The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is pleased to announce details for its 2012-13 Studio Series of opera, musical theatre and drama.
The series opens in October with a revival of the comedy-horror-rock musical Little Shop of Horrors and concludes in April with an extended run of the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning musical Parade, co-produced with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center.
CCM’s 2012-13 Studio Series also includes public workshop performances of two new American operas produced in collaboration with Cincinnati Opera, a pair of socially relevant and emotionally powerful dramas, and a fresh take on one of Georges Bizet’s earliest operas.
Please see the listings below for full production and ticketing details.
Tickets and Parking Information
Aside from CCM’s co-production of Parade, all Studio Series events are free and open to the general public. Reservations are required for all free Studio Series productions and can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office or calling 513-556-4183.
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (at the base of Corry Boulevard off of Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for information on parking rates.
For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
Additional Information
Titles and dates subject to change – rights pending. For more information regarding CCM events, contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 or visit ccm.uc.edu.
CCM 2012-13 STUDIO SERIES
Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama
Little Shop of Horrors
Music by Alan Menken
Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman
Thom Christopher Warren, guest director
Ryan Shirar, musical director
Joey Dippel, choreographer
Based on the low-budget film directed by Roger Corman, Little Shop of Horrors is a comedy-horror-rock musical about a hapless florist who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. With a score in the style of early 1960s rock and roll, doo-wop and early Motown, the show “satirizes many things: science fiction, ‘B’ movies, musical comedy itself and even the Faust legend.” Come and see it – but please, don’t feed the plant!
Performance Times:
- 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11
- 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12
- 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13
- 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 8. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Opera Fusion – New Work Lab Presents:
Champion
A partnership between CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera
Composed by Terence Blanchard
Libretto by Michael Cristofer
TBA, conductor
James Robinson, director
Fabian Almazan, pianist
Opera Fusion welcomes five-time Grammy-winner Terence Blanchard and Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cristofer for a 10-day residency, culminating in a public workshop performance of their new opera Champion. A unique fusion of jazz and operatic styles, Champion is based on the true story of boxer Emile Griffith. A world champion prizefighter, Griffith experienced both triumph and tragedy; in winning the Welterweight Championship in 1962, his punches put opponent Benny “The Kid” Paret in a coma from which he never recovered. Just before the match, Paret had mocked Griffith using homosexual slurs. Years later, Griffith’s homosexuality was revealed when he was nearly killed by a gang outside a gay bar. Champion presents a modern tragic hero who is ultimately consumed by rage, regret and the terrible consequences of his actions.Champion will make its world premiere at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) in 2013. OTSL Artistic Director James Robinson directs.
CCM Performance Time: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 22. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Cincinnati Opera Performance Time: 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 28
Location: Mayerson Theater, School for Creative and Performing Arts, 108 W. Central Parkway, downtown Cincinnati
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 8. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera Box Office at 513-241-2742 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
The Laramie Project
Written by Moisés Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project
Richard E. Hess, director
The facts surrounding the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose brutal murder shocked the country in 1998, come to life on stage. Award-winning playwright Moisés Kaufman and members of his theater company traveled to Laramie, Wyoming, to conduct 200 interviews with the residents of the town. What resulted is a powerful dramatization of the murder, investigation and subsequent convictions—a sobering look into how hate is born and nurtured in the back streets of a friendly American town. Mature subject matter.
Performance Time:
- 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30
- 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Nov. 26. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Opera Fusion – New Work Lab Presents:
Morning Star
A partnership between CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera
Composed by Ricky Ian Gordon
Libretto by William M. Hoffman
Steven White, conductor
Ron Daniels, director
Carol Walker and Lydia Brown, pianists
Ricky Ian Gordon (composer of 2007’s The Grapes of Wrath) and William M. Hoffman (librettist of 1991’s The Ghosts of Versaille) workshopMorning Star, a story of sisterhood set against the backdrop of New York City’s tragic Triangle Shirt Factory fire of 1911. The workshop will culminate with a public performance conducted by Steven White (the Metropolitan Opera) and directed by Ron Daniels (director of the 2009 filmThe War Boys) on Dec. 4 and 5.
Cincinnati Opera Performance Time: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 4
Location: Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm Street, downtown Cincinnati
Tickets: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 8. Please contact the Cincinnati Opera Box Office at 513-241-2742 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
CCM Performance Time: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Tickets: Admission is free but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Dec. 3. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Doctor Miracle (Le docteur Miracle)
Composed by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Léon Battu and Ludovic Halévy
Stefano Sarzani, conductor
Omer Ben Seadia, director
This farce revolves around the making of an omelette thought to be poisonous. Young lovers, the mayor of Padua and a conniving servant careen through one of Georges Bizet’s earliest operas. Hilarity ensues, but true love triumphs in the end. Featuring some of Bizet’s liveliest music, Le docteur Miracle will be sung in French with English supertitles.
Performance Dates:
- 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15
- 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16
- 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 11. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Execution of Justice
Written by Emily Mann
Michael Burnham, director
A chilling examination of the trial of Dan White for the murder of Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s first openly gay Supervisor, and Mayor George Moscone. Scrupulous in its objectivity, the play suggests a public and legal mind-set that allows criminals to avoid just punishment. Dan White was convicted on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and spent only a little over five years in prison. Mature subject matter.
Performance Dates:
- 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19
- 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 15. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
Parade
Co-produced by CCM Musical Theatre and the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Ed Cohen and Dee Anne Bryll, directors
Stephen Goers, musical director
In the sweltering intolerance of 1913 Atlanta, northerner and Jewish factory manager Leo Frank is wrongfully accused of murdering a 13 year-old girl under his employment. As press frenzy and public outrage overwhelm his defense, Frank’s only hope lies in a brave crusade by the southern wife he never understood, among a people that never understood him. A Tony Award-winner for best book and score, Parade is a transformational story of a country at odds with its declarations of equality.
Performance times:
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 5
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6
- 3 p.m. Sunday, April 7
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13
- 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14
- 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 20
- 3 p.m. Sunday, April 21
Location: The Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, KY
Admission: $19 – $26; tickets may be purchased through the Carnegie Box Office at 859-957-1940 or online at www.thecarnegie.com.
CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.
Opera Fusion: New Works is sponsored by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 