Mountain Community Theater Presents: "Assassins" Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Mountain Community Theater is proud to present "Assassins", by John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim. Directed by Davis Banta, with Musical Direction by Max Bennett-Parker. The production opens Friday, May 4th and runs five weekends through Saturday, June 2nd at Ben Lomond’s historic Park Hall, 9400 Mill Street. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m. (No performance on Sunday, May 6th). Community Night is Thursday night, May 10th, at 8p.m. when all tickets are 2-for-$25. There will be a post-show champagne reception on opening night Friday, May 4th. Join us for a talk-back with the Director and cast after the performance on Sunday May 13th and Sunday May 20th. General tickets are $25; Senior and Student tickets are $20. Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Bold, original, disturbing and alarmingly funny, "Assassins" is perhaps the most controversial musical ever written. A multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force, "Assassins" combines stunning lyrics and beautiful music with a panoramic story of our nation's culture of celebrity, and the violent means some will use to obtain it. Writers Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman bend the rules of time and space to take us on a nightmarish carnival ride in which a mix of would-be and successful Presidential assassins from different historical periods meet, interact and inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the American Dream.

Director Davis Banta is the co-founder of Sidereal Theater Company and directed the company’s productions of A Contemporary American’s Guide to a Successful Marriage © 1959, and Isaac’s Eye. He has also directed productions of Sam Shepard’s play True West for the Kung Fu Theatre Company, and Quality of Life for Blue Wolf Theatre Company. Davis has also directed 3 plays for Actors’ Theater’s Eight 10’s@ Eight. His sketch comedy troupe “You Had To Be There” has produced two shows of original sketch comedy and won the “Best Theatre Troupe” award in the Santa Cruz Weekly in 2009. He was also a regular voice on the radio from 2007-2010 on the KZSC Drama Hour.

The cast comprises both MCT favorites and newcomers to MCT, including Robert Gerbode as John Wilkes Booth, David Jackson as Giuseppe Zangara, Alexander Garrett as Charles Guiteau, Benjamin Canant as Samuel Byck, Brittney Mignano as Sara Jane Moore, Brennan Perry as Leon Czolgosz, John Wasielewski as John Hinckley Jr., April Bennett as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, Sarah Kauffman as The Balladeer, and Mike Stark as The Proprietor.