Utopia Opera to Stage Stephen Sondheim's ASSASSINS in NYC

On September 9 at 8pm, September 10 at 3pm and 8pm, and September 11 at 3pm and 8pm, Utopia Opera presents ASSASSINS (music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.) in a fully-staged production performed with an 13-piece orchestra at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College (695 Park Avenue). Utopia founder and artistic director, William Remmers, stage directs, and Benjamin Weiss is conductor and music director.

ASSASSINS depicts a hypothetical, purgatorial meeting of 9 individuals who have attempted to assassinate (4 of whom successfully) the President of the United States. A stylized revue, the show is a series of setpieces and vignettes creating a tapestry of darkly frank and often comic dissections of American tragedy. The mysterious Proprietor of a murky shooting gallery invites the temporally disparate assassins to "shoot a President and win a prize" as the idealistic Balladeer presents staged retellings of the murderous incidents through an increasingly impassioned lens of frustration through hope. The characters hurtle and collide towards a chilling climax exploring the way American civilians react to violent tragedy and the realization that true evil may have the ability to silence the voices of the good. Though it premiered 26 years ago, ASSASSINS may never be more relevant than it is today, on the eve of a and, in a world where so much antagonism and hatred is expressed outwardly, it is humbling to find that the first place to find healing may be to confront the darkness within us all. The show presents a kaleidoscope of musical production numbers invoking almost a century-and-a-half of American music sure to thrill the senses and some of the most uproarious dark comedy ever presented in a Broadway show.

Our ASSASSINS comes with a viewer advisory: "This show makes use of swearing, stage violence/simulated gunfire, & strobe lights. It contains material that may be considered disturbing to some viewers. We believe that all Americans should see it."

Utopia Opera was founded in 2011 by artistic and musical director William Remmers. Striving to present the most entertaining operatic performances possible (for audiences and performers alike) while also maintaining a high standard of musical integrity, Utopia Opera is quickly establishing itself as a young and vibrant addition to New York City's vast operatic landscape, and was recently featured with two other indie companies on the cover of the August 2016 issue of Opera News.

In addition to providing young singers with performance opportunities, Utopia aims to share opera with a general audience and to reveal its modern relevance. A central part of that mission is realized through giving its audience and performers a stake in the direction of the company. Now in its sixth season, the Company's past four seasons were largely chosen through votes cast on its Facebook page. The 2015-16 season included Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida, Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and King Arthur, and Massenet's Cinderella. Following ASSASSINS, which received more votes than any show in the company's history, the sixth season will include Gilbert & Sullivan's The Grand Duke, Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin.

Tickets ($20 for general admission) are available online (with card) and at the door (card/check/cash; $2 fee for checks). Tickets are available online at: AssassinsUtopia.brownpapertickets.com.

CAST:

The Balladeer: Chazmond J. Peacock
John Wilkes Booth: Joshua Miller
Charles Guiteau: David Pasteelnick
Leon Czolgosz: Duncan Hartman
Giuseppe Zangara: Matthew Hughes
Sam Byck: Michael Matthias
Sara Jane Moore: Sarah Marvel Bleasdale
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme: Kayla Ryan Walsh
John Hinckley: Zachary Barnes
Lee Harvey Oswald: Jeff Goble
Housewife: Stephanie Horowitz-Mulry
Emma Goldman: Lauren Gismondi
Bystander 1/James Garfield: Trey Sandusky
Bystander 2/Gerald Ford: Joseph Martin
Bystander 3: D'ariel Barnard
Bystander 4/William McKinley: Thomas Geib
Bystander 5: Eileen Hanley
David Herold/James Blaine: Johari Menelik Frasier
Photographer/Billy: Savannah Shearouse
and The Proprietor: William Remmers

Production Staff:
Stage Director: William Remmers
Music Director: Benjamin Weiss
Asst. Director/Wardrobe: Eric Lamp
Stage Manager: Shawn Farrar

Pictured: Utopia Opera's production of L'italiana in Algeri (2014). Photo by Brynne Morrice.

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