Four rounds of 'Jeopardy!' tackled

After winning $60,112 on three rounds of "Jeopardy!" in early May, John Anneken, PharmD '13, reappeared on the quiz show on May 20, 2013 (the delay due to the show's two-week college tournament). Although the show was taped in California earlier this year while he was still a student, Anneken was sworn to secrecy as to the results, leaving friends and fans nervously watching all three four with no idea that he would remain in the competition this long. The May 20th show, however, was his last.

A postdoctoral researcher at UC, Anneken is a quiz-show aficionado who applied for Jeopardy four times over 14 years, beginning at age 12 with the first of two applications for special youth competitions.

"The hardest part of the contestant experience was waiting and waiting and waiting to get started," he says. "The time I was on the stage playing was relaxing compared to the anticipation."

On May 1, he dominated most of the game and won $18,911 after answering the final Jeopardy clue in the theater category. He added $14,000 with another victory May 2 and $27,201 more on May 3.

The show airs in Cincinnati on FOX's channel 19 at 7:30 p.m.

LINKS

• Take a shot at some of Anneken's questions at the UC Magazine story about him.
• See video on Fox19.
  
  

'Oz: The Great and Powerful' as brought to life by two alumnae

Debbie Denise, CCM '73, and Jessica Peel-Scott, DAAP '93, were instrumental in bringing the box-office sensation "Oz: The Great and Powerful" to the theaters in 3-D in March. As of April 14, the film was the highest grossing of 2013 with audiences entranced with the visual-effects masterpiece and inventive-costume showcase.

Debbie Denise, an expert in 3-D, is executive vice president of production at the Academy Award-winning visual effects and animation studio Sony Pictures Imageworks, which Disney hired for the film. She oversees production of all the company's films, which have included  "Harry Potter," "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Men In Black 3."

Jessica Peel-Scott was one of two assistant designers considered "key collaborators" to the head costume designers. The team spent weeks researching fashion trends from various periods to develop the costumes, then oversaw a staff of 60 who clothed Emerald City citizens, workers and attendees at a traveling circus, 36 Munchkins (who averaged 3 foot-6) and 48 Winkies (Emerald City guards, who averaged 7-feet tall and wore feathered hats to add another 20 inches). Peel-Scott has also worked on "Spider-Man 2" and "Second Hand Lions."

VIEW

• Photo galleries for the movie's visual effects and costume design.
  
• Video that samples visual effects and costumes from the movie
• Full UC Magazine story

LINKS

• See all of Denise's credits. 
  
• Read more about Denise on her website.
  
• See all of Jessica Peel-Scott's credits.

Movies and musicals switch roles

Tony-winning composer Stephen Flaherty, CCM ’82, is working on turning a movie into a musical and a musical into a movie.

He and his professional partner Lynn Ahrens wrote the score for "Rocky," the musical version of the movie. The world premiere opening night was Nov. 18 at the Operettenhaus Theater, in Hamburg, Germany, with plans for Broadway in 2013.

And in this country, the pair just completed filming on the musical-comedy movie "Lucky Stiff," featuring songs by Flahety and Ahrens and based upon the team's first show — about a hapless shoe salesman who takes a dead bod on vacation to inherit $6 million. Starring Jason Alexander, the movie will be released next year.
LINKS

• Read Flaherty’s impressive Broadway credits.
  
• Visit Flaherty's website. 

Alumnus countertenor performs in Cincinnati with renowned choir

The a cappella men's group Chanticleer returns to Cincinnati this week for its almost yearly concert at the downtown cathedral, St. Peter in Chains. When this concert takes place on Friday, April 12, at 7:30 p.m., alumnus Cortez Mitchell, MM (CCM) '06, will again be singing countertenor.

Anyone who has never heard a countertenor in person needs to experience it. The notes are so much more powerful when you hear them coming out of someone standing in front of you. Originally Mitchell sang opera, but he joined the internationally acclaimed choir in 2008.

Read about Mitchell's professional accomplishments and watch two videos.

Famed film composer Edelman takes audience to the movies

A CCM audience had the rare opportunity to listen to music from such classic films as "The Last of the Mohicans” and “Gettysburg” under the baton of the original composer and alumnus in January 2013.

