3 CCM grads star in Aronoff’s ‘White Christmas’
Audiences who attend Broadway in Cincinnati shows at the Aronoff Center have grown accustomed to seeing the occasional College-Conservatory of Music graduate in the casts of touring shows.
The school’s musical theater program is highly regarded and churns out a steady supply of performers, designers and stage managers for the theater productions around the world. Just go to the department’s alumni web page (ccm.uc.edu/theatre/musical_theatre/alumni) and see for yourself. It lists activities for 100 or more former students, from activities in summer stock to productions in London’s West End.
When “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” opens at the Aronoff on Tuesday, though, it won’t feature just one CCM grad. There will be three of them, including the two leading roles.
As the title suggests, the show is based on the 1954 movie “White Christmas,” starring a pair of performers with Greater Cincinnati ties, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, along with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
The stage version isn’t a scene-for-scene recreation of the movie. They wisely eliminated the now-controversial minstrel number and imported a couple of other Berlin songs, “Blue Skies” and “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy.”
A most auspicious change was expanding the role of the desk clerk at the Columbia Inn. In its new iteration, the character – now named “Martha Watson” – has three musical numbers and, here in Cincinnati, will be played by Broadway veteran Pamela Myers, the very first graduate of CCM’s musical theater program.
“This is the second year I’ve done the show,” says Myers, most famously known for her tongue-twisting rendition of “Another 100 People” in the original company of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.” “Last year, I had to learn the show in a week. I’m 68 and I’ll tell you, my head was spinning. I must have formed some new synapses in my brain to make that work.”
Fortunately, Myers has stayed physically agile, as well. The role is an extremely demanding one.
“Wait ‘til you see what I have to do,” says Myers. “The character is completely over the top. She is supposed to have been in show business. So she wears a read wig and . . . well, you won’t believe it all.”
As much work as she’s done over the years, “White Christmas” was the first time Myers was part of a major tour.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it? I did a tiny little California you once, but nothing like this. I know it’s not the longest tour – just eight cities in seven weeks. But for me, it’s a revelation. Fortunately, I love doing the show. And I’m working with charming people.
Among those charming people are those two other CCM graduates, Kerry Conte and Sean Montgomery, who play Betty and Bob, the Clooney and Crosby roles.
Montgomery, a 2007 graduate, took a 10-week leave from his role in Broadway’s “Matilda” to go out with “White Christmas” a second time.
“It such a smart thing they do, letting people day leaves of absence,” says Montgomery. “You do the same show day in and day out on Broadway, which is a great thing. It’s what we all want in our careers. But taking a break from it is refreshes you as a performer.”
When he left home in Tucson to come to Cincinnati, he was sure he was up to the professional-level training at CCM.
“But I really had to up my game when I got here,” says Montgomery. “I had performed professionally back home, but it was nothing compared to what I found when I got here. Cincinnati was really good to me. It prepared me for New York.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Conte, who graduated from CCM in 2006.
“What’s really amazing for me about this show is that we had just two weeks of rehearsal to put it together,” says Conte. “So when we began the tour on Nov. 7, if it looked like I was being spontaneous, it was because I was – at that point, every night was a discovery for me.”
It’s not as is the character was a mystery to her. Rosemary Clooney had already explored the character of Betty and her relationships back in 1954. But it’s Conte on the stage now, not Clooney.
“I will always have her in my mind,” says Conte. “But it has to be me inside that that role. It’s all about finding a balance between Rosemary and me. Obviously, the audience isn’t going to forget about Rosemary. But they have to see her through me.”
Conte went through the same thing when she played the title role in “Mary Poppins.” It was impossible to leave Julie Andrews out of the equation.
“But that’s all a part of the job of being an actor,” says Conte. “Several years ago, just as I was starting my career, someone told me that the most important part of the job was getting up early and showing up.”
At the time, she didn’t grasp what he meant.
“But I understand it now,” says Conte. “You can have all the talent in the world, but you have to be willing to work hard, too, or that talent won’t do you any good. So that’s what I do. I work. A lot. And right now, I’m pretty happy with where I am and what I’m doing.”
“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas”
When: Tuesday, Nov. 24 through Dec. 6
Where: Procter & Gamble Hall, Aronoff Center, 650 Walnut St., downtown.
Tickets: $29 and up
Information: 513-621-2787; www.BroadwayInCincinnati.com