CCM MUSICAL THEATRE SERIES PRESENTS

WONDERFUL TOWN

Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov 
(Based upon the play “My Sister Eileen” by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov and the stories by Ruth McKenney) 
Music by Leonard Bernstein  
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green  
Sketches of “What A Waste” by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

Nov. 21-23, 2024, Corbett Auditorium

Special thanks to Wonderful Town supporters Mr. James Miller and Mrs. Linda Miller, Dr. Henry Spitz and Mrs. Sandra Spitz, and Dr. Thomas Forte and Ms. Janice Forte, MS

  • Director and Choreographer| Diane Lala 
  • Music Director | Ian Axness
  • Scenic Designer | Mark Halpin
  • Lighting Designer | Lucas Inman*
  • Costume Designer |  Erin Donnelly
  • Sound Designer | Bryan Pivaral*
  • Wig & Make-Up Designer | Emily Kemmerer*
  • Production Stage Manager | Ella Gover*
  • Dialect Coach | Kat Littrell
  • Fight and Intimacy Director | k. Jenny Jones

*CCM Student

WONDERFUL TOWN is presented by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Tams-Witmark LLC. www.concerdtheatricals.com

WONDERFUL TOWN will run approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. 

Director’s Note

Wonderful Town is a vivid depiction of Greenwich Village, NYC in the mid-1930s — a place of tolerance, eccentricity and color where artists and bohemians would settle. This was particularly attractive to the creators of the musical while writing it during the midst of the repressed 1950s (and McCarthyism, or the “Red Scare”). It is a snapshot of life in 1930s New York, so today’s audiences might find some things dated while others are surprisingly relevant almost 100 years later.

Glossary of terms:

  • Cornball - a person with trite or sentimental ideas 
  • Walt Whitman - an American poet known as the father of free verse  
  • Felix Frankfurter - an associate justice of the US Supreme Court who served from 1939-1962, considered the most controversial justice of his time 
  • Bernarr McFadden - an American proponent of physical culture who founded the long running magazine MacFadden Publications  
  • Childs’ -  the first national chain dining restaurant-peaked in the 1920s and 30s  
  • Andre Gide - a French author who won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature 
  • Fingerbowl - a bowl of water used by dinner guests to rinse their fingers at a formal dinner 
  • Liggett’s - a drug store  
  • Mecca - Islam’s holiest city, in western Saudi Arabia
  • African Veldt - expansive grasslands in Africa  
  • Rasputin - infamous Russian mystic and advisor to the last Tzar and royal family
  • Annapolis - the capital of Maryland, home to the US Naval Academy
  • NRA - National Recovery Administration, part of FDR’s New Deal  
  • TVA - Tennessee Valley Authority, part of FDR’s New Deal and the Works Progress Administration  
  • Charles G. Dawes - 30th Vice President of the United States and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations 
  • Warden Lawes -  Lewis Edward Lawes, long-time prison warden at Sing Sing and a proponent of prison reform 
  • “Good Neighbors” - the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt towards Latin America 
  • Harold Teen - long running American comic strip  
  • Mitzi Green - American actress and singer in the early “talkies” era  
  • Dizzy Dean – Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean, professional baseball pitcher  
  • Stokowski - British-born American conductor, one of the leading conductors of the 20th century (he’s the one in Disney’s Fantasia) 
  • Major Bowes - Edward Bowes, American radio personality  
  • Steinbeck – John Steinbeck, American writer who won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature  
  • Helen Wills - American tennis player  
  • Helen Hayes - American actress whose career spanned 82 years  
  • Barbizon Plaza - hotel in New York City  
  • Van Gogh’s herring – “Smoked Herrings,” one of his most famous paintings  
  • Bulova Watch Time - a radio advertisement in 1926 that announced the time  

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Roger Grodsky and to musical theatre voice teachers: Keyona Willis, DMA; Sarah Folsom, Quinn Patrick Ankrum, DMA; Amy S. Johnson, Karen Lykes, Kenneth B. Shaw, Daniel Weeks

