CCM Studio Series Presents a Musical Celebration of Stephen Sondheim

CCM’s Musical Theatre department stages Sondheim on Sondheim, a documentary-meets-musical-revue, on Thursday, Oct. 5 through Saturday, Oct. 7. Admission is free but reservations are required; tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 2.

CCM opens its Sesquicentennial Studio Series with Sondheim on Sondheim, a musical revue of Stephen Sondheim’s most beloved works, on Thursday, Oct. 5 through Saturday, Oct. 7 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater. The performance paints an intimate portrait of the songwriter, told through his music and through video clips of Sondheim himself.

Stephen Sondheim.

“Sondheim’s comments are amazingly candid, giving a unique and personal insight into the stories behind the songs, as well as the personal battles he has faced with his family, producers and fame,” says CCM Musical Theatre Professor and Department Chairman Aubrey Berg, director of the show.

Eight singers from CCM’s Musical Theatre program will perform some of Sondheim’s most popular tunes without amplification and accompanied only by piano. Audiences will recognize featured songs in the revue, such as “Comedy Tonight” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, “Something’s Comin’” from West Side Story and “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music.

The show also includes excerpts from Passion, Assassins and Bounce, as well as a brand-new song written just for Sondheim on Sondheim.

“The strength of the show comes from the brilliance of the music and lyrics and the accomplishments of the performers in interpreting the songs of the modern master of musical theatre,” Berg says.

CCM Musical Theatre has a long history with Sondheim musicals; the department has staged almost all of Sondheim’s major works over the years.

“His songs can be witty and ironic, but also heartfelt and deeply emotional,” Berg says. “They provide a tremendous challenge to young performers and serve as excellent training for our more advanced students.”

With this show, CCM Musical Theatre also welcomes the return of Katie Johannigman (BFA Musical Theatre, 2012) as a Visiting Adjunct Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre. Johannigman choreographs Sondheim on Sondheim, which features music direction and accompaniment by Stephen Goers.

“I have watched Katie grow up and remember her as a star-struck little girl attending productions at CCM,” Berg says. “The last performance she gave here was as Cinderella in Into the Woods (a favorite Sondheim work). I am delighted that she is visiting us this year as a teacher, choreographer and director. It gives us a wonderful sense of continuity.”

You can see Johannigman’s choreography in Sondheim on Sondheim in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater from Oct.5-7. Admission is free, but reservations are required; tickets become available at noon on Monday, October 2. They often sell out quickly, so visit our guide to Studio Series tickets for tips and tricks to secure your seats.
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SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Conceived and directed on Broadway by James Lapine

Production Team

• Aubrey Berg, director
• Stephen Goers, music director and accompanist
• Katie Johannigman, choreographer
• Nicholas Smith, lighting designer
• Margo Leist, stage manager

Cast list

• Bryce Baxter
• Aria Braswell
• Emily Fink
• Ciara Harris
• Phillip Johnson
• Alex Stone
• Keaton Whittaker
• Gabe Wrobel

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5
• 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7

Location
Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village,
University of Cincinnati

Tickets
Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 2. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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Sondheim on Sondheim is presented through a special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI www.MTIShows.com.

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Studio Series Sponsors: Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer, Ms. Margaret L. Straub & Mr. Neil R. Artman
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Story by CCM graduate student Alexandra Doyle

CCM Announces Sesquicentennial Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera

CCM presents nine eclectic and electrifying productions as part of its 150th Anniversary Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera. This annual series of performing and media arts events features CCM’s acclaimed “stars of tomorrow” in a collection of scaled-down stagings set in the Cohen Family Studio Theater and other intimate performance spaces.

Composer, lyricist, playwright and CCM alumnus Todd Almond.

The 2017-18 series opens in October with the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, which showcases the songs of legendary musical theatre composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. In November, CCM proudly presents The Earth is Flat, a touching coming-of-age story written by CCM alumnus Todd Almond (BM, 1999) and set in UC’s Calhoun Hall. November also sees the return of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which showcases 10 student-created short films produced over the course of a single weekend.