Randy Edelman, CCM ’69, HonDoc '04 — the famed composer, orchestrator, conductor, score producer and singer/songwriter — played the piano and conducted CCM’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble in performing some of his best-known film scores. During the evening, he also received a Kautz Alumni Masters Program award.

Among the more than 100 scores Edelman has written are the "Mohican" score, for which he received nominations for both a Golden Globe and a British Academy Award, and the "Gettysburg" score, which is more familiar because its themes are often heard in film trailers and TV shows. His music has also been played at the Super Bowl and the '02 and '08 Olympics.

Early in Edelman’s 44-year career, he orchestrated songs for the "Godfather of Soul" James Brown; performed as the opening act for the Carpenters; toured with Frank Zappa; wrote songs for Barry Manilow, the Fifth Dimension and Blood, Sweat and Tears; and conducted for Dionne Warwick and Jackie DeShannon, whom he married. At one point, he reached "cult" status in England and was booked for a solo show at the London Palladium.

LINKS

• Read UC Magazine feature about him.
• Read more about his musical career.
• See his movie credits.
• See his TV credits.
• Visit his website.
  

Creative-writing alumnus Matt Dunnerstick, A&S '01, received eight film-festival awards for writing and directing his first independent feature film "The Custom Mary" — enough acclaim that the movie will soon be released internationally. In January 2013, he made a particularly impressive showing at one of the country's largest black film festivals, San Diego Black Film Festival, with a win for Best Cutting Edge Film and Best Religious Film.

The two genres seem a little odd for one picture, until one reads the movie synopsis: "When a young Latina meets an African-American lowrider mechanic, she struggles to reconcile her faith and blossoming love affair while becoming dangerously involved in a religious attempt to clone Jesus."

LINKS

• Read entire story and see listing of awards and nominations.
• See trailer.
  
  

DAAP grad brings Hobbit figures to life

Peter Jackson's new movie, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," brought forth a demand for toys — which was answered, in part, by Daniel Meyer, DAAP '71. Meyer is director of marketing and design at The Bridge Direct, a Florida-based toy company that landed the worldwide toy and game licensing rights for the Warner Bros.' film last fall.

Before joining The Bridge Direct, Meyer had worked for Fisher-Price, then as brand manager for Jakks Pacific, a major toy and leisure-product company in Florida, where he designed action figures and play sets related to the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian." At that time, he placed a likeness of his own face on the Telmarine soldier action figure.

LINKS

• See photo gallery and longer story.
• See Bridge Direct's website.
  
  

CCM grad Lisa Howard in 'Twilight Saga' finale

Lisa Howard, CCM '97, has an important role in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part Two," which brought in nearly $341 million its opening Nov. 16 weekend. Wearing red contacts and a red wig that took an hour to put on, the musical-theater grad is the vampire Siobhan (pronounced “Shi-von”), the head of the Irish coven, which works with Bella, Edward and Jacob to defeat the corrupt vampire leaders, the Volturi.

This was Howard's first film. She has done a little TV —  "Ugly Betty," "Late Show with David Letterman" and a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — but is best known for her Broadway performances.

In 2005, she nabbed a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for playing the diva Rona Lisa Peretti in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Most recently, she had a starring role on Broadway in "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert," preceded by "9 to 5" and the "South Pacific" revival.

LINK
Read more about her Twilight character, see what's she will be up to next and view lots of photos.

Alumnus brings reality to history and sci-fi

Brad Look, MFA (CCM) '88, the Emmy-winning makeup artist, has recently been busy working on some major motion pictures, including  "The Hunger Games," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" (for which he was a special-makeup-effects artist) and "Lincoln" (a Steven Spielberg movie due out on Nov. 16, 2012, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones).
LINKS

• See all of Look's film credits. 
  
• See Look's TV credits. 
  
• Watch a video of Look creating a scar wound. 

Lion 'King' roars over new Disney album

by Deborah Rieselman

Alton Fitzgerald White, CCM '86, has spent more than 10 years with Broadway's most successful show — Disney's "The Lion King" — both on Broadway and on tour, primarily playing the "king" role of Mufasa. In October 2012, he released "the thing I'm most proud of," he says. His new CD "Disney: My Way!" gave him the chance to re-imagines Disney songs, like "Supercalifragilistic" with a swing beat.

Watch a September interview with him, talking about how hard it is to perform a physical show like "Lion King" eight times a week, while singing, dancing and maneuvering heavy costume components. He also mentions how great the UC College-Conservatory of Music is.

