March 30, 2017

SVSU Theatre presents Tony-winning musical ‘Assassins’

The Saginaw Valley State University Theatre Department will stage its production of the Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman musical “Assassins,” beginning on Wednesday, April 5 in SVSU's Malcolm Field Theatre of Performing Arts. 

A multiple Tony Award-winning musical, Assassins combines Sondheim's signature blend of intelligently stunning lyrics and beautiful music with a panoramic story of our nation's culture of celebrity and the violent means some – from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald – will use to obtain it. Bold, original, disturbing, and alarmingly funny, the dark musical comedy will explore the dark side of the American Dream, where assassins and would-be assassins meet, interact and inspire each other. 

“The controversy certainly stems for the fact that we get to have an inside look at what the U.S presidential assassins were thinking,” said Ric Roberts, SVSU professor of theatre, who is directing the play.

“Even though we know they are completely wrong in their execution, people might have empathy for a few of them,” he said. 

This play has been on Roberts' radar for years.

“I wanted to select a show that was musically challenging for our actors and our students designers,” he said. 

The show takes place over many historical periods where the audience can expect a musical tour with many eclectic styles and voices. 

Roberts insisted on live music for the show to enhance students’ learning.

“It is important that we train our students to work with a live orchestra since they will be dealing with it in the professional world,” he said. “The relationship between our theatre and music departments has been very strong over the past eight years, and this helps solidify our relationship.” 

Brandon Haskett, SVSU associate professor of music, and Kevin Simons, SVSU assistant professor of music, will provide musical direction for the play. The orchestra will consist of SVSU students, through a course introduced two years ago as part of the academic minor in musical theatre, as well as SVSU faculty and professional musicians from the region.

Performances for “Assassins” are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 5 through Saturday, April 8; on Sunday, April 9, there will be a matinee performance at 3 p.m. Tickets are $16 for general admission, $14 for senior citizens and $12 for students. For more information please contact the SVSU box office at (989) 964-4261.