The series continues in early 2018 with productions of the operas Trouble in Tahiti, The Telephone, Tale for a Deaf Ear and Ariodante. CCM’s popular Dance Student Choreographers’ Showcase and TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works both return in March. The 150th Anniversary Studio Series concludes in Spring 2018 with the unconventional and moving musical drama The Theory of Relativity (directed and choreographed by CCM alumna Katie Johannigman) and the debut of an original 60-minute play created by CCM Acting for the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Studio Series is just one part of the yearlong CCM Sesquicentennial Celebration, which includes world premieres, guest artist performances, a series of off-campus concerts and a one-of-a-kind alumni showcase event. For an initial overview of CCM’s 150th anniversary programming, please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/sesquicentennial-celebration.

The complete 2017-18 Studio Series lineup is listed below. Titles and dates are subject to change.

Tickets and Parking Information
All Studio Series performances are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required and seating is limited. Reservations can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts or by calling 513-556-4183.

Unless otherwise noted, all Studio Series productions take place in CCM’s intimate and versatile “black box” performance space, the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM’s 150TH ANNIVERSARY STUDIO SERIES
Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Conceived and originally directed by James Lapine
Aubrey Berg, director
Stephen Goers, music director
Katie Johannigman, choreographer

A “revelatory revue full of wonderful moments,” Sondheim on Sondheim is an intimate portrait of the famed songwriter in his own words… and music. Ranging from the beloved to the obscure, the songs are interspersed with in-depth video interviews, delving into Sondheim’s personal life and artistic process. Far from the typical song cycle, Sondheim on Sondheim has massive theatrical potency, as well as inarguable staying power. A “funny, affectionate and revealing tribute to musical theater’s greatest living composer and lyricist” and a wonderful showcase for CCM’s Musical Theatre stars of tomorrow.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 2. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4
• Studio Acting Series •
THE EARTH IS FLAT
Written by Todd Almond
Richard E. Hess, director

The CCM Sesquicentennial celebrates the work of accomplished alumnus Todd Almond! A love letter to the University of Cincinnati written by Almond, The Earth is Flat explores the universal awkwardness of the American college experience. The search for identity by those least prepared with answers resonates with unexpected comedy in this new play commissioned by CCM Acting as part of the Cincinnati Playwrights Conference in 2016. A coming-of-age story set in Calhoun Hall, The Earth is Flat follows purple-haired Ethan as he takes his first tentative steps toward self-knowledge.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 30. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19
• Studio Acting/Digital Media Collaborative/E-Media Series •
FOURTH ANNUAL 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL
Richard E. Hess and John Owens, producers

Join us for our annual celebration of original film work by students. After random team placement, student authors, actors, directors, editors, and composers have 48 hours from 7 p.m. on Friday night to 7 p.m. on Sunday night to create finished original short films. All UC students are invited to participate.

Location: MainStreet Cinema, Tangeman University Center
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are not required, but space may be limited.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4
• CCM at 150 Celebrates Bernstein at 100/Opera d’arte Series •
TROUBLE IN TAHITI + THE TELEPHONE + TALE FOR A DEAF EAR
Music and libretto by Leonard Bernstein/Music and words by Gian Carlo Menotti/Music and lyrics by Mark Bucci
Brett Scott, conductor
Amy Johnson, director and co-producer
Kenneth Shaw, co-producer
Gabriela Sam, assistant director

The CCM Opera d’arte Series of undergraduate productions proudly presents a triple bill of one-act American operas! Featured works include Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, a one-act opera that candidly portrays the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. Written between Bernstein’s biggest Broadway successes, Trouble in Tahiti draws upon popular song styles to deliver an uncompromising critique of Mid-century American marriage. The triple bill also includes Gian Carlo Menotti’s bit of froth, The Telephone, and Mark Bucci’s rarely produced, but haunting Tale for a Deaf Ear. Taken together, Opera d’arte’s triple bill offers three vastly contrasting views into the extremes of human relationships.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Jan. 29. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit
two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb 17
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18
• Studio Opera Series •
ARIODANTE
Music by George Frideric Handel
Libretto based on a work by Antonio Salvi
Aik Khai Pung, conductor
Robin Guarino, director

Hailed as one of Handel’s finest operas, Ariodante presents a tale of royal intrigue and betrayal set in the remote Scottish Highlands. The daughter of the King of Scotland is happily engaged to Prince Ariodante, but the scheming Duke Polinesso plots to take the princess’ hand in marriage and seize the throne for himself. Intrigue ensues in this celebrated opera seria, but true love wins the day!