White also played Mister in "The Color Purple," Coalhouse Walker Jr. in "Ragtime, The Musical" (composed by Stephen Flaherty, CCM '82), "The Who's Tommy," "Miss Saigon" and "Smokey Joe's Café."

40th anniversary of 'The Waltons'
... created by alumnus Earl Hamner

The TV series "The Waltons" celebrates the 40th anniversary of its premiere in September 2012. The show's creator and narrator Earl Hamner, CCM '48, HonDoc '08, wrote a funny recap of the early reviews the show received, including one that offended him so badly that he nearly canceled his New York Times subscription.

In his blog, he also presents a charming history of the show that ultimately won six Emmy awards, six Christopher Awards, the Golden Globe Award from the Foreign Press Association, the People’s Choice Award and the highest award given in broadcast journalism, the coveted Peabody Award from the University of Georgia. He also noted, "In a magazine called Twin Circle, which is the voice of the National Catholic Press, a picture of the cast of 'The Waltons' was given equal space with a picture of the Pope. At that point, I began to worry that we had gone too far."

Hamner explains how the show changed his family's lives back in Virginia because the characters were based on his real relatives and how his hometown became a tourist destination.

Although the writer is mostly known for his tales of growing up in Virginia, he also wrote episodes of the Twilight Zone, was the screenwriter for the original "Charlotte's Web" and produced the 1980s series "Falcon Crest."
LINKS

• Read UC Magazine stories about Hamner.
  
• Read Hamner's blog stories about the show.

CCM news in Disney's "Newsies: The Musical"

Ryan Breslin, CCM '11, was nominated for the 2012 Fred & Adele Astaire Award as Outstanding Male Dancer in a Broadway Musical for his performance in "Newsies: The Musical," which recently became an "open-ended" show, meaning there is still time to see his dazzling feet in action at the Nederlander Theatre.

Winner of the 2012 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Choreography, the show was inspired by the real-life "Newsboys' Strike of 1899." The book by Harvey Fierstein deals with an unlikely band of underdogs who take on the biggest names in publishing in a remarkable fight for justice and fair pay.

Breslin was nominated for the Astaire Award along with Matthew Broderick and Hugh Jackman, but all three lost to Leslie Odom Jr. in "Leap of Faith."

Also in the show with Breslin is Garett Hawe, CCM '09.
LINKS

• See a video of Breslin dancing a number from "Newsies" for ABC's "Nightline."
• See a video of Breslin talking about the show and demonstrating a few techniques.
  
  

CCM alumnus new 'Mamma Mia!' star

Aaron Lazar, MFA (CCM) ’00, joined the Broadway cast of "Mamma Mia!" in June 2012, playing the role of Sam Carmichael. In mid September 2012, he was featured on Broadway.com’s “Broadway Buzz” column.

May of this year was a particularly busy month for Lazar as he shot the season finale for CBS's "Person of Interest," starred in Gentlemen "Prefer Blondes" at City center in New York City and performed his solo show "Look for Me" in the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Late last year, Lazar as he appeared in Clint Eastwood's movie "J. Edgar," playing Prosecutor David Wilentz with the star Leonardo DiCaprio.
LINKS

• Read the entire Broadway.com article here.
• See a list of his Broadway credits.
  
• See a list of his movie credits.
  
• See a list of his TV credits.
  
• Visit his website and see a clip from "J. Edgar."
  

"Nice Work If You Can Get It"

Kaitlyn Davidson, CCM '09, made her Broadway debut as an actress in the new Gershwin musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It" in April 2012. She was 8 years old when cast in her first musical in Kansas City, playing an orphan in "Annie Warbucks."
Read more.

Group takes second Grammy

Five CCM alumni who form the group Eighth Blackbird just won its 2nd Grammy (February 2012) — this one for their recording of Steve Mackey’s "Lonely Motel." The sextet studied as an ensemble at CCM in the late 1990s. Members in the group are Michael Maccaferri, MA (CCM) '00, clarinet, founding member; Matt Albert, AD (CCM) '00, violin and viola, founding member; Nick Photinos, AD (CCM) '00, cello; Matthew Duvall, AD (CCM) '01, percussion; and Lisa Kaplan, AD (CCM) '00, piano, founding member.

Watch a video and read more.