The Company

  • Assistant Directors | Sean Polk II, J Perry 
  • Tour Guide | Sean Polk II
  • Mr. Appopolous | Joey Baciocco
  • Helen | Arden Allmon
  • Wreck | Nick Gundrum
  • Violet | Annika Jonker
  • Officer Lonigan | Josh Devine
  • Speedy Valenti | Coty Perno
  • Eileen Sherwood | Makayla Shipe
  • Ruth Sherwood | Annalese Fusaro
  • Robert Baker | Declan Smith
  • First Associate Editor | Anargha Pal
  • Second Associate Editor | Brian Cheung 
  • Mrs. Wade | Amelia Lamb
  • Frank Lippencott | Andy Bakun
  • Chick Clark | Spencer Stanley 
  • Ensemble | Grace Baker, Andy Bakun, Dominic Carroll, Brian Cheung, Annie Dauk, Ellie Eisele, Jack Haroutunian, Annika Jonker, Edin Kebede, JT Langlas, Indya Lincicome, Morgan Lindell, Anargha Pal, Sean Polk II, Gabe Raskind, Maya Sharma, Sydney Short, Griffin Simmons, Sam Yousuf 
  • Swings | Gabby Beredo, Abigayle Stokes, Matthew Williamson, Jameson Zoller
  • Dance Captain | Nick Gundrum

Music

Musical Numbers

Act 1

  • Overture | Orchestra
  • Christopher Street | Tour Guide, Tourists and (Greenwich) Villagers
  • Ohio | Ruth and Eileen
  • Conquering New York | Orchestra and New Yorkers
  • One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man | Ruth
  • What A Waste | Robert and Associate Editors
  • Ruth's Stories | Ruth, Robert and Company
  • A Little Bit in Love | Eileen
  • Pass The Football | Wreck
  • Conversation Piece | Eileen, Ruth, Frank, Chick and Robert
  • A Quiet Girl | Robert
  • Conga | Ruth and Brazilian Cadets
  • Act 1 Finale | Company

Act 2

  • Entr'acte | Orchestra
  • My Darlin' Eileen | Officer Lonigan, Eileen and Policemen
  • Swing | Ruth and Village Hepcats
  • Ohio (Reprise) | Ruth and Eileen
  • It's Love | Eileen, Robert and Villagers
  • Ballet at the Village Vortex | Orchestra
  • The Wrong Note Rag | Ruth, Eileen and Vortex Patrons
  • Act 2 Finale | Eileen, Robert, Ruth and Company

Orchestra Roster

Ian Axness, music director 
Jacob Priddy, associate music director (graduate student conductor on Saturday, Nov. 23 matinee performance) 
Rosamund Hencinski, assistant music director/ rehearsal pianist

 

Violin 1

  • Emma Joyce, Concertmaster
  • Po-Ling Huang, Assistant Concertmaster
  • Olivia Simons
  • Lillian Kostraba
  • Yihan He 

Violin 2

  • Rachel Elfman, Principal
  • Kana Luzmoor, Assistant Principal
  • Shannon Meng
  • Kerrigan Mandrell

Viola  

  • Kody Dunford, Principal
  • Aidan Knox, Assistant Principal
  • Mariia Demash 

Cello

  • Aidan Bolding, Principal
  • Myles Yeazell

Bass

  • Jason Meusel 

Flute/Piccolo (Reed 4)

  • Maddie Choi 

Oboe/English Horn (Reed 3)

  • Anna Lower 

Bb Clarinet/Eb Clarinet/Flute/Alto Saxophone (Reed 1)

  • Geovanny Morales 

Clarinet/Bass Clarinet (Reed 2)

  • Ion Lianu-Popa 

Bassoon (Reed 5)

  • Ella Sweeney

Alto/Baritone Saxophone (Reed 2)

  • Seok Jun Yang

Clarinet/Tenor Saxophone (Reed 3)

  • Bree Herman

Clarinet/Tenor Saxophone (Reed 4)

  • Joshua Vance

Alto/Baritone Saxophone (Reed 5)  