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 12. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal
Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 1
8 p.m. Friday, March 2
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3
• Studio Dance Series •
DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOWCASE
André Megerdichian, director

Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 26. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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7 p.m. Wednesday, March 7
7 p.m. Thursday, March 8
7 p.m. Friday, March 9
• Studio Acting Series •
TRANSMIGRATION 2018
A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard E. Hess and Brant Russell, producers

TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the students in CCM Acting. Six teams of actors craft and perform six original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, this 10th Anniversary Edition of TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the [Acting] program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, theatre fans were offer a jolt of onstage vitality,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender.

Location: CCM Village
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 5. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 29
8 p.m. Friday, March 30
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Music and lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
Katie Johannigman, director and choreographer
Stephen Goers, musical director

From Drama Desk Award nominees Neil Bartram and Brian Hill (The Story of My Life), The Theory of Relativity is a joyous and moving look at our surprisingly interconnected lives. Whether you’re allergic to cats, in love for the first or tenth time, a child of divorce, a germophobe or simply a unique individual, audience members and actors alike are sure to find themselves in this fresh new musical. Created using the real-life experiences and struggles of Millennials, The Theory of Relativity introduces a compelling array of characters experiencing the joys and heartbreaks, liaisons and losses, the inevitability and the wonder of human connection.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 26. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, April 19
8 p.m. Friday, April 20
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21
• Studio Acting Series •
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL PROJECT
Susan Felder and Richard E. Hess, directors

Every year thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages all over Edinburgh, Scotland for the largest arts festival in the world. For the first time, CCM Acting will present an original 60-minute piece in August of 2018 in the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Join us at CCM in April as we present our original creation for Cincinnati audiences.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, CCM is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

This is our story. This is your season. Join us for a celebration 150 years in the making…

CCM Professor Roger Grodsky Explores the Golden Age of Broadway Musicals for ‘Absolute Sound’ Magazine

The April 2014 issue of The Absolute Sound magazine features an in-depth look at the Golden Age of Broadway musicals on record, written by CCM Professor of Musical Theatre Roger Grodsky!

A member of CCM’s faculty since 1996, Grodsky has served as musical director for a number of recent CCM productions (including Singin’ in the Rain earlier this season) and has also participated in performances, PBS broadcasts and recordings of the Cincinnati Pops.

He has also worked with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization on restoring classic shows by Rodgers and Hart.

The Absolute Sound is the world’s preeminent source of expert reviews, features, and commentary on high-performance audio and music. The magazine’s April issue is on newsstands now and available online here.

UC’s College-Conservatory of Music Receives $1 Million Gift from the Corbett Foundation

Patricia Corbett was named a great Living Cincinnatian in 1994. She died on January 28, 2008, and was honored with a special memorial concert at Music Hall performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the CCM Musical Theatre program.

We are honored to announce that the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) has received a $1 million gift from the Corbett Foundation, designed to enhance the Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre, the first chair of its kind in the world.

“CCM cannot be more grateful to the Corbett Foundation for this significant gift,” says Peter Landgren, Dean and Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music at CCM. “This gift will allow the musical theatre program to increase existing focus on student scholarship, enhance relationships with professionals in the field by bringing them to campus for master classes and support the senior showcase experience in New York City, which is the most important audition for graduating seniors in our musical theatre program.”

When Mrs. Corbett established the Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre more than 20 years ago, it was the first chair of its kind in the United States. Mrs. Corbett allowed CCM to “do it first and do it best.” Her vision has guided musical theatre students to audition in New York City, to compete successfully on Broadway and national touring stages, and ultimately to win the coveted Tony, Drama Desk and Fred Astaire Dance Awards.

