Tag Archives: UC College-Conservatory of Music

CCM resumes its Mainstage Series with Eugene O’Neill’s AH, WILDERNESS!: A Comedy of Recollection in Three Acts, playing Feb. 11-14 with a special preview performance on Wednesday, Feb. 10. The show also bids a fond farewell to its director, and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies, R. Terrell Finney as he retires from fulltime status at CCM.

The words “Eugene O’Neill” and “comedy” are rarely used in the same sentence unless that sentence is “Eugene O’Neill does NOT write comedy.” The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Long Day’s Journey into Night and Mourning Becomes Electra is primarily known for his semi-autobiographical plays about characters who struggle to maintain their hopes and aspirations but ultimately slide into despair and disillusionment. Ah, Wilderness! is not one of those plays.

Set in an idyllic Connecticut town (presumably New London, O’Neill’s hometown) on the Fourth of July weekend of 1906, the play focuses on the Miller family and their 16-year-old son Richard, whose coming of age story offers a tender portrait of small town family values, teenage growing pains, and young love.

“It’s really quite the opposite of a typical O’Neill family story,” says director R. Terrell Finney. “The subtitle of the play is ‘A Comedy of Recollection,’ so my take on it is this is the family unit that O’Neill wishes he had.”

Even though it’s a comedy, the show still has plenty of the classic O’Neill depth-of-character for which he is known, “If it were written by a playwright of lesser skill, it could verge on the sentimental, but [O’Neill] brings elements that his other plays deal with: alcoholism, squandered love, intolerance and political strife. So, although it is a very loving and romantic portrait of a family, it has some depth as well,” explains Finney.

CCM’s production will be very true to the original look and feel of the play as written. “We’ve tried to create a world that’s going to let us live in 1906, so everything on stage is very period-specific,” says Finney. For example, it was important to obtain the exact music requested by O’Neill for various parts of the play, “I have to thank Dr. bruce mcclung from the Department of Musicology; he really helped us locate the music and source material so we could stay true to the original script,” Finney adds.

Ah! Wilderness!’s tender feel makes it a fitting farewell for it’s director, R. Terrell Finney. Finney’s tenure as a fulltime faculty member will come to an end this semester after 33 years of service as a member of the Department of Drama and head of CCM’s Division of Opera, Musical Theatre, Dramatic Arts and Arts Administration (now known as the Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration, or TAPAA). Finney has most recently served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies at CCM.

Finney says directing Ah Wilderness! has reinvigorated his love for the creative process and, even though he’s entering a much-deserved retirement, he hopes to stay involved in the future, “I’ve had a ball directing this show. It’s been six years since I’ve directed and it’s been so liberating. It’s amazing to be involved in the creative process, so if you had asked me, without having done this show, what I wanted to do in retirement I may have just said, ‘Oh, tend my garden,’ but now I would hope that I can continue to direct. I’m not quite ready to be put out to pasture!”Over his time at CCM, Finney’s approach to directing has changed, he says, for the better, “I’d like to think I’m more relaxed than when I started! Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches in the theater. I’ve also really come to respect and trust actor instinct. If a director can open a door to the creativity the actor can bring, he’s done his job.”

The Company

• Jonah Sorscher as Tommy Miller
• Olivia Passafiume as Mildred Miller
• Owen Alderson as Arthur Miller
• Katie Langham as Essie Miller
• Rachel Baumgarten as Lily Miller
• Devan Pruitt as Nat Miller
• Andrew Iannacci as Sid Davis
• Andrew Huyler Ramsey as Richard Miller
• Spencer Lackey as David McComber
• Mickey Tropeano as Norah
• Isaac Hickox-Young as Went Selby
• Annie Grove as Belle
• James Egbert as Bartender
• Ryan Garrett as Salesman
• Emily Walton as Muriel McComber

The Creative Team

• R. Terrell Finney, director
• Thomas C. Umfrid and Whitney Glover, scenic designers
• Adam Ditzel, lighting designer
• Mathew D. Birchmeier, sound designer
• Maria Lenn, costume designer
• Missy White, wig & make-up designer
• k. Jenny Jones, fight choreographer
• Scott Slucher, stage manager

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10 (preview)
• 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11
• 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Ah, Wilderness! are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 UC students with a valid ID. Tickets to the Feb. 10 preview performance are just $15.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/ah-wilderness.

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

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Ah, Wilderness!: A Comedy of Recollection in Three Acts is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, INC.

Bromels currently serves as director of engagement for ArtsWave,
following a 12-year tenure at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.
Her appointment at CCM becomes effective in August of 2016.

Rebecca Bromels.

CINCINNATI, OH—A familiar face within Cincinnati’s arts community will be joining the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s (CCM) highly regarded Department of Arts Administration this fall.

CCM Dean Peter Landgren has announced the appointment of Rebecca Bromels to the position of Assistant Professor of Arts Administration. Her appointment becomes effective in August of 2016.