  • Joshua Duebber 

Trumpet 1

  • Brendan Mathieson

Trumpet 2

  • Alexa Dziatkowski

Trumpet 3

  • Emily Rahn

Trumpet 4  

  • Olivia Passerini

Trombone 1

  • Madison Smith 

Trombone 2

  • Sean Laroy

Trombone 3  

  • Cody Coleman 

Drums

  • Aaron Coffenberry 

Percussion

  • Maddie Adams 

Piano

  • Isabel Mearini 

Production Staff

  • Technical Director | Iz Dillon 
  • Props Manager  | Melanie Reitman 
  • Assistant Scenic Designer/ Props Designer |  Joseph Schmitt
  • Assistant Stage Managers | Maggie Harris, Chloe Hessling
  • Production Assistant | Laila Gose
  • Assistant Production Managers | Annalee Crosser, Bethany Untener
  • Assistant Scenic Designer | Joseph Schmitt
  • Assistant Costume Designer | Alanna Gorrigan
  • Assistant Lighting Designers | Ella Rosoff, Kassidy Schley
  • Assistant Wig and Make-Up Designer | Claire Bonnette
  • Wardrobe Supervisor | Meredith Randall
  • Wardrobe Crew Head | Lexi Revis
  • Wardrobe Crew | Sequoia Goggin, Andrew Hille, Jonathon Hobbs, Owen Keeler, Miranda Myers, Ava Previzi, Wayden Wagoner, Lilly West
  • Production Electrician | Nate Miller
  • Assistant Production Electrician | Will Everson
  • Lighting Programmer | Maddi Myer
  • Lighting Board Operator | Lia Lubinsky
  • Deck Electricians | Jamie Boeskool, Kyrie Paez, Lacey Vailikit
  • Follow Spot Operators | Gavin Barrett, Ella Hamlin, Jaye Bloemeke
  • Assistant Technical Director | Morgan Terry
  • Head Carpenter | Ryan Buckley
  • Scenic Charge Artist | Jessica Secrest, CCM Staff Scenic Artist
  • Assistant Scenic Charge Artist | Ben Wright
  • Set/Props Running Crew | Emilia Buckley, Zayda DeJong, Ethan Fessler, Jacob Gers, Paul Hartmann, Emma Hirschten, Norah Jeziorowski, Elizabeth Maxfield, Skyler Rivera, Red Stotler, Makena Tingle, Dyann Williams-Sanford, Reagan Ziegler
  • Assistant Sound Designer | Ben Stacy
  • Production Sound Engineer | Lucia Thill
  • A1 | Nick Feldmann
  • A2 | Brady Smith
  • Mic Technicians | John Dougherty, Daniel Massey
  • Sound Crew | Lily Landoch
  • Wig and Make-Up Running Crew | Matilda Dalton, Jayy Jones, Isabella Landingham, Jill Schlax

next
On stage

Upcoming must-see events + top news from UC's College-Conservatory of Music

Stay up to date on CCM news and events by subscribing to our Next OnStage email newsletter, which is published every other Wednesday. Visit ccm.uc.edu/subscribe to sign up for email updates.

You can also connect with us on FacebookTwitterInstagramYouTube and LinkedIn.


CCM News

2

Attend a concert or show at CCM: Fall schedule of major events...

August 19, 2025

Experience world-class performances by the next generation of performing and media artists at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)! The college’s fall 2025 schedule of major events is now available; tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office.

Load More
Debug Query for this
Vocal performer sings at a microphone

CCMpower

CCMpower is a volunteer group of fans, advocates and alumni dedicated to empowering students and fueling the future of the arts through scholarship opportunities and more.

The competitive scholarships CCMpower provides help attract and retain the best and brightest students, nurture professional development opportunities and – in turn – continue CCM’s tradition of excellence for the next generation of student-artists. Join or renew your CCMpower membership today to help provide critical scholarship funds.

Join or renew your CCMpower member today to help provide critical scholarship funds. Visit foundation.uc.edu/ccmpower to learn more.

