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| zach lutsky |
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| dan fishbach |
BIOS:
Dan Fishbach: Recent credits include The Maiden's Prayer,
Private Eyes, Company, 25th Annual Putnam Co. Spelling Bee, HAIR, Bat Boy,
Chicago, One Night Stand, International Tour (an improvised musical for
Producer Marc Platt) and several productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Currently a professor at The USC School of Dramatic Arts (Directing &
Musical Theatre). Formerly Head of Performing Arts at Harvard-Westlake School
(2002-2006), Director of The Groundlings Theatre & School (2006-2008). Has
taught at CalPoly Pomona, Santa Monica College and lectured extensively about
the History of Musical Theatre. As a producer he produced the play An Oak Tree
at The Odyssey Theatre, which was described by Variety as “A celebration of
pure theater’s power”, Impro Theatre’s Impro Unscripted (Odyssey) and nearly 30
shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He is an alumnus of Director's Lab West.
Degree from Kenyon College. Member SDC.
Zachary Lutsky: Zach is thrilled to be working with the
amazing cast and creative team behind Assassins. Some of his
favorite roles include Harry in Company, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Mr.
Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors, and Albert in Bye Bye Birdie. During
the day (and too often nights) Zach can be found working as a doctor in the
ER. He also has worked as a writer, medical consultant and actor on such
shows as “ER,” “Parenthood,” “A Gifted Man” and “Scandal.” He is
currently a writer/producer on NBC’s “The Night Shift” in its third season.
Special thanks to Liz, Jacob and Emma, for their enthusiasm and
support. For Grandma Florence, who inspired his love of theater.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
How do you know each other?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
How do you know each other?
DF: Zach and I have known each other since Jr. High School.
We were in a production of Gypsy together. I played Rose’s Father
and disappeared after about page 8 and he played Herbie (the lead). No
jealousy there at all. ;)
In the past, have you worked together doing theater –
and if so, how and when?
DF: We have talked about doing a show together for a couple
years now. Zach’s been eager to produce something. He initially
approached me about doing In Trousers, which didn’t work out. We
then talked about The Last 5 Years, and Parade before
agreeing on Assassins, and I’m thrilled that we did.
How did the idea of producing a musical first get hatched?
ZL: As mentioned, I have had a deep passion for musical theater
since my high school years. I have long fantasized about producing a
musical. But as a doctor and TV writer there has not been any time to
make this dream come true. In the meanwhile (meantime?), I have long
supported and envied Dan's work directing plays and musicals at the college and
professional level. When it turned out that the show I am currently
writing on was going to be on hiatus for a few months, I saw my opportunity and
finally approached Dan about working together to produce a musical. I
knew he too loved Sondheim and with his extensive experience would be the
perfect collaborator for this endeavor. Fortunately, he was interested
and we started working on it immediately.
It seems clear that you both enjoy musicals by Stephen
Sondheim. However Assassins is not one of his most popular works and when
first produced, was not a successful venture creatively or financially.
The musical later picked up steam with a production in London, and was revived
in New York, earning five Tony Awards in its first revival. That being
said, why choose Assassins and why now?
DF: As a director, Assassins appeals to me because for the
very reason that it was not a financially successful venture: it’s not
traditional musical comedy fodder; it
asks us to look at a very dark side of America’s history and our present, and
to look at these assassinations not from the outside but from the inside.
It asks us to step back before the moment of assassination to view the
circumstances that provoke unthinkable violence. They’re questions that
regularly surface today with the regular gun violence in our country, and
questions that even today, in real life, we hesitate to answer. This show
forces us to look at those questions, without ever really answering the
questions. It does what Sondheim and his collaborators do best: make an
audience look inside themselves and
think. That, to me, is the most exciting kind of theatre.
ZL: It is true Dan I are both huge
Sondheim fans and this show popped in my head almost immediately when I thought
about producing a musical. I love that it is so unique, so rarely done
and that ONLY Sondheim would have the brilliance and confidence to attempt to
write a musical about people who murder presidents. Who would ever think
that that topic could be so entertaining, funny, moving and even lend itself to
song and dance. Another aspect of this piece that I found attractive is that it
is an ensemble show. We have been able to pull together a very diverse
group of actors and have been blown away by how their individual talents have
melded together. Finally, I feel that its message and themes are still
very relevant today. The show explores what happens to sick minds when
they are confronted with the reality that most people will never achieve the
American dream that we are all promised. Looking at all of the horrific
violence in our country today, we see the modern manifestation of this realization,
when certain individuals, hopeless and disturbed, lash out in grotesque ways
against the country they feel has betrayed them. The Balladeer belts out early
on in the show, "Listen to the stories. Hear it in the songs. Angry men
don't write the rules, and guns don't write the wrongs." I often
think of these lyrics when yet another gun-related tragedy pops up on the
evening news and pray that one day the world will know this truth.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Red
Blanket Productions presents the multi-Tony Award-winning musical Assassins
with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman based on an
idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. directed by Dan Fishbach, music direction by
Anthony Lucca, and choreography by Lili Fuller.
Disturbing,
alarming, and eerily funny, Assassins is perhaps one of the most controversial
musicals ever written. Stephen Sondheim,
the great genius of contemporary musical theater, with stand-out shows such as Sweeney
Todd, Into the Woods, and Company, leads audiences on a tuneful review of
Presidential assassins and would-be killers from John Wilkes Booth to John
Hinckley. Thought provoking and darkly
delightful, Assassins won five Tony Awards in its first revival on
Broadway.
The
cast includes the talents of Claire Adams, Jeff Alan-Lee, Sean Benedict, Janna
Cardia, Cole Cuomo, Dominic De Armey, David Gallic, Adam Hunter Howard, Jason
Peter Kennedy, Zachary Lutsky, Sandy Mansson, Nick Tubbs, Bryan Vickery, Selah
Victor, Travis Rhett Wilson, and Paul Wong.
Material
appropriate for ages 15 and up/August 21 – Sept. 27, 2015/Fridays and Saturdays
at 8:00 PM; Sundays at 2:00 PM/The Pico Playhouse, 10508 West Pico Blvd., Los
Angeles 90064
/Tickets:
$30
For
tickets and information please visit http://www.assassinsmusicalLA.com
Show
Facebook: facebook.com/assassinsmusicalLA
Twitter:
@assassinsshowLA
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