“I wish to extend a personal word of gratitude to Karen McKim, Executive Director of the Corbett Foundation, for her stewardship of the love and support that the Corbett’s have showered upon CCM for many decades,” says Landgren.

About the Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre at CCM
Since its establishment in 1991, the Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre has provided invaluable support for the Musical Theatre Program at CCM. At the time of its inception, it was the only academic chair of its kind in the United States, the American equivalent of the Chair in Musical Theatre endowed by Cameron Macintosh in honor of Stephen Sondheim at Oxford one year later.

Mrs. Corbett’s generosity has helped scores of students with scholarship aid, enabled the program to invite master teachers to campus, established New York and Chicago showcases for graduating seniors and underwritten admission-free Studio productions, CCM’s gift to the Cincinnati theatre-going community.

CCM Video: A Farewell in Song from the Musical Theatre Program’s Class of 2013

CCM Musical Theatre’s graduating class of 2013.

The graduating seniors from CCM’s Musical Theatre program bid a heartfelt farewell to their time at the University of Cincinnati with a performance of Craig Carnelia’s “Flight” and Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere” (from the musical West Side Story) accompanied by Julie Spangler:

Learn more about CCM Musical Theatre’s recent graduates here!

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Rick Pender Hails CCM’s ‘Into the Woods’ As ‘The Season’s Best Musical’

Rick Pender takes a look back at Cincinnati’s 2011-12 theatre season in the current issue of CityBeat and singles out CCM’s Into the Woods as “the season’s best musical.” Congratulations to everyone involved with this production, which also received a record number of awards from the League of Cincinnati Theatres!

CCM’s ‘Into the Woods’ Receives a Record Nine League of Cincinnati Theatres Awards

CCM presents INTO THE WOODS, Feb. 23 - March 4, 2012. Photography by Mark Lyons.

CCM’s production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Into the Woods has earned nine awards from the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT)! The fairytale adventure turns traditional stories of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk and others upside down, examining the “after” in these happily-ever-after tales.

LCT panelists praised nearly every aspect of the production, which was described as “fitting CCM like the golden slipper on Cinderella’s foot.” Awards were given in the following categories:

CCM Slideshows: Into the Woods

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The reviews are in and CityBeat‘s Rick Pender calls Into the Woods a “remarkably mature and thoroughly entertaining production,” while the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Jackie Demaline writes: “Delights include first-rate work from graduating seniors and a show of great promise from freshmen in the wonderful storybook world created by the design team.”

Find out for yourself what happens after “happily ever after” when CCM presents Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning Into the Woods, running this Thursday through Sunday, March 4, 2012 in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

Discussing ‘Into the Woods’ Wigs and Make-Up with Student Designer Kaitlyn Adams

Kaitlyn Adams with INTO THE WOODS' Witch, played by Victoria Cook.

Into the Woods Wig & Make-Up Designer Kaitlyn Adams recently sat down with CCM Public Information Assistant and Arts Administration student Jenifer Thomas to discuss the work that went into this monumental production. Kaitlyn is handling wig and make-up design for this production alongside CCM faculty member Kelly Yurko.

Jenifer Thomas: Hi Kaitie! Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Kaitlyn Adams: I’m a Senior from Cincinnati. I went to high school at Seton on the West side.

JT: Local girl, huh? So what got you into wigs and make-up?

KA: My mom is actually a wig master and make-up artist, so I’ve grown up with it.

JT: And why’d you choose CCM?

KA: There are only two schools in the country that teach wigs and make-up. The other school focuses primarily on wigs and make-up for film, and that wasn’t where I was interested. I want to do stage work.

JT: So when you found out you were assigned to design Into the Woods, what did you do?

LISTEN: CCM’s ‘Into the Woods’ Featured on WVXU’s Around Cincinnati

CCM’s Aubrey Berg provided a preview of Into the Woods to theatre correspondent and Sondheim maven Rick Pender on the latest edition of WVXU’s Around Cincinnati.

You can listen to the full interview here. Performance information for Into the Woods is available after the jump!