 


Supporters

Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust
Scholarship and Resident Artist Supporter
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
Dance Department Supporter
All-Steinway School 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
Ken and Toni Kanter
Musical Theatre Department Supporters
GLP German Light Products
Upstaging, Inc.
Theater Design & Production Supporter
The Estate of Genevieve Smith
Opera Production Supporter
Rafael and Kimberly de Acha
Opera D’Arte Supporter
The Friedlander Family
Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth
Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren
Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen
Elizabeth C.B. Sittenfeld
Elizabeth Stone
Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman
Mrs. Theodore W. Striker
Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer
Ariel Quartet Supporters
The Friedlander Family
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
Strader Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
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

Sponsors listed as of August 15, 2025

General Information


Land Acknowledgment

The Cincinnati area and the land that the University of Cincinnati has been built on is the native homeland of the Indigenous Algonquian speaking tribes, including the Delaware, Miami, and Shawnee tribes.


Box Office

Located in the CCM Atrium, the Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday, 1-5 p.m.; and one hour prior to curtain for all ticketed performances. MasterCard, Visa and Discover cards are accepted.

  • Location: CCM Atrium Lobby next to Corbett Auditorium
  • Telephone: 513-556-4183
  • Email: boxoff@uc.edu
  • Mail: CCM Box Office, P.O. Box 210003, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0003

Parking

Convenient parking is available in the CCM Garage at the base of Corry Boulevard off of Jefferson Avenue. Additional parking is available in garages throughout the UC campus. Any questions concerning on-campus parking should be directed to UC Parking Services at 513-556-2283.


Tax Credit

If you find that you cannot attend your performance, your tickets may be donated for tax credit as a charitable contribution. Simply notify the Box Office prior to the performance to release your seats, and give your name and address. A tax donation receipt will be mailed to you.


Lost and Found

If you have lost an item, contact lost and found at 513-556-9413.


House Policies

The House Manager has been instructed to minimize the disturbance to patrons already seated when accommodating latecomers. The director and producer of each production select times that are least likely to interrupt the performance, and latecomers will be seated only during these times. Latecomers who miss these opportunities will not be admitted until intermission. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted.


Cameras, Phones and Recording Devices

The video or audio recording of performances is prohibited.

The use of cameras, with or without flashes, recording devices, cellular phones and other electronic devices inside the theater is prohibited. Please leave them with the House Manager.


Smoking and Refreshments

Smoking and refreshments are not permitted in the theater. Effective May 1, 2017, smoking and tobacco use (including chewing tobacco and electronic cigarettes) shall be prohibited by students, staff, faculty, visitors, vendors and contractors at all times in or on University of Cincinnati properties, including events on university property during non-school hours. This includes all shelters, indoor and outdoor theaters and athletic facilities, bridges, walkways, sidewalks, residence halls, parking lots, and street parking and garages owned by the university.


Hearing Enhancement

Telex listening devices are available for checkout during performances in both Patricia Corbett Theater and Corbett Auditorium. Please inquire at the Box Office.


Wheelchair Seating

Wheelchair seating is available in both Corbett Auditorium and Patricia Corbett Theater. Seating is limited, so reservations should be made with the Box Office when ordering tickets. These seats are subject to availability.


Group Sales

The Box Office can accommodate groups for major productions and concerts. Preview and benefit performances are also available for some productions. For more information, call the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183.


CCM Faculty and Staff

CCM's faculty and staff and its state-of-the-art facilities make possible the professional training and exceptional education on which CCM believes the future of the arts relies. The school's roster of eminent faculty regularly receives distinguished honors for creative and scholarly work, and its alumni have achieved notable success in the performing and media arts. More than 150 internationally recognized faculty members work with students from around the world, specializing in eight areas of study.


Know Your Exit

Corbett Auditorium emergency exits are located at the back left and right of the balcony level, the back left and right of the main floor level, and at the left and right at the front of the stage.

Performance dates and repertoire are subject to change. View CCM's current calendar of events.

The purpose of these performances is educational, and they are part of a University of Cincinnati academic program.