NORMAN— Susan Stroman, a five-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer, is scheduled to visit the University of Oklahoma Norman campus beginning Wednesday, May 3. Students from the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre and the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts will get to work first hand with Stroman in a variety of performance and audition sessions.
Students will have a chance to ask Stroman questions during a session on the creative process and take part in acting, singing and dance mock auditions. Stroman also will deliver a presentation to musical theatre, drama and dance majors on the topic of getting started in the business.
The Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre will host a “Welcome to OU” private reception to support Musical Theatre scholarships.
Stroman is the recipient of the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater and a member of the Theater Hall of Fame in New York City. Her work has been honored with the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel awards, and a record-setting five Astaire Awards. She directed and choreographed The Producers, winning a record 12 Tony Awards, including Best Direction and Best Choreography. In addition, she co-created, directed and choreographed the Tony Award-winning musical Contact for Lincoln Center Theater, which was honored with a 2003 Emmy Award for PBS’ “Live from Lincoln Center.” Other Broadway credits include Bullets Over Broadway, Big Fish, Crazy for You, Show Boat, Oklahoma! (revival), The Music Man (revival), Thou Shalt Not, Steel Pier, and Big.
For 10 years, Stroman choreographed Madison Square Garden’s annual spectacular A Christmas Carol. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut directing and choreographing The Merry Widow, starring Renée Fleming. For the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, she directed and choreographed the new musical Little Dancer. She also created Double Feature, a full-length ballet featuring the music of Irving Berlin and Walter Donaldson, and For the Love of Duke, featuring the music of Duke Ellington for New York City Ballet. Her choreography received an Emmy Award nomination for the HBO presentation “Liza – Live from Radio City Music Hall,” starring Liza Minnelli. She received the American Choreography Award for her work in Columbia Pictures feature film Center Stage and she directed and choreographed The Producers: The Movie Musical, nominated for four Golden Globes.
For more information, contact the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre at (405) 325-0538.
