CCM presents award-winning musical 'Spring Awakening'
The SOLD OUT performances are led by guest director Hannah Ryan
Story by CCM Graduate Student Chet Rhodes
CCM's Musical Theatre series ends their season with the smash-hit musical Spring Awakening, presented April 13-16, 2023, in Cohen Family Studio Theater. Tickets are currently sold out for all performances.
The winner of eight Tony Awards, Spring Awakening features book and lyrics by Steven Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, and is based on the play by Frank Wedekind. CCM’s production is led by a power-house creative team, including guest director Hannah Ryan, CCM student choreographer Jess Zylstra, and music director CCM Musical Theatre Professor Julie Spangler, keyboardist with the Cincinnati Pops.
Set in Germany in 1891, this Grammy-winning rock musical offers a fresh and un-apologetic look at the tumultuous journey from adolescence to adulthood. Follow Melchior, Wendla, Moritz, and the rest of their classmates as they face hardships, learn and dispute morals, and explore their budding sexualities, gaining exposure to the highest highs and lowest lows of teenage life. The exhilarating plot leaves nothing untold, and displays all the tragic, hilarious, and grotesque scenes in shocking detail. The stunning end is sure to leave audiences reflecting on their own lives, questioning tradition, and the role of morals.
Speaking on her inspiration in directing this work, Ryan emphasizes the show’s ties to nature. “The young people in this story turn to nature as a sanctuary, and within it they find freedom, liberation and one another,” she says. Ryan is focused on using the show as a platform for empathy, shining a “bold and brash” light on the injustices of the world and providing a voice for the voiceless.
However grim the honesties portrayed in this show may be, Ryan has found within them a hopeful mantra of perseverance: “You can’t control the cyclical patterns of nature. The seasons come and the seasons go, and through their many changes the human spirit can learn to be resilient.”
Wedekind’s original play, written in 1891, was first performed in 1906 in Berlin. The controversial and mature themes found within Spring Awakening were extremely radical for the time, and caused the work to be frequently banned or censored. For almost a century, performances were rare, and were almost always met with fervent push-back from concerned traditionalists. However, Sater and Sheik’s 2006 musical adaptation was wildly popular, and quickly moved to Broadway, starring Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. Sheik’s catchy, somewhat unexpected score references the historical connotations of rebellion that surround rock music, further layering the plot and lyrics with an overwhelming sense of teenage angst. Continually a fan-favorite, the original cast album won the 2008 Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.
Producing such a well-renowned show is no small task, but the outstanding performances by talented CCM students leaves nothing to be desired. A beautiful union of many disciplines, Spring Awakening showcases the stunning successes of not only the on-stage performers, but those of the many CCM students working behind the scenes as well. Lighting and stage design, wig, make-up, costume design, and many others all play vital parts in creating this breathtaking masterpiece.
“Each person is bringing something uniquely themselves,” says Ryan, “and because of that authenticity the energy is palpable.”
Broadway Resident Director of Hamilton. Founding collaborator of Nettelworks. Australian Staging Director: An American in Paris. Director: Gypsy (Theatre Aspen) Confidence and The Speech (Theatre Row) Roe (Post Theatre Co.) All Dressed Up(Redhouse) Riot Song (Joe's Pub) Every Path (La Jolla Playhouse & Moxie Theatre) Sally: A Solo Play (Theatre Aspen & Alabama Shakespeare Festival) Still Life (Keller Gallery) The Guys (Davenport Theatre) Ascended (Zoetic Stage) The Big Announcement (Drama League’s Rough Draft Series) Let’s Misbehave (Mr. Finn’s Cabaret) Cendrillon and Gianni Schicchi(Point Loma Opera) Twelfth Night, Midsummer, The Forced Marriage, et al (Point Loma Playhouse), Broadway Resident Director of An American in Paris, Associate Director The Curious Incident on Broadway, Circus in Winter (Goodspeed), The Golem of Havana (Barrington Stage Company & Miami New Drama) Member of SDC, Drama League Director’s Project Fellow & Resident, SDC Foundation Denham Fellow. Adjunct professor at NYU.