Bromels currently serves as director of engagement of ArtsWave, the Greater Cincinnati region’s local arts agency and the nation’s largest community campaign for the arts. With the help of tens of thousands of donors, ArtsWave supports more than 100 arts and community organizations. These beneficiaries include CCM, which has been able to enhance its community engagement efforts through ArtsWave’s Community Partnership grants. In her position at ArtsWave, Bromels oversees volunteer programs and signature events including Macy’s Arts Sampler.

Having moved to Cincinnati in 1999 to pursue a directing career, Bromels discovered her love for arts administration during her 12-year tenure at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. As managing director for eight seasons, she worked to broaden the company’s base of support and provide resources for its innovative productions of Shakespeare and the classics.

Bromels joined ArtsWave shortly after its evolutionary change to impact-based funding and was instrumental in developing the organization’s new messaging and brand identity as director of communications.

She has also directed plays for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, the SERIALS project at Know Theatre of Cincinnati, New Edgecliff Theatre and St. Croix Festival Theatre in Wisconsin. In addition, she served as a guest lecturer in arts administration at Miami University and for the United Way BOLD board training program. In 2016, she will co-author a Corporate Arts Challenges Tool-Kit for Americans for the Arts.

Bromels holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance from Texas Christian University. She was recognized in the “Forty Under 40” class of 2005 by the Cincinnati Business Courier. She lives with her husband and two children in St. Bernard.

In his announcement of the hire, Landgren commented, “In my initial discussions with Rebecca, it became clear that she was committed to partnering with our faculty to advance CCM’s already remarkable Arts Administration program to even greater prestige. I am confident that her extensive theatre background and strong interpersonal skills will be a boon to CCM students and faculty alike.”

Utilizing the combined resources of CCM and UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, the Department of Arts Administration offers one of the few joint MA/MBA arts administration programs in the United States. The highly selective program boasts a 100% job placement rate for its past seven years of graduates.

Learn more about CCM Arts Administration by visiting ccm.uc.edu/artsadmin.

Learn more about CCM’s world-class faculty members by visiting ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/faculty.

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 http://ccm.uc.edu.

CCM’s acclaimed Mainstage Series continues this fall with a moving production of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical CAROUSEL. Directed and choreographed by Diane Lala with musical direction by Roger Grodsky, CAROUSEL runs Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. Tickets for all performances are on sale now.

Based on the 1909 play Liliom, CAROUSEL tells a story of tragedy, forgiveness and timeless love through the turbulent relationship of Julie Jordan, a quiet, naïve millworker, and Billy Bigelow, a swaggering, carefree carnival barker.

CCM Professor of Musical Theatre Diane Lala directs and choreographs the show, which was hailed as the “best musical of the 20th century” by Time Magazine. Fittingly, Lala’s approach to the show is to let the material speak for itself. “CAROUSEL is such a classic piece of musical theatre,” she explains. “My goal is to present the show the way the writers intended it.”

Lala is no stranger to the works of Rodgers and Hammerstein, having previously helmed CCM’s 2011 production of Oklahoma!. Lala notes that although the two musicals were written back to back, they are quite different. “A lot of the uplifting spirit in Oklahoma! comes from the feeling of community around making Oklahoma a state. In CAROUSEL we deal with the much darker issue of a marriage between two people who are completely different but who have this captivating and enduring love for each other.”

Richard Rodgers portrays the love story gloriously in his sweeping score, which he maintained was his personal favorite of all the shows he wrote.

CCM Professor of Musical Theatre Roger Grodsky and second-year graduate student Danny White will co-conduct the 39-piece orchestra for this production. The duo will honor Rodgers by utilizing a restored version of the original 1945 orchestrations. “The restoration process began in 2003 and there are literally hundreds of parts that have been reinstated or corrected,” says Grodsky. “People may be surprised to hear that that the correct lyric for ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is: ‘When you walk through a storm, KEEP YOUR CHIN up high’ not ‘hold your head’!”

CAROUSEL’s timeless score also includes such standards as “If I Loved You” and Billy’s powerful seven-minute solo “Soliloquy.”

In addition to the full orchestra, the technical elements of the show will be quite grand. However, Lala notes that the juxtaposition of these elements with the intimacy of the story is what makes this production special. “In the beginning of the show, we transform from a bare stage to a full amusement park including a big carousel, so the set and musical numbers are really big and elaborate but then the scenes are so dramatic and simple. There’s a wonderful contrast all within the same show.”

With its timeless story, glorious score, and stunning visuals, CCM’s production of CAROUSEL is sure to delight audiences and create a memorable evening of theater.

Special thanks to Carol Ann’s Carousel, A Gift of The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29
• 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30
• 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1

Location
Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel are $31-35 for adults, $20-24 for non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with a valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/carousel.

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

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Carousel Production Sponsor: The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation.

Community Partner: ArtsWave