Casting is complete for the East West Players production of Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins, which will be presented February 17–March 20 at Los Angeles' David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center of the Arts. Opening night is February 20.
East West Players Producing Artistic Director Snehal Desai will direct the production with musical direction by Marc Macalintal.
The cast will feature Gedde Watanabe (Pacific Overtures) as Charles Guiteau, Joan Almedilla (The King and I) as Sara Jane Moore, Adam Kaokept (Aladdin) as Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald, Trance Thompson as John Wilkes Booth, Max Torrez as The Proprietor, Christopher Chen as Samuel Byck, George Xavier as Leon Czolgosz, Astoncia Bhagat as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, Arvin Lee as John Hinckley, Jr., Aric Martin as Giuseppe Zangara, and Kym Miller as Emma Goldman.
The ensemble features Andrea Somera, Jalen Lum, and Michael Cavinder. Maya Nahree McGowan is the understudy.
Assassins, which examines the motives of the nine notorious Americans who either killed or tried to kill the President of the United States, is the 12th Sondheim musical mounted by East West Players in its 56-year history of producing theatre in Los Angeles.
“After an unprecedented 23 months, East West Players is looking forward to reopening our doors with Assassins. On what was to be opening night in March 2020, we made the difficult decision to halt production. We are thrilled audiences will finally get the chance to see this electrifying and intoxicating production whose resonance has deepened and intensified over the course of the last two years,” says director Desai. “We are also moved that this re-opening production continues the longstanding relationship East West Players has with the incomparable Stephen Sondheim as we honor his legacy.”
The production will also have musical direction by Marc Macalintal, movement direction by Preston Mui and Jasmine Rafael, dramaturgy by Stephanie Lim, projection design by David Murakami, costume design by Stephanie Nguyen, scenic design by Anna Robinson, lighting design by Wesley Charles Chew, sound design by Cricket Myers, and property design by Glenn Michael Baker. Brandon Hong Cheng is the stage manager.
East West Players, the largest producing organization of Asian American artistic work, was founded in 1965. EWP not only ensures that API stories are told, but works to increase access, inclusion, and representation in entertainment and media.
Check out photos from the current Classic Stage Company production of Assassins, which continues Off-Broadway through January 29, below.
