Brava to alumna Jillian Paige Schafer on being cast in the title role in the June 17-26 Repertory Company Theatre, RCT production of THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE!
Kudos to rising music theater senior Kevin Taylor of the McDaniel studio on joining the 2016 cast of the TEXAS Musical Drama in Palo Duro Canyon, where he also will be featured in opera concerts and Shakespearean offerings!
Congrats to second-year master’s student Tevyn Hill, reigning Texoma NATS Singer of the Year, on booking the role of Little Albert in Dream Girls with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma – and signing for the fall opera-to-go tour with Portland Opera, where he will play the witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, among other roles. A member of the McDaniel voice studio, he also will perform in OCU’s 2016 NY Showcase!
Brava to Liz Lang, an alumna of the Ragsdale studio, on the rave review of her professional debut with Opera Omaha, in Handel’s baroque opera SEMELE. The arts critic of the Omaha World-Herald notes of Friday night’s performance: “Liz Lang stole her scenes as a spritely Iris with her iridescent soprano.”
Kudos to Robert Watson, an alumnus of the Christensen studio, on winning third place in the NYC-based 2016 Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition!
Brava to alumna Belinda Allyn on being cast as Maria in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of WEST SIDE STORY, opening June 1!
Brava to Maren Weinberger, soprano '11 on signing with the Theatre de Capitol and National Opera du Bordeaux in Nice, France, for a 2017 encore production of The Glimmerglass Festival’s Candide! The Keller voice studio/McDaniel coaching studio alumna will cover Cunegonde and reprise her role of Queen of Eldorado. This summer, she will return to Glimmerglass to sing Mary Warren, and cover Abigail Williams, in Francesca Zambello’s new production of The Crucible.
Congratulations Kate Ocker (BFA Design and Production '15)! Look for her as the floor manager at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago beginning in the Fall!
Brava to vocal major Karlye Whitt, a rising senior and member of the Keller voice/Koslowske coaching studios, cast in Emerald City Opera’s Florencia en el Amazonas as the Rosalba cover and chorus. She also will perform the role of the Spirit and in the chorus of the company’s production of Dido & Aeneas. Kudos!
Richard Riaz Yoder just opened in “Shuffle Along”!
Congrats to Kim Faure just cast as Demeter in the Broadway revival of CATS!
On our great American midwest road trip this summer we saw a couple of shows. All with OCU students in them.
Without pulling out the playbills… not sure if I still have them. The lead in My Fair Lady at the Tent Theatre at Missouri State University was an OCU alum. She was fabulous.
Also we saw Mamma Mia at The Muny in St. Louis and there was at least one OCU alum/student in the cast and Stages St Louis production of The Drowsy Chaperone which also had a couple of OCU alums.
Elise Mestichelli '15, has been cast as a swing in Goodspeed’s "Chasing Rainbows - The Road to Oz - ", a new musical!
Spencer Gualdoni is not an alumni yet, he is MT '17, but thought this was an interesting article about his summer as an intern for Telsey:
http://www.playbill.com/article/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-broadway-intern
We also had another '17 class member who is a BA Theatre/BA Music major who was a summer intern for Marathon Live Entertainment (better known as the people who run HAMILTON’s twitter). As a company, MLE heads up social media and online photo/video content for shows such as Hamilton and Disaster, and will be co-Producing for The Great Comet starring Josh Groban this fall, among other things.
Really exciting and great opportunities for these students!
Congrats Madge Dietrich '11 who was recently cast as Pat in the Kinky Boots National Tour where she joins fellow OCU alum Sam Dowling '12.
Congrats to Kaley Were '15 cast as the female swing for 3 different shows on the Disney Magic cruise ship
Congrats also to Manna Nichols (Tuptim) and Heather Botts (ensemble), both recently cast in the national tour of The King and I.
Madeline Grace Smith '16 will be making her NYC acting debut in “Waste, Fraud and Abuse” at the 13th Street Reparatory Theater.
Richard Riaz Yoder, has been cast in the Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler and David Hyde Pierce.
Congrats to Nathan Goodrich as Matt/The Boy in The Fantasticks On Broadway, also featuring alumna Belinda Allyn.
Love the way OCUers support each other. Congrats to alumni Isaiah Bailey, Eryn LeCroy and Esteban Suero, who performed in a rendition of “I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends” – along with Kristin Chenoweth and Barbara Cook – in Kelli O’Hara’s first concert as Carnegie Hall headliner!