Assassins Auditions
Director - Michael V. Hartsfield
Producer - Maureen Rogers
Laurel Mill Playhouse announces auditions for Assassins which will take place on Sunday, February 28th at 7pm and Tuesday, March 1st at 7pm. 10 men, 3 women, 1 boy plus ensemble are needed. Actors may audition bringing sheet music for the accompanist that will be provided or a CD. Sixteen bars of a Broadway style song that showcases vocal range will be requested. Assassins will open on Friday, April 29th and run through Sunday, May 22nd. Performances will run on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm with two Sunday matinees on May 15th and May 22nd at 2pm.
Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. It uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or not) to assassinate Presidents of the United States. The music varies to reflect the popular music of the eras depicted.
Cast of Characters - Ages are approximate
John Wilkes Booth
(1838-1865) Assassinated President Abraham Lincoln during a performance at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865. Foreman and inspirational celebrity to the other assassins.
Gender: Male
Age: 25 to 35
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: F2
Charles Guiteau(1841-1882) Assassinated President James Garfield in the waiting room of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station, Washington, D.C., on July 2, 1881. Dashing but mad.
Gender: Male
Age: 35 to 45
Vocal range top: Ab4
Vocal range bottom: A2
Leon Czologosz
(1873-1901) Assassinated President William McKinley at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. on September 6, 1901. A young poverty-worn radical.
Gender: Male
Age: 25 to 30
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: G#2
Giuseppe Zangara
(1900-1933) Attempted to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt as he greeted well-wishers in Bayfront Park, Miami, FL on February 15, 1933. An angry, heavily-accented immigrant.
Gender: Male
Age: 30 to 35
Vocal range top: A4
Vocal range bottom: B2
Samuel Byck
(1930-1974) Attempted to assassinate President Richard Nixon by hijacking a commercial jetliner. Hysterically irate schlep in a Santa Claus suit.
Gender: Male
Age: 40 to 45
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: D3
Lynette squeaky Fromme
(1948- ) Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford at the Capitol Park in Sacramento, CA on September 5, 1975. A pixie hippie in love with Charles Manson.
Gender: Female
Age: 25 to 30
Vocal range top: G5
Vocal range bottom: A3
Sara Jane Moore
(1930- ) Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, CA, on September 22, 1975. A frazzled housewife with little sense.
Gender: Female
Age: 40 to 45
Vocal range top: Eb5
Vocal range bottom: F3
John Hinckley
(1955- ) Attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan as he left the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981. A love-obsessed and depressed college student.
Gender: Male
Age: 25 to 30
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: A2
Lee Harvey Oswald
(1939-1963) Assassinated President John F. Kennedy from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, TX on November 22, 1963. A suicidal, dejected shipping clerk.
Gender: Male
Age: 20 to 25
Vocal range top: C4
Vocal range bottom: G3
Balladeer
A folk singer and the narrator of the show. The voice of America.
Gender: Male
Age: 20 to 40
Vocal range top: G4
Vocal range bottom: C3
Emma Goldman
(1869-1940) Turn-of-the-century Anarchist agitator and feminist. Terse and stubborn. An inspiration to Czolgosz.
Gender: Female
Age: 30 to 40
The Proprietor
A mysterious man who runs the shooting gallery at a carnival.
Gender: Male
Age: 30 to 50
Vocal range top: F4
Vocal range bottom: Gb2
David Herold
(1842-1865) One of John Wilkes Booth's confederates. Aided Booth in his attempted escape.
Gender: Male
Age: 20 to 25
Billy
Sara Jane Moore's whiny son.
Gender: Male
Age: 8 to 8
Ensemble
Bystanders; Tourists; Reporters; Photographers
