CCM Alumni Featured on Stage and Behind the Scenes of Eight Tony Nominated Productions

Nominations for the 2014 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards were announced earlier this week and more than a dozen CCM alumni are involved in this year’s nominated productions!

Composer Stephen Flaherty (BM, 1982) scored the musical adaptation of Rocky, which received four nominations this year.

Josh Prince (BFA, 1996) choreographed Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which also features alumni Alysha Deslorieux (BFA, 2012), Daniel Torres (BFA, 2001), Sara Sheperd (BFA, 2008) and Melvin Tunstall III (BFA, 1998) in the cast.

Pamela Bob (BFA, 1999) is in the cast of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, which leads the Tony nominations with 10 nods.

Alums Eric Santagata (BFA, 2004), Betsy Wolfe (BFA, 2004) and Preston Boyd (BFA, 2008) are all in the cast of Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, which received six nominations.

Alumnus Damian Baldet (BFA, 1995) is featured in the cast of Machinal, which received four nominations.

The revival of Les Misérables features Max Quinlan (BFA, 2008) and Adam Monley (BFA, 2000) in its cast.

Katie Klaus (BFA, 2006) is in the cast of The Bridges of Madison County and Leeds Hill (BFA, 2011) is in the cast of Cabaret, where he recently filled in for Alan Cumming in the iconic role of the Emcee.

The 68th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast live at 8/7 central on Sunday, June 8, on CBS. Hugh Jackman returns to host this year’s ceremony. Find out more by visiting www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees.

Remembering the University of Cincinnati’s Wilson Auditorium

UC’s Wilson Auditorium.

This month, the University of Cincinnati says goodbye to the 81-year-old Wilson Auditorium, the debut venue for CCM’s Musical Theatre program (with the 1969 production of Sweet Charity) and the onetime home of CCM’s Department of Drama.

Originally opened in December of 1931, the building was constructed in remembrance of Obed J. Wilson, a local self-made businessman and arts advocate. At the time of its opening, the building featured then cutting-edge amenities including a projection room for “motion-and-sound pictures” with the capability of relaying radio broadcasts.

Vacant for the past decade and a half, Wilson Auditorium’s demolition was approved in 2006 and is scheduled to be completed this fall.

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To mark the end of an era, CCM Drama Chair Richard E. Hess looks back on the impressive legacy of Wilson Auditorium:

CCM Drama Celebrates Graduating Students at 2013 Senior Showcase on March 15

CCM Drama’s Class of 2013.

CCM’s Department of Drama presents its 2013 Senior Showcase at 2 and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15, in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater. Both showcase performances are free and open to the public.

Graduating seniors in CCM’s drama program will present a variety of monologues and scenes to demonstrate the depth and breadth of their acting skills, honed during their undergraduate training at CCM. This will be the first presentation of a performance that these students will be taking on the road to exhibit their talent in industry showcases in New York and Los Angeles this April.

The 11th annual CCM Drama Dolly Awards will follow the 7 p.m. showcase performance. Hosted by Drama Department Chair Richard E. Hess, this annual event recognizes outstanding achievement and performance by students in the Department of Drama at CCM. Awards are given for Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Ensemble Performance from the 2012-13 CCM Drama season, which included the productions Arcadia, Ulysses, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and most recently The Time of Your Life. The year’s ceremony will also include tributes to retiring Professor of Dramatic Performance Michael Burnham and alumna Elana Ernst (’07 BFA Drama).

The highlight of the Dolly Awards will be the presentation of the 2013 Julia Winter Cohen Career Excellence Award to a graduate of CCM Drama. This year’s honoree is alumnus Damian Baldet (’95 BFA Drama), who will join the event via Skype videocast from London. Baldet has performed the role of Timon in the London, North American Tour and Mandalay Bay Las Vegas productions of The Lion King since 2005, and has a long list of credits that include shows off-Broadway and at La Jolla Playhouse (Calif.) and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.