CCM Presents THE MATCHMAKER, Previews 10/27

The College-Conservatory of Music launches its 2010-11 Mainstage Series with Thornton Wilder's classic comedy The Matchmaker. Sure to induce a chuckle with its timeless humor and slapstick flair, the fun-loving show runs from Oct. 27 (preview) through Oct. 31 in CCM's Patricia Corbett Theater on the University of Cincinnati campus.

While many people know and love Jerry Herman's Tony Award-winning musical Hello, Dolly!, the story is actually based on acclaimed playwright Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. Set at the turn of the century, the farce features the exuberant Dolly Levi as a matchmaker attempting to help bad-tempered "half-a-millionaire" Horace Vandergelder find a new wife. However, Horace does not know that the woman she intends for him to marry is, in fact, herself. To top it off, Dolly is also helping Horace's niece to elope with a man of whom he does not approve, meddling in the lives of Horace's stock boys and turning heads wherever she goes. Antics abound as Dolly pairs unlikely couples while trying to secure her own match.

Given that Dolly's story is familiar to many people, director Richard E. Hess wanted to play with the conventions of the production. "I started falling in love with mismatched couples, so that the matchmaker was bringing together people that you might not see." Of particular interest to Hess was Dolly's tendency of mismatching the very poor to the very wealthy. "The Matchmaker talks a lot about money," says Hess. "Right now in our world, we have the very rich with a lot of power, and the distance between the middle class and these people is huge. In the play, these people talk about this a lot." Hess continues, "Dolly has a saying that goes, ‘money is like manure; it's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow.' I love that."

The Matchmaker Cast List:

Horace Vandergelder - Mack Harden (junior from Denver, Colorado)
Ambrose Kemper - Jack Conroy (sophomore from Burlington, Vermont)
Joe Scanlon/Gypsy 2 - Kevin Macku (senior from Cincinnati, Ohio)
Gertrude, Her Cook - Mikayla Stanley (senior from Tampa, Florida)
Cornelius Hackl - Kristopher Dean (junior from Lansdale, Pennsylvania)
Ermengarde - Clare M. Ward, (junior from Louisville, Kentucky)
Malachi Stack - Alec Silberblatt (junior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Mrs. Levi - Taylor Cloyes (senior from Houston, Texas)
Barnaby Tucker - Will Kiley (sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio)
Mrs. Molloy - Ellie Jameson (sophomore from Olympia, Washington)
Minnie Fay - Mariel Tompkins (sophomore from Long Island, New York)
A Cabman - Stephen Shore (senior from Cincinnati, Ohio)
Rudolf - Kevin Malarkey (senior from Yellow Springs, Ohio)
August - Parker Searfoss (junior from Dallas, Texas)
Miss Flora Van Huysen - Hope Shangle (junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Gypsy 1 - Ian Weber (sophomore from Crestwood, Kentucky)

For more information, including director, cast and staff bios, please visit http://ccmpr.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/ccm-the-matchmaker <http://ccmpr.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/ccm-the-matchmaker>

The Matchmaker
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Richard E. Hess

Performance Dates:
Oct. 27-31
· Wednesday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m. (preview)

· Thursday & Friday, Oct. 28-29, 8 p.m.

· Saturday, Oct. 30, 2:30 & 8 p.m.

· Sunday, Oct. 31, 2:30 p.m.

Location:
Patricia Corbett Theater, College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati

Tickets:
$11-all audiences, Oct. 27 preview only
$17 matinee, $19 evening-students
$27 matinee, $29 evening-general public
$11 student rush tickets available for Sat. matinee beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 30

Tickets or Additional Information:
Box Office:513-556-4183 or boxoff@uc.edu

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy's

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