The actors will be interviewed in a segment set to air in the 9:15-9:45 AM (ET) half hour on NBC. Check your local listings.
Harris, known to television audiences as the title character in the '80s sitcom "Doogie Howser, M.D.," has become quite the stage star in recent years. He appeared in a Los Angeles productions of Rent and Sweeney Todd which led to performing the latter again for Lincoln Center's Sweeney Todd: Live in Concert. Harris made his Broadway debut in the play Proof and followed up that stint with a run as the Emcee in Roundabout's Cabaret.
Cantone is known for his over-the-top roles in "Sex and the City," "Quiz Show," and the former children's television show "Steampipe Alley." Other credits include The Violet Hour, The Tempest, The Crumple Zone as well as stand-up gigs at Carnegie Hall, Caroline's Comedy Club, and on "Comedy Central Presents... Mario Cantone."
Assassins began performances March 31 and opened on Broadway April 22. The musical theatrically retells the stories of nine individuals who took aim at eight different presidents — the four successful and five attempted assassins. The stageshow filled with song anachronistically weaves together scenes wherein they all interact with one another.
The ensemble cast features Neil Patrick Harris (Proof, Cabaret) in dual roles as The Balladeer — who comments on the action to the audience — and arguably the most infamous assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Michael Cerveris (Titanic, Tommy) swaggers as the first successful presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth. James Barbour (Jane Eyre, Carousel) portrays William McKinley killer Leon Czolgosz. Denis O'Hare (Take Me Out) cakewalks as the eccentric office seeker/James Garfield murderer Charles Guiteau. Mario Cantone (The Violet Hour) takes on Samuel Byck who threatened Richard Nixon with a 747. Jeffrey Kuhn (Ragtime) plays FDR gunman Giuseppe Zangara. Alexander Gemignani plays the Jodie Foster-obsessed Ronald Reagan shooter John Hinkley. And Becky Ann Baker (Titanic) and Mary Catherine Garrison (Debbie Does Dallas) play Gerald Ford's femme fatale Sara Jane Moore and Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, respectively. A shorn Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie) is also featured in the cast as the Proprietor, who sets the show in motion and provides weapons and more to the assassins. Tickets are available at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street), by calling Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300 or online at www.roundabouttheatre.org.
