HAIR And ANYTHING GOES Among CCM's 2009/10 Mainstage Season

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is pleased to announce details for the 2009-10 CCM Mainstage Series of drama, musical theater and opera productions. Brimming with 20th-century American classics along with a British operatic tragedy, the series features six fully-staged works, with performances taking place Oct. 29, 2009 through May 16, 2010.

The 2009-10 season also marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of CCM’s musical theater program and will incorporate a special series of celebratory events in honor of the occasion. Also new in 2009-10, the Mainstage Series will be expanded to include dance, orchestral, wind, choral, jazz and guest artist concerts, among other events. Please see below for production and ticketing details.

For additional information, call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 or visit www.ccm.uc.edu.

You Can’t Take It With You
Written by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Richard E. Hess, director

There is no better play written about a family coping through love during the Great Depression than the classic play, You Can’t Take It With You. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, this gentle comedy about the eccentric Sycamore family has been a perennial favorite for more than 70 years. Life may be difficult at times, and we may not always have an easy time of it, but enjoy it all while you can, because “you can’t take it with you.”

Performance Dates: Oct. 28 (preview), Oct. 29–Nov. 1, 2009
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater

Hair
Music by Galt MacDermot
Book and Lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Aubrey Berg, director
Steve Goers, musical director
Diane Lala, choreographer
 
CCM celebrates the 40th anniversary of its musical theater program with the “American Tribal Love/Rock Musical,” Hair. Amid the counter-culture revolution of the Age of Aquarius, a tribe of hippies and flower children stage a pacifist rebellion against the Vietnam War and the constraints of the Establishment. They are forced to examine their own beliefs and dreams in this provocative, groundbreaking and profoundly moving musical celebration. Premiered in 1968—the same year the CCM musical theater program was established—Hair is currently enjoying a wildly successful Broadway revival.

As part of the musical theater program’s 40th anniversary festivities, Hair will feature a special opening night celebration, an extended performance run, and a roster of related special events (with details to be announced at a future date).

Performance Dates: Nov. 14 (opening night celebration—details to be announced), Nov. 15–21, 2009
Location: Corbett Auditorium

The Rape of Lucretia
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Libretto by Ronald Duncan
Based on André Obey’s play Le Viol de Lucrèce
Annunziata Tomaro, conductor
Robin Guarino, director

Virtue is threatened by corruption in this haunting chamber opera. In ancient times, the city of Rome has fallen into depravity, and it seems the only honorable woman who remains is Lucretia. The king’s son seethes with jealousy, determined to test Lucretia’s chastity, and the events that ensue become a symbol of the regime’s oppression, sparking an uprising among the people. Featuring some of Britten’s most beautiful music, the opera conveys with intense passion the struggle between evil and redemption. Sung in English with supertitles.

Performance Dates: Feb. 11–Feb. 14, 2010
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater

Anything Goes
Music and lyrics by Cole Porter
Book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
Ashton Byrum, director
Roger Grodsky, musical director
Patti James, choreographer
 
Featuring such beloved standards as “You’re The Top,” “I Get A Kick Out of You,” and the title song, this charming, Tony Award-winning musical is set aboard an ocean liner bound for London from New York. When Wall Street broker Billy Crocker spies Hope Harcourt, his beautiful (and now engaged) long-lost love, boarding the SS American, he falls head-over-heels for a second time. Stowing away, he follows her across the Atlantic in a voyage chock full of eccentric characters, hilarious antics and tapping feet. Romance has never been more giddy or tuneful than in this madcap Cole Porter masterpiece.

Performance Dates: Feb. 25–28, March 4–March 7, 2010
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater

Picnic
Written by William Inge
R. Terrell Finney, director

Life turns upside down in a small Kansas town when a handsome drifter arrives to stir hearts both young and old. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, this bittersweet comedy has set audiences’ hearts ablaze as lives are changed on Labor Day weekend at the annual community picnic. It’s never too late to fall in love!

Performance Dates: Apr. 21 (preview), Apr. 22–Apr. 25, 2010
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater

Of Mice and Men
Music and libretto by Carlisle Floyd
Based on the novel by John Steinbeck
Mark Gibson, conductor
Nicholas Muni, director

Based on the classic novel by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck, this opera tells the story of George and Lennie, two displaced farm hands during the Great Depression. Chasing the American dream to someday own their own stake of land, the pair travels across the California countryside in search of work. When their journey leads them into trouble, one friend must make a tragic choice to save the other. Sung in English with supertitles.

Performance Dates: May 13-16, 2010
Location: Corbett Auditorium

2009-10 CCM Mainstage Series of drama, musical theater and opera includes subscription packages for six-show, four-show and three-show combinations, and prices remain the same as those for CCM’s 2008-09 season. Matinee subscriptions are $138 for a full six-show package, $96 for a four-show package or $75 for a three-show package. Evening subscriptions are $150 for a six-show package, $104 for a four-show package or $81 for a three-show package.

Subscription renewal information will be sent to current subscribers in June 2009, and new subscriptions become available in late summer 2009.

ALSO NEW IN 2009-10 is the option subscribers to purchase flexible ticket packages to CCM’s 2009-10 Mainstage Series of concerts, which includes dance, orchestral, wind, choral, jazz and guest artist concerts, among others. Programming and subscription details for the CCM Mainstage Series of concerts will be announced during summer 2009.

Single tickets for Mainstage drama, opera and musical theater events go on sale in October 2009 and also reflect 2008-09 pricing, with adult tickets at $26 (matinees) and $28 (evenings) and, for students, $15 (matinees) and $17 (evenings). Previews tickets for both drama productions (You Can’t Take It With You and Picnic) are available for $10. A special student rush rate of $10 is available for select performances, and group discounts are also available—please inquire at the CCM Box Office for details.

Performances will be held in Patricia Corbett Theater and Corbett Auditorium on the UC campus.

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