college-conservatory of music information on the anniversary celebration for alumni
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF MUSICAL THEATRE
EXCELLENCEDear CCM Musical Theatre Alumni:
Greetings from Cincinnati! I hope this finds you well and happy and pursuing your dreams wherever life may have taken you. We hear reports of your doings and un-doings, marriages, children, triumphs and struggles and, from time to time, we even get to see you when a national tour hits town. Know, however, that we love hearing about you and remember your time at the Corbett Center with affection.
Please forgive the mass e-mail, but I am trying to reach as many of you as possible. We have been unable to locate everyone on the roster of alumni, so if you know of anyone who may like to receive this e-mail, please pass it along.
As you may know, this year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Musical Theatre program at CCM. We are planning a week-long celebration of the event and hope that you may be able to join us in Cincinnati at some point during the festivities.
The Musical Theatre program at CCM is, of course, the oldest of its kind in the country. It was established in 1968 by Helen Laird, with Jack Rouse serving as the first Chair. It served as the model for the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) in creating guidelines for the accreditation of Musical Theatre programs in the United States and continues to be accredited today.
The first graduate of the program was Pamela Myers. In true "showbiz" fashion, she boarded a Greyhound Bus for New York City to seek fame and fortune. Her first Broadway audition was for a new musical written by a young composer and based on a series of one-act plays about life in the Big Apple. She sang a country and western song, "Little Green Apples" and was cast in the role of Marta. The composer was Stephen Sondheim; the musical was Company and nightly Pam stopped the show singing "Another Hundred People." A year later she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Since then, the Musical Theatre program has graduated many students who have made a name for themselves as performers, directors, musical directors, choreographers and producers. And we have continued our association with the Tony Awards, with the statuette going to such names as Faith Prince ('79) for Guys and Dolls, Michele Pawk ('85) for Hollywood Arms, Stephen Flaherty for Ragtime, Kevin McCollum ('84) as producer of the musicals In the Heights, Avenue Q and Rent and, most recently, Karen Olivo for her performance as Anita in West Side Story. But awards apart, the true story of CCM is written in the careers of the many, many students working throughout the country in every aspect of the entertainment industry. They are the sung and unsung heroes in our minds, and the reason our program is so highly regarded.
In 1999, the Musical Theatre Program celebrated its 30th Birthday with a gala concert in the newly renovated Corbett Auditorium. It featured performers from each of the three decades of the program including Pam Myers, Michele Pawk, Jim and Bob Walton, Mark Waldrop and Jason Graae.
This year, we will be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the program with a production of a forty-year-old musical called Hair, master classes by returning alumni including Pam Myers and Kevin McCollum, and a gala cabaret by some of CCM's newer performers. We would love you to be a part of the celebration, so if you can, come and visit the old haunts, complete your scene shop hours, say “Hey” to the new crop of majors and enjoy a show or two. A calendar of events is included below:
Friends of CCM Gala Performance of Hair – The Friends of
CCM host an opening night gala performance on Saturday, November 14 at 7
p.m. Patron parties precede and follow the performance. Tickets start at
$125 and include 6 p.m. reception, opening night performance and the 60’s
themed gala in the Great Hall at Tangeman University Center. Call
513-556-2100 for information and tickets to this special event.
Hair – CCM’s Mainstage production
of the American Tribal Love Rock Musical runs from Sunday, November 15
through Saturday, November 21 in Corbett Auditorium. Tickets range from $15
– $27, available through the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183.
Performance times are as follows:
• Sun., Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.
• Wed., Nov. 18, 8 p.m.
• Thu., Nov. 19, 8 p.m.
• Fri., Nov. 20, 8 p.m.
• Sat., Nov. 21, 2:30 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Master Class with Kevin McCollum – Tony
Award-winning Broadway producer and CCM alumnus Kevin McCollum (Rent,
Avenue Q, In the Heights) hosts a master class/question and answer
session on the “State of the Art” from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in Patricia
Corbett Theater on Saturday, November 21. This event is free and open to the
general public. Seating is available on a first come, first serve basis.
Musical Theatre Cabaret – CCM Musical Theatre’s 40th Anniversary Celebration culminates with a Gala Cabaret event on Sunday, November 22 at 4 p.m. in Patricia Corbett Theater. The Cabaret will feature graduates from CCM Musical Theatre’s last two decades as well as an appearance by the Class of 2010. A reception to meet the artists will follow at 5:30 p.m. This is a free event, but reservations are required. Tickets available beginning Monday, November 16 at 12 noon. Please contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
If you would like any further information on the Celebration, please
contact Patti Hall in the OMDA Office at 513-556-5803.
We hope to see you in Cincinnati in November.
Best wishes.
Aubrey Berg
Patricia A. Corbett Distinguished Chair of Musical Theatre
A History of the
Musical Theatre Program by Rick Pender
A Retrospective of
Production Photos from the Past 40 years
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Musical Theatre Program І University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music І P O Box 210003 І Cincinnati І OH 45221
