Important update
Dear mad Theatre family,
Over the past few days, the entire mad Theatre Board of Directors as well as our cast and production team of “Assassins” have been monitoring all the developments concerning COVID-19 in Florida. As reports of cases increase, we feel a responsibility to write to you about our efforts to make every production a safe and healthy environment for all involved.
At the center of our company’s purpose is a commitment to produce shows that make you laugh, shows that make you think, and shows that make you want to get up onstage and perform with us. This mission is the reason why it is so heartbreaking to announce that our production of “Assassins,” which is currently in rehearsal, has been suspended, until such time as we can ensure the health and safety of our performers and audiences.
To those who have already purchased tickets to one of the performances, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts will be in contact with you. They will explain the options available at this time. Of course, if you happen to choose to make your ticket purchase a donation to mad Theatre, we would gratefully accept those funds and use them to defray the multiple production expenses we have already incurred.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” – Thornton Wilder
We will continue to follow the guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the World Health Organization, and state and local health officials. We will also continue to communicate with all of you through email and social media about any new developments concerning our programming.
As always, we at mad wish you well, and we look forward to seeing you soon on our stages or in our audiences.
With gratitude,
Cathy Hooten, President, & The Board of Directors
mad Theatre of Tampa
Synopsis
A multiple Tony Award-winning theatrical tour-de-force, 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 will use to obtain it, embodied by America’s four successful and five would-be presidential assassins. Bold, original, disturbing and alarmingly funny, Assassins is perhaps the most controversial musical ever written.
Assassins lays bare the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States, in a one-act historical “revusical” that explores the dark side of the American experience. From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, writers, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman, bend the rules of time and space, taking us on a nightmarish roller coaster ride in which assassins and would-be assassins from different historical periods meet, interact and inspire each other to harrowing acts in the name of the American Dream.
ASSASSINS is based on the idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr.
Playwrights Horizons, Inc. – New York City produced ASSASSINS off-Broadway in 1990.
Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by John Weidman
Direction by Jessica Berger Vitalo
Music Direction by Mitchell Samuelson
Postponed
Shimberg Playhouse @ the Straz Center for the Performing Arts
Cast & Crew
Starring
The Balladeer – Bryan Michael Vitalo
The Proprietor – Ryan Farnworth
Charles J. Guiteau – Marcus Blake
Sara Jane Moore – Miranda Harrison-Quillin
Giuseppe Zangara – Sean McKinley
Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme – Jenna Bourne
Leon Czolgosz – Michael C. Ramsey
John Hinckley, Jr. – Jonathan T. O’Brien
John Wilkes Booth – Aaron T. Castle
Samuel Byck – Jay Morgan
Emma Goldman – Bailey DeVoe
Housewife/Bystander – Karli Marie Gundersen
David Herold/Bystander – Richard Brown
Billy – Jude Templeman
Bystanders – Rick Faurote, Miles Randolph, Kari Ann Stamatoplos
Director – Jessica Berger Vitalo
Music Director – Mitchell Samuelson
Production Managers – Melissa Doell & Cathy Hooten
Stage Manager – Adriane Falcon
Assistant Stage Manager – Sashi Carnero
Scenic Designer – Dwyane Cline
Lighting Designer – Anthony Vito
Sound Designer – Jakob Nordstrom
Lighting Technician – Johnny Garde
Costume Designer – Meli Mossey
Photography – Chaz D Photography
Program Designer – Melissa Doell
Marketing & Promotions – Justin Batten, Mark Creek, & Erin Coalson
mad Theatre of Tampa, Inc.
P.O. Box 8417
Tampa, FL 33674
813-386-6173
info@madtheatre.com
Straz Center for the Performing Arts
1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place Tampa, FL 33602
The Straz Ticket Office Is Available
Sun. Noon - 6 p.m.
813.229.STAR (7827)
Photo Credit: Designs by Vito: @dbvito
Producing Sponsor
The Barrymore Hotel, located in Tampa’s Downtown near Tampa Heights and directly across from the Straz Center, features comfortable accommodations and soon-to-be refreshed event space perfect for social events, office parties and holiday parties. Our Sales Team will gladly provide a tour of our banquet space and help you start planning your gathering! Afterwards, enjoy a meal at the Continental restaurant and lounge, the brand new eatery located adjacent to our hotel. The Continental is a “mid-century modern” inspired concept featuring dishes made famous by some of the most historically iconic hotels and restaurants across America alongside a classic martini bar showcasing finely-crafted cocktails.
Enjoy Happy Hour Monday-Friday 3PM-7PM for $2 off specialty cocktails, $4 Wells and $5 house wines and drafts – the perfect spot for a drink and dinner before shows at the Straz!
When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. We hope you choose mad Theatre of Tampa by entering M A D Theatre in the search field at smile.amazon.com. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Support your charitable organization by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
Follow Us
