Pull A Trigger & Change The World

Media Release: For Immediate Release

Pull A Trigger & Change The World

Silo Theatre and THE EDGE present the Delmaine Fine Foods season of
ASSASSINS
Written by Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman. Directed by Oliver Driver.

Part vaudeville extravaganza, part expose and wholly electrifying, Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece ASSASSINS and its amazing score reveal uneasy truths about the American Dream. Winner of 5 Tony Awards, this glitteringly subversive musical holds Auckland Town Hall’s Concert Chamber hostage from July 24.

Hugely resonant in today’s celebrity-obsessed society, this anarchic revue looks at the lives, loves and lunacy of 9 ordinary folk – who could have grown up to be President of the United States, but didn’t. They tried to kill him instead. While their motives range from revolutionary idealism to a dyspeptic tummy, we witness their shared belief in their potential magnificence as they gather in a funhouse shooting gallery outside of time. Distinguished guests include Lee Harvey Oswald, Charlie Manson acolyte Squeaky Fromme and Jodie Foster’s stalker John Hinckley. They want to grab headlines, get the girl, or see their name in lights. They want a clear shot at the big time. In Sondheim’s killer thriller, one man’s American dream can become a nation’s nightmare.

Stephen Sondheim is widely regarded as the world’s most significant living musical theatre composer and lyricist. Celebrating his 80th birthday this year, his work includes such triumphs as West Side Story, Sweeney Todd and Into The Woods. With a score which ranges from folk to ragtime to big Broadway ballads, ASSASSINS pushes the boundaries of the art form. Sondheim has created an utterly idiosyncratic entertainment compounded equally of insight, gallows humour and provocation.

Silo Theatre Artistic Director Shane Bosher is thrilled to follow-up their previous musical successes The Threepenny Opera and Berlin with this knockout show: “Sondheim’s socially charged revue has grown in relevance since its 1991 premiere. We’ve experienced the horrors of 9/11 and the country is now one of the most socially and politically polarized societies in history. We’ve witnessed the power of the American Presidency to change the course of life both domestically and for the entire international community. But this is no mind-numbing history lesson. It’s one of the most significant, controversial and dazzling musicals ever written. It’s real 5-star musical theatre.”

Leading theatre director Oliver Driver has spent the last three months pulling together a knockout ensemble, auditioning over 200 people to fill his subversive chorus line. Silo Theatre regulars Cameron Rhodes (Loot), Andrew Grainger (That Face; Le Sud; The Cult) and Roy Snow (The Threepenny Opera) will join newcomers Kyle Chuen, Cameron Douglas, Natalie Medlock, Gareth Williams and Go Girls’ Bronwyn Bradley.

It’s time to sing another national anthem.

“…nothing quite prepares you for the disturbing brilliance of ASSASSINS…”
- The New York Times

ASSASSINS plays
July 24th – 14th August 2010
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE
Tickets: $25 - $55 (booking fees apply)
Bookings through THE EDGE: 09 357 3355 or www.buytickets.co.nz

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