Audio Sample: "The Ballad of Booth"
"Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins," dealing as it does with the lives of murderers and would-be murderers, fairly quivers with controversy. The Berea Grindstone Players production, currently at The Cassidy Theatre in Parma Heights, does not shy from the controversy. Rather, this excellent production embraces it, encouraging the audience to think, to examine their own preconceptions and mores, and to view today's political climate through the cauterizing lens of history."
-Ted Larsen, Correspondent, Sun News
(Read the full review by clicking here)
THANKS FOR VISITING THE ASSASSINS WEBSITE! Here you will find valuable resources about the show like schedules, character descriptions, synopsis and more.
As the country reflects on its administration and the direction we will take in this election year, The Berea Grindstone Players and The Cassidy Theatre will embark on a timely and important new partnership to bring the musical Assassins to northeast Ohio. Assassins is being produced by the Grindstone Players but will take place at The Cassidy Theatre . The show, which will take place a month before the current general election, reflects on our culture, the American dream and asks many of the questions voters are asking right now during this current presidential campaign. Assassins showtimes are October 10, 11, 16, 17 & 18 at 8p and October 12 at 3p. Tickets are available by calling the Cassidy Theatre box office at (440) 842-4601. Assassins is intended for mature audiences - parental guidance is strongly suggested. ASSASSINS WILL BE DIRECTED BY GEOFFREY SHORT WITH MUSICAL DIRECTION BY HEIDI HERCZEG
Assassins is bold, original, surreal, disturbing, thought-provoking and alarmingly funny. This most American of shows features the wonderful music of Stephen Sondheim and 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 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.
ASSASSINS PARTNERS WITH CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND BOARD OF ELECTIONS!
The Parma Heights Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library, located at 6206 Pearl Road Parma Heights will host a live performance of musical theatre songs by the Cassidy Theatre’s outreach performing group “Cassidy On-Tour” on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. Attendees to the “Cassidy On-Tour” performance will also have the chance to win a pair of tickets to see “Assassins”.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT "CASSIDY ON-TOUR"AT THE PARMA HEIGHTS BRANCH OF THE CUYAHOGA COUNTY LIBRARY THURSDAY, OCT. 10 AT 7P!!
The library is also conducting a special “Assassins” giveaway promotion. Anyone who attends any performance of “Assassins” can enter a random drawing to win a pair of tickets to see presidential historian and “John Adams” author David McCullough. McCullough is appearing Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ohio Theatre at Playhouse Square as part of the William H. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series presented by The Cuyahoga County Library Foundation and the Plain Dealer. Theatre-goers can enter their “Assassins” ticket stubs with name and phone number written on it at the Parma Heights branch of the library. The drawing will happen on Monday, Oct. 20 after "Assassins" closes. Six runner-up winners will each win a “bag of books” from the Library and one Grand Prize winner will win two tickets to attend the McCullough program the day after the drawing.
The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections will also have a presence during the run of “Assassins”. A Board of Elections representative will be on site in the lobby of the Cassidy Theatre on opening night, Friday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 12 before the shows to register people for the Board’s vote-by-mail service. Board of election information will be available in the lobby of the Cassidy throughout the entire run of “Assassins”. MEET THE DIRECTOR! Most recently Geoff directed the musicals Violet and Dreamgirls both in 2007 and at the Cassidy Theatre. This season Geoff appeared in the Kander and Ebb Musical Revue The World Goes Round at Brecksville Theatre on the Square and in addition to Assassins, he is also directing Some Enchanted Evening, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical revue opening this August 14th at the Huntington Playhouse. He has appeared in many area musical theater productions including Five Guys Named Moe (Big Moe, Beck Center) and Cassidy Theatre productions including Godspell, Carousel (Billy Bigelow), Ain't Misbehavin' ("Ken), Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.), Cats (Old Deuteronomy) and as The Voice of Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. Geoff also appeared in the 2007 Cleveland Playhouse Club cabaret Motown and in 2006 developed his own musical cabaret act for Playhouse Square's Cleveland Cabaret Project. Geoff is also proud to be the Board President of Cassidy Theatre, Inc. and a member of the board of the Cooperative Alliance of Medina Entertainment Organizations (CAMEO). He also handles marketing duties for Olmsted Performing Arts. Geoff has been the co-host of the weekly on-air television segment "Cheap Date" seen on WKYC TV3's Good Company program and is also currently one of the lead singers for the band The Avenue. Geoff also hosts the weekly local cable television series Call-Back, focused on local community theatre. Call-Back is seen Monday nights at 10:30p on Cox cable channel 45. See the video episodes here.
Geoffrey Short is a singer, actor, director and songwriter who has performed in musical theatre, pop groups and other performing groups since he was 10 years old. He has written music for radio and television as well as the stage and his jingles and parodies have been heard frequently on Cleveland airwaves.
(Photo: 2004 Revival Production - Roundabout Theatre Company)
ASSASSINS
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Directed by Geoffrey Short
Musical Direction by Heidi Herczeg
at the Cassidy Theatre in Parma Heights October 10-12 and 16-18
John Wilkes Booth - Michael Snider
Balladeer/Oswald - Jacob Wadenpfuhl
Charles Guiteau - Kevin Joseph Kelly
Sarah Jane Moore - Kim Bush
Squeaky Fromme - Holly Facer
Sam Byck - Chris Bizub
Giuseppe Zangara - Trey Gilpin
John Hinckley - Joshua Brown
Emma Goldman/Ensemble - Jennifer Nageotte
Ensemble - Lissa Pavluk
Ensemble - David Turner
Gerald Ford/Ensemble - Michael Strama
