch.
But despite the obviously American historical references, you don't need a degree in American presidential history to enjoy this musical - the main themes are clear enough, whether or not politics is your thing.
Mixing up time and place, in the style of Brechtian montage theatre, the script brings together, in a multitude of highly imaginative, but utterly impossible situations, nine historical figures from American history. In so doing, it draws a contrast between the renown achieved by murder (actual or attempted) and the fame of celebrity. The assassins interact with each other, crossing the boundaries of time and death to goad and encourage their fellows into committing further atrocities, seemingly undeterred by their own ineffectual attempts.
As with all of Sondheim's work, the score is varied and intelligent, not at all fitting the cliché of the Broadway musical, and the script is peppered with songs that complement the overlying themes.
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Enter the world of the desperate and disillusioned, of patriots and murderers, of actors and homemakers, of the little people who just don't get a break until something inside them breaks. How do you write a musical about Presidential assassins? This is the task that fell to composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and book writer John Weidman. "Assassins" shows us vignettes of each Presidential assassin, whether they were successful or not. As we progress through the years, Sondheim explores different musical styles in each era, from the "Ballad of John Wilkes Booth" to the Sousa-like "How I Saved Roosevelt" to the folk song simplicity of "I Am Unworthy of Your Love." However, these scenes are disjointed and without focus until we reach the climax, the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In a surreal scene out of the Twilight Zone, John Wilkes Booth (with the help of the rest of the assassins) convinces Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot the President instead of committing suicide.
"Assassins" is a grim and dramatic look at the failings of the American dream. Although the assassins commit the ultimate act of treason and violence, their frustrations, problems, and search for justice are things that we can all relate to. In watching their brutal solitude and vulgar despair, we view our own dashed hopes and dreams, our own search for meaning. Much like Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman," attention must be paid."
Congratulations if you read all that
Buff
Thanks for popping in to say hi, though!
Sadly Assassins has finished and I just want to say congrats to all involved. It was a fab time and just awesome to be part of such an edgy show, the sort of theatre that is rare in Lonnie. Also thanks for all the support out there in theatreland. There is potential for total bitchiness on a forum such as this, and the enthusiasm for Assassins was really fantastic.