NEWS
When veteran music producer Scott M. Riesett thanked the cast and crew of the Best Musical Theater Album winning Broadway production of Some Like It Hot at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards February 4th, it included cast member and principal vocalist Adrianna Hicks.
A 34-year-old musical theater actress from McKinney, Texas, Hicks starred as “Sugar” in the show based on the 1959 film. The passion, charisma and smile that helped propel Hicks to Grammy Award stardom has always been with her.
But her path began at OU.
As a fine arts student at the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre and 2011 graduate, faculty said Hicks engrossed herself in her passion. From tap dancing to jazz and singing, Hicks excelled and caught the eye of her professors early on.
“Adrianna is one of a kind,” said Lyn Cramer, a Weitzenhoffer endowed professor of tap, jazz and theater dance. “We are so proud of her.”
Since she began teaching at OU in 2001, Cramer has seen multiple former students graduate from the University of Oklahoma to the Great White Way. Once Hicks arrived in 2007, Cramer recognized how special she was.
“She had an incredible work ethic and was a delight to have in class,” Cramer said. “She is always eager to do her best, prove herself, and work hard.”
During her time at OU, Hicks worked under Cramer for the productions of Anything Goes and Rent. Hicks’ talent and passion led her to participate in theater work outside of the university. With the help and guidance of Cramer, Hicks became a member of the vocal ensemble in The Christmas Show with the OKC Philharmonic Orchestra.
After Hicks graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater in 2011, her professional career began in Oklahoma at the Lyric Theater in the Plaza District of Oklahoma City. Cramer directed her during her debut in the production Hairspray.
“She’s got great energy in the room. She’s kind to everyone she comes in contact with,” Cramer told the OU Daily. "Especially in this day and age and in that business, that goes a long way — it’s why people want her back again and again.”
Hicks’ talents have taken her all over the world from Germany to New York City and back to Oklahoma. After her 2015 Broadway debut in The Color Purple, she performed in the ensemble in Aladdin before starring as Catherine of Aragon in the North American premier of SIX, a British production based on the six wives of King Henry VIII.
Finally in 2022, she premiered as Sugar in Some Like it Hot before starring in a production of Cabaret.
In classic Oklahoma form, spring severe weather the weekend of April 27 interrupted a planned excursion for University of Oklahoma scholars and almost 40 Oklahomans to explore by charter bus the cultural landmark of Route 66 in the state.
OU Dance brought the former director of one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world to Norman this spring to share his choreography to one of his iconic pieces with students for this year’s Contemporary Dance Oklahoma.
Three cycles around the University of Oklahoma’s South Oval will take you one and a half miles. When students make the trek on Sunday, April 28, their laps will be for the symbolic purpose of raising awareness of suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of Darkness Campus Walk at OU will be the first of what organizers hope will become an annual tradition centered around suicide awareness and prevention.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans Butzer and his partner, Torrey A. Butzer, recently received the Mayor’s Award for Distinguished Service from OKC Beautiful, recognizing the Butzers’ visionary architectural designs that have influenced many of Oklahoma City’s buildings and landmarks.
