CCM to Present THE HEIDI CHRONICLES, 2/11-15

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music's (CCM) Department of Drama opens its spring Mainstage Series with its debut of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles, running Feb. 11 through Feb. 15, in the Patricia Corbett Theater.

An examination of feminism and its evolution from the 1960s through the late 1980s, The Heidi Chronicles follows Heidi Holland, a successful art historian, who tries to find her true self in a rapidly changing world as the roles of women were being redefined.

Students and audience members alike will get the chance to witness a piece of history on stage as director Richard E. Hess, A.B., Dolly, Ralph and Julia Cohen Chair of Dramatic Performance, attempts to make connections between a generation who lived through the '60s, '70s and '80s and students who are now products of this age.

Hess asks a thought-provoking and timely question: "What would Wendy think of life in America in 2015, where we still must deeply question this country's commitment to racial and gender equality?"

Wasserstein was the first woman playwright to receive a Tony Award for Best Play for The Heidi Chronicles. Her work also earned her prestigious awards including the 1989 Pulitzer Prize, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award, among others.

Hess says that Wasserstein liked to create characters "who struggled with the shifting demands and definitions of self, unique to a time and place." This struggle rings true even today.

Second-year Theater Design and Production graduate student Jillian Coratti serves as costume designer for this production. She talked with Hess at the beginning of rehearsals about his vision for the look and feel of the production. "The hardest part about this production was making it look real," she explains. "This show is dramatic and thoughtful, but very rarely flashy. The characters are real and contemporary, so I didn't want to make anything come across as overly theatrical."

Coratti did a great deal of research in magazines and blogs, even pulling out older family photo albums. Her uncles grew up as members of the "baby boomer" generation, so she was able to find looks from the 70s and 80s in their wedding albums. Since each scene in The Heidi Chronicles is set in a new time period, there are a lot of quick costume changes. Heidi alone has 13 changes!

But the easiest and most rewarding part has been the fittings. Coratti says, "The actors are so eager and willing to see their costumes because they can connect with these clothes. They're very similar to what we wear everyday, yet some come from our parents closets."

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