Graduating Musical Theatre Major Eric Geil Joins ‘The Book of Mormon’ National Tour

CCM Musical Theatre student Eric Geil.

We are delighted to report that senior musical theatre major Eric Geil will join the national tour of The Book of Mormon as Elder Church beginning May 12, 2015!

Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Geil has been seen at Cardinal Stage as Enjolras in Les Misérables, at Musical Theater Heritage in Gypsy, and at Kansas City Starlight in The Sound of Music.

Geil’s CCM credits include Marius in Les Misérables, Tommy Ross in Carrie, Frankie Epps in Parade and in the companies of Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening, The Civil War, Street Scene and Chess.

Geil was a featured vocalist in the 2014 Fort Wayne Philharmonic Holiday Pops Concert. He is a proud member of AEA.

Congratulations Eric! Learn more about CCM Musical Theatre’s Class of 2015 here.

CCM Productions Sweep Cincinnati Theatre Season Round-Ups

‘Street Scene’ photography by Mark Lyons.

The League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) held its annual award ceremony on Monday, May 20, and we are happy to report that CCM productions took home an impressive six major awards for Excellence in Theatre!

‘Theatre Reviews Limited’ Profiles CCM Chair of Musical Theatre Aubrey Berg

Theatre Reviews Limited has published a profile of CCM’s Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre Aubrey Berg.

Berg discusses his career at length with Rafael de Acha and provides a preview of what audiences can expect from CCM Musical Theatre during the 2013-14 performance season!

Read the feature-length profile here.

CCM MFA Student Alan Hanson Wins iSquint and Stage Directions’ 2013 Lighting Design Competition

“Chess” runs Oct. 25 – 28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Photography by Mark Lyons.
Tickets on sale now! Visit ccm.uc.edu for more information. Photography by Mark Lyons.

We are thrilled to announce that CCM class of 2013 MFA Lighting Design student Alan Hanson has won the 2013 Student Lighting Design Competition organized by online entertainment lighting industry publication iSquint and theatre art and technology journal Stage Directions!

Hanson’s lighting design for CCM’s Fall 2012 Mainstage Series production of Chess took the title in this third annual competition, which offers a valuable prize package of lighting software and literature.

View a slideshow of Hanson’s award winning work on Chess here.

The Student Lighting Design Competition is sponsored by lighting technology companies City Theatrical, Nemetschek Vectorworks and Field Template Soft Symbols, and is judged by leading experts in the lighting design field and developers of the software entrants must use to create their design entries. Visit iSquint.net to learn more about this competition.

Congratulations to Alan on this exciting award!

CCM’s ‘Chess’ Receives Four League of Cincinnati Theater Nominations

“Chess” runs Oct. 25 – 28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Photography by Mark Lyons.
Tickets on sale now! Visit ccm.uc.edu for more information. Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM’s production of Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Tim Rice’s Chess has earned four nominations from the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT)! The LCT also distinguished the rock musical as a recommended production: Outstanding Production (musical), Ensemble, Lead Actor (Julian Decker) and Lead Actress (Aubrey Ireland). Congratulations to the entire creative team!

Loosely based on the lives of chess grandmasters Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov, Chess involves a romantic triangle between two top players (an American and a Russian) and the woman who manages one and falls in love with the other.

CCM’s ‘Chess’ Features ‘Great Singing, Great Dancing, Jaw-Dropping Costuming, Superb Orchestral Support, Sharp Techno Scenic Design’ Raves Enquirer

“Chess” runs Oct. 25 – 28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Photography by Mark Lyons.
Tickets on sale now! Visit ccm.uc.edu for more information. Photography by Mark Lyons.

In her review of Chess for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Jackie Demaline writes, “It’s easy to be swept up in the spectacle conjured by director Aubrey Berg – great singing, great dancing, jaw-dropping costuming, superb orchestral support (led by Stephen Goers), sharp techno scenic design (by Mark Halpin and Alan Hanson).”

Chess runs through this Sunday, Oct. 28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Tickets are still available by calling 513-556-4183, visiting CCM’s E-Box Office here!

Read more of Demaline’s review after the jump.

CityBeat’s Stage Door Blog Reviews ‘Chess’

“Chess” runs Oct. 25 – 28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. Photography by Mark Lyons.
Tickets on sale now! Visit ccm.uc.edu for more information. Photography by Mark Lyons.

Theatre critic Rick Pender reviews Chess in today’s CityBeat Stage Door blog: “The story is set in Bangkok and Budapest during a mid-1970s world chess championship — and it’s driven by gamesmanship between nations, between lovers and, of course, between chess players. I saw the opening on Thursday, and it’s a BIG show with a gigantic cast. Several leading roles are double cast (with more juniors than seniors, in fact, which bodes well for CCM productions for this season and next). In particular, Matthew Paul Hill, playing the Russian grand master Anatoly, lifted the roof of Corbett Auditorium with his powerful baritone voice singing the stirring ‘Anthem,’ the Act 1 finale.”

Read more here. 

Chess tickets are still available by calling 513-556-4183, visiting CCM’s E-Box Office here!

Directed by Aubrey Berg with musical direction by Stephen Goers, choreography by Diane Lala, scenic design by Mark Halpin and costumes by Rebecca Senske, Chess runs Oct. 25-28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

CCM Slideshows: Chess

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Featuring music by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with lyrics by Tim Rice, CCM’s Mainstage Series continues with the must-see musical Chess, running Oct. 25-28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

CityBeat’s Rick Pender writes, “Our local theater scene is enhanced considerably by works presented on the stages at universities: Tonight through Sunday, CCM’s esteemed musical theater program is offering CHESS, with music by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The story is set in Bangkok and Budapest during a 1972 chess championship — which is about conflict between nations, between lovers and, of course, between chess players. Director Aubrey Berg says, “The action plays out in a world of spies, counter-agents and superpowers vying for supremacy.”

Tickets are still available for this acclaimed rock musical!

Learn more at http://ccm.uc.edu.

Check out the original music video for “One Night in Bangkok” from the 1984 Chess concept album below:

CCM Presents Acclaimed Rock Opera ‘Chess’ Oct. 25-28

CCM proudly presents the acclaimed rock opera Chess as the next installment in this year’s Mainstage Series. Featuring music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (of the Swedish rock group ABBA) with lyrics by Golden Globe, Tony, Grammy and Academy Award-winner Tim Rice (of Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, The Lion King and more), Chess has what Time magazine calls “one of the best rock scores ever produced.” Directed by Aubrey Berg with musical direction by Stephen Goers, choreography by Diane Lala, scenic design by Mark Halpin and costumes by Rebecca Senske, Chess runs Oct. 25-28 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

Everybody’s Playing the Game, But Nobody’s Rules are the Same…