Curtain Call, Inc.

Event Guide

Table of Contents

Welcome

About the Show

Musical Numbers

Band

Cast in Order of Appearance

Cast Biographies

Production Team

Production Team Biographies

Welcome

Some historical events leave an indelible mark on those living at the time: 9/11 being one such that many of us can relate to. The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are others that have impacted my lifetime. And since it is often said that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, looking at the lives of the assassins themselves is important.

  Of course, only a musical genius like Stamford’s former resident, Stephen Sondheim, could weave presidential assassins - and would-be assassins - into a musical, so here we are.  

I have been a huge history buff and Sondheim fan for many years, so I really like the quirky story-telling of ASSASSINS. It is definitely not your typical toe-tapping musical comedy, but a Sondheim musical that profiles John Wilkes Booth, (who shot Lincoln), Charles Guiteau, (James Garfield), Leon Czolgsoz, (William McKinley), Lee Harvey Oswald, (John F. Kennedy), as well as lesser-known individuals who didn’t succeed in their missions: Sarah Jane Moore and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, (Gerald Ford), John Hinkley, (Reagan), Giuseppe Zangara, (FDR), and Sam Byck, (Richard Nixon) is just too hard to pass up.   

While certainly controversial in its themes, ASSASSINS, like my other favorite historical musical, 1776, uses dialogue and writings from these very real people throughout the script and lyrics. Disturbing to be sure - and sometimes comical in their absurdity (you'll see what I mean in Samuel Byck).  

As we wrap another season here, I am thankful to each of you for being here with us today... and any other events you've joined us for! The pandemic certainly knocked the entertainment industry for a loop - and while we're not yet back to normal audience levels, things are noticeably better. I hope that the season we have planned for you beginning in September will find you back with us again...but please bring some friends! The full listing of shows is available at www.curtaincallinc.com - discounted Flex Pass Subscriptions are now available, too!

Our summer season includes our 20th annual Shakespeare on the Green presentation: this year, THE TEMPEST, July 13 to 23 plus our annual Summer Youth Theatre production: THE ADDAMS FAMILY, August 4 to 12.

Thanks for being here!

Sincerely,

Lou Ursone
Executive Director
Curtain Call, Inc.

About the Show

Our nation's most notorious assassins gather on stage to violently pursue a twisted American Dream. A multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force, Assassins combines Sondheim's signature blend of intelligently stunning lyrics and beautiful music with a panoramic story of our nation's culture of celebrity and the violent means some will use to obtain it. Bold, original, disturbing and alarmingly funny, Assassins is perhaps the most controversial musical ever written. Assassins 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, writers, 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 inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the American Dream. NOTE: Contains adult themes/language and use of a racially derogatory term. This terms were wrong then and is wrong now. Rather than remove this content, (which would be a violation of copyright law) we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.

Musical Numbers

Scene 1 Limbo
“Opening” - Proprietor, Assassins

Scene 2 Tobacco Barn in Rural Virginia
“The Ballad of Booth” (Part 1) - Balladeer, Booth, Herold
“The Ballad of Booth” (Part 2) - Balladeer, Booth
“The Ballad of Booth” (Part 3) - Balladeer

Scene 3 Limbo
“Break It” - Assassins

Scene 4 Miami Bayfront Park
“How I Saved Roosevelt” - Zangara, Ensemble, Proprietor

Scene 5 Anarchist Rally in Chicago, 1901
Goldman, Czolgosz

Scene 6 Limbo
Moore, Fromme

Scene 7 Limbo
“Gun Song” -Czolgosz, Booth, Guiteau, Moore

Scene 8
The Temple of Music Pavilion, Pan American Exposition
Buffalo, NY – September 6, 1901
“The Ballad of Czolgosz” (Part 1) -Balladeer, Proprietor, Czolgosz, Ensemble
“The Ballad of Czolgosz” (Part 2) - Balladeer, Proprietor, Czolgosz, Ensemble
“The Ballad of Czolgosz” (Part 3) - Balladeer, Proprietor, Czolgosz, Ensemble

INTERMISSION

Scene 9 Limbo
Boy, Byck

Scene 10 Limbo
Fromme, Hinckley, Proprietor
“Unworthy of Your Love” - Fromme, Hinckley

Scene 11 Limbo
Moore, Guiteau, Blaine, Garfield

Scene 12 Gallows
“The Ballad of Guiteau” - Guiteau, Balladeer, Proprietor

Scene 13 Limbo
Moore, Fromme, Billy, Ford

Scene 14 Limbo
Byck

Scene 15 Limbo
“Another National Anthem” - Assassins, Balladeer, Proprietor

Scene 16
Texas School Book Depository
Booth, Oswald, Assassins, Proprietor

Scene 17 Limbo
“Something Just Broke” (Part 1) - Ensemble, Proprietor
“Something Just Broke” (Part 2) - Ensemble, Proprietor
“Something Just Broke” (Part 3) - Ensemble, Proprietor

Scene 18 Limbo
Everybody’s Got The Right (Finale) - Assassins

Band

Conductor/Keyboard 1 - Tony Bellomy
Keyboard 2 - Clay Zambo
Violin - Mia Robarts
Reed 1 - Vicky Rosado
Reed 2 - Anthony Kalanick
Bass - Christopher McNellis
Percussion - Brian Coralian

Cast in Order of Appearance

Proprietor
Eric Marquez

Leon Czolgosz
Ethan Parsons

John Hinckley
Adam Bloom

Charles Guiteau
Michael Valinoti

Giuseppe Zangara
Anthony Laszlo

Samuel Byck
Danny Charest

Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme
Jennifer Silverman

Sara Jane Moore
Amanda Bloom

John Wilkes Booth
Robert Rosado

Balladeer
Matt Garvey-Hass

David Herold
Robert Failla