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VIDEO: Patrick Cassidy Visits Backstage LIVE with Richard Ridge- Watch Now!
Catch up with Cassidy ahead of next week's Assassins 30 year reunion!
By: Backstage With Richard Ridge Mar. 06, 2021
Seeing your favorite Broadway stars live on a Broadway stage may not be a reality for a while, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them live from your screen. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge is keeping up with all of their latest projects on Backstage Live, bringing you in-depth interviews twice weekly.
Watch as he chats with Patrick Cassidy, who is getting the gang back together next week for a reunion of the original company of Assassins. The star-studded 30-year reunion of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Tony Award-winning musical will take place on Monday, March 8, 2021, at 8pm EST, as part of the "Studio Tenn Talks: Conversations with Patrick Cassidy" series. Check back right here at BroadwayWorld to watch live!
"The original cast of Assassins was the most talented and celebrated team I have ever been a part of, and to have everyone back in one forum for the first time is almost beyond imagination," said Cassidy. "Having Steve and John discuss the vision behind the story, which is very relevant even 30 years later, will provide fans a very unique experience. The cast will offer personal, probably never-heard, stories from the production, and several of us will even perform songs."
Original cast members Cassidy, Victor Garber, Greg Germann, Annie Golden, Lyn Greene, Jonathan Hadary, Eddie Korbich, Terrence Mann, Debra Monk, William Parry and Lee Wilkof will join Sondheim and Weidman, director Jerry Zaks, musical director Paul Gemignani, and orchestrator Michael Starobin, among others. They will share how the show was created and provide behind-the-scenes stories of the first production, as well as rarely seen clips and photos.
Assassins premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on December 18, 1990, and closed on February 16, 1991, after 73 performances. The musical 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, Sondheim and Weidman bend the rules of time and space, taking viewers 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 a warped version of the American Dream. Numerous productions of the musical have taken place around the globe, earning accolades such as the Tony Award for "Best Revival of a Musical."
The son of Oscar winner Shirley Jones and Tony winner Jack Cassidy, Patrick is the Artistic Director of Studio Tenn Theatre Company in Franklin, TN. He came to Studio Tenn from Southern California, where he was artistic director of the regional theater company 5-Star Theatricals. He produced a string of acclaimed productions there, including The Music Man starring Adam Pascal (Rent) as Harold Hill and Beauty and the Beast with Susan Egan reprising her Tony-nominated role as Belle. His directing resume includes The Music Man at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Oklahoma! at Pittsburgh Playhouse. At Las Vegas' Wynn Hotel, he was resident director of Showstoppers and acting coach for Le Rêve. Patrick's long history on Broadway includes starring roles in The Pirates of Penzance, Leader of the Pack, Annie Get Your Gun and Elton John's Aida. When he and his mom joined the revival of 42nd Street, they became the first mother and son to ever star together in a Broadway show. Off-Broadway, he originated the role of the Balladeer in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. On TV, Patrick starred with Alec Baldwin in the miniseries Dress Gray, filled Patrick Swayze's dancing shoes in Dirty Dancing and guested on ER, Smallville, CSI: Miami, K.C. Undercover and Law & Order: SVU. The ABC Family series Ruby & the Rockits gave Patrick a chance to work with his brothers: David was his co-star, Shaun was the creator and Ryan was set decorator. On the big screen, his most cherished project is Longtime Companion, the groundbreaking drama that was the first to depict the emotional toll of the AIDS crisis. Patrick and his wife of 25 years, choreographer/dance teacher Melissa Hurley Cassidy, have two sons: Cole, a mechanical engineer/guitarist in Irvine, Calif., and Jack, a singer-songwriter (and Franklin resident) signed to Nashville's Fair Trade Services label.
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