Photo Flash: JFK Investigation Drama 'ASSASSINATION THEATER' Begins Tonight

Even after 50 years, Americans still question who shot JFK and why. Investigative reporter and author Hillel Levin reveals the most persuasive proof to date - and sheds light on the Windy City's pivotal connection - in the world premiere of ASSASSINATION THEATER: Chicago's Role in the Crime of The Century, directed by Kevin Christopher Fox. Levin's theatrical investigation into nation's most infamous crime plays tonight, August 11, through November 7, 2015 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St. in Chicago.

ASSASSINATION THEATER will feature Michael Joseph Mitchell as Hillel Levin and Mark Ulrich as Zack Shelton with Ryan Kitley and Martin Yurek. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast below!

A talented ensemble of actors and a panoply of projections take the audience back in time with original documentation based on secrets revealed by retired FBI agents and evidence that the mob - in particular the Chicago mob - killed President John F. Kennedy. ASSASSINATION THEATER will show their motivation and even name the shooters, including the self-confessed gunman who fired the fatal shot (and still survives in an Illinois prison). Whether the audience goes in familiar with the details or not - they will emerge with a dramatically different view of an event that has been seared into the nation's consciousness.

"The origins of this show go back to 2007, when I wrote a story for Playboy magazine about the burglars who broke into the home of Tony Accardo, Chicago's long-time mob leader," explains Levin. "After the article was published, I was approached by Zack Shelton, one of the FBI agents featured in the story, who asked, 'Why don't you do the real story about the mob?' When I asked what that was, he replied, 'How they killed JFK." And so began a seven-year odyssey in which Levin did the extensive research necessary to confirm what Shelton and other agents revealed. "For me," Levin says, "the assassination was a kind of theater, staged to put the blame on only one actor in what was, in fact, a much larger production."

The production team includes: Anthony Churchill (scenic and projections design), Victoria Carot (costume design) and Matt Kooi (lighting design), Christopher Kriz (original music and sound design), Richard Lundy (stage manager), Lucy Schuh (assistant stage manager) and Pat Fries (production manager).

Tickets are currently available at assassinationtheater.com or by calling (800) 838-3006. The press opening is Tuesday, August 18 at 8 pm.

Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow

To post a comment, you must register and login.