- Director | Hannah Ryan
- Choreographer | Jess Zylstra
- Musical Director | Julie Spangler
- Scenic Designer | Charlie Calvert
- Lighting Designer | Kristen Peck *
- Costume Designer | Meredith Buckley *
- Sound Designer | Patrick Kiernan *
- Wig & Make-Up Coordinator| Kelly Yurko
- Production Stage Manager | Kali Ashurst *
- Intimacy Director | Torie Wiggins
- Fight Director | k. Jenny Jones
- Dialect Coach | Sarah Summerwell
- Wendla | Grace Rusnica
- Melchior | Declan Smith
- Moritz | August Bagg
- Ilse | Sarah Jane Nelson
- Martha | Julia Schick
- Thea | Madison Mosely
- Anna | Kassi McMillan
- Hanschen | Tate McElhaney
- Ernst | Sean Polk II
- Georg | Coty Perno
- Otto | Brian Cheung
- Adult Man | Garrett Van Allen
- Adult Woman | Delaney Benson
- Standby, Wendla | Julia Yameen
- Standby, Melchior | Nick Pattarini
- Standby, Moritz | Tate McElhaney
- Understudy, Ilse | Kassi McMillan
- Understudy, Martha | Madison Mosely
- Understudy, Adult Man | Nate Jones
- Understudy, Adult Woman | Madison Osment
- Swings | Nate Jones, Madison Osment, Annalise Prentiss, Tomi Newman
Spring Awakening
Book & Lyrics by Steven Sater
Music By Duncan Sheik
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Content advisory: This production features adult themes and situations and is intended for mature audiences.
Performance Time
- 8 p.m. Thursday, April 13
- 8 p.m. Friday, April 14
- 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 15
- 2 p.m. Sunday, April 16
Location
Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati
Purchasing Tickets
Tickets are currently SOLD OUT. Tickets are $29.50; student discounts and group rates are available. More information is available in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-box office.
Learn about additional ticket options for current CCM students.
Directions and Parking
CCM is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. For detailed driving directions, visit ccm.uc.edu/directions.
Parking is available in UC's CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus.
CCM OnStage patrons can add pre-paid parking to their checkout carts when purchasing tickets. Pre-paid parking is date/performance specific. CCM Garage parking rates for a performance or special event is usually available for $10-15. Learn more about parking at UC's CCM Garage.
For additional information on parking at UC, please visit uc.edu/about/parking.
- Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust
- Scholarship and Resident Artist Supporter
- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
- CSO/CCM Diversity Fellowship Sponsor
- The Corbett Endowment at CCM
- Dance Department Supporter
- All-Steinway School Supporter
- The Joseph and Frances Jones Poetker Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation, Ritter & Randolph, LLC, Corporate Counsel
- Visiting Artists & Thinking About Music Supporter
- William L. Gasch Endowment Fund for Dance Excellence
- CCM Dance Department Supporter
-
J. Brett Offenberger, MD and Mr. Douglas E. Duckett;
Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer
Greg Mathein
Jim & Linda Miller
George & Caroll Roden - Musical Theatre Department Supporters
- The Estate of Genevieve Smith
- Opera Production Supporter
- Rafael and Kimberly de Acha
- Opera D’Arte Supporter
- Estate of Mrs. William A. Friedlander
- Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth
- Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren
- Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen
- Elizabeth C.B. Sittenfeld
- Elizabeth Stone
- Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman
- Mrs. Theodore W. Striker
- Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer
- Ariel Quartet Supporters
- Friedlander Family Fund Karl Zipser
- Chamber Music at CCM
- Jan Rogers
- Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation
- Choral Studies Supporters
- Anonymous
- Classical Guitar Supporter
- Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn
- Philharmonia Supporters
- Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation
- Starling Pre-Collegiate Supporter
- Starling Strings Supporter
- Dr. Timothy E. and Janet L. Johnson
- Thom Miles and Roberta Gary
- Organ Department Supporters
-
Keyboard Club of Cincinnati
L. Ried Schott - Piano Department Supporters
- Kevin and Nancy Rhein
- Wind Studies Supporters
- Willis Music/ Buddy Rogers Music
- LINKS Instrument Donation Supporter
- Strader Fund of the Greter Cincinnati Foundation
- CCM Innovation Supporter
Sponsors listed as of July 1, 2024
Featured image at the top: A promotional image for Fellow Travelers featuring two actors looking into the distance. Graphic design by Mikki Graff.
Chet Rhodes
CCM Graduate Assistant, Marketing + Communications
Currently a Bassoon Performance master’s student at CCM, Chet received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Utah. He has held positions with the Salt Lake Symphony and the Utah Philharmonia.
Additional Contacts
Curt Whitacre | Director of Marketing/Communications | UC College-Conservatory of Music
whitaccp@ucmail.uc.edu | 513-556-2683
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- College-Conservatory of Music
- Performances and Public Events
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- Lighting Design and Technology
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