[NEohioPAL] Berko: BW grad, Ciara Renee on Broadway

[Roy Berko via NEohioPAL]

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*Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program’s Ciara Renée makes it big on
Broadway*



Roy Berko

(Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)



On April 1, Ciara Renée strutted on stage at the Music Box Theatre on West
45th Street as The Leading Player in PIPPIN.  She became one of seventeen
Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program graduates to appear in a Broadway,
Off-Broadway or National Touring company during the 2013-2014 season.



Yes, tiny Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea, Ohio, a suburb of
Cleveland, has become a powerhouse in providing polished theater performers
for professional stages.



As Victoria Bussert, the program’s director states, “It is the goal of the
BWMTP to create working professional artists.  The team (Scott Plate,
Gregory Daniels, David Pepin—the new Music Director who joined the program
straight from “Wicked” and “Kinky Boots”  and myself,  combine our
professional and academic careers to create a special environment for our
students.”



As Ciara said in a recent interview, “The BW program builds a community and
we support each other and we are always trying to help BW, which 15 years
ago wasn’t even on the national map.”  “The program has a curriculum that
changes to make learning relevant, teach each student how to be
professional, and how the business works.”



The results are obvious.  Ciara relates, “Last spring’s showcase (an event
in New York where students perform before Broadway directors, agents and
managers), every student was prepared, was ready to show our talents, ready
to work at a high level.”  “I was totally prepared and jazzed for it.”  Every
student left with an agent or a manager.  “A month or two in, I tried out
for “Big Fish.”



On October 6, 2013, Ciara opened as the witch in “Big Fish.”  Though the
show ran only 34 previews and 98 regular performances, Ciara got positive
reviews and after going through the tryout route again, thanks to her agent
“being on top of what’s going on,” she was selected to replace Tony Award
winner, Patina Miller, as Leading Player in the mega smash revival of
Stephen Schwartz’s  PIPPIN.



That “tryout routine included a six-hour call back, and a 3 or 4 day wait
until I got the good news.”  Between “Big Fish” and “Pippin,” she worked as
a fitness instructor.



Her entry into “Pippin” included “watching Patina’s performances,
rehearsing every day, learning about the character, and molding it all into
a structure.”



Besides singing and dancing, Ciara has to do aerialist tricks.  She had to
go through special instruction at the Circus Warehouse (a training facility
in New York where circus stars, Broadway performers and the public come to
train in acrobatics), learning how to do the tricks incorporated into the
show.  “The cast, old and new, rehearse and rehearse.”  Ciara indicated she
“started to hit the gym and become more muscular” to be able to do the
routines.



“Pippin” is scheduled to come to Cleveland as part of the 2014-2015 Key
Bank Broadway Series.  In the past, Clevelanders’ Michael Cavanaugh who was
appearing in “Moving Out,” and Tony Winner, Alice Ripley, who was in “Next
to Normal” took breaks from their shows to return “home” to do their
Broadway Series shows.  Any chance of Ciara doing that?   “That’s not in
the plans.”  Her “Pippin” contract runs until September and then “some
other projects are coming up.”



In response to the comparison to Broadway’s original “Pippin,” which
starred Ben Vereen and Jonathan Rubinstein, which Ciara was too young to
see, she indicates that people comment that “this one is so different.”  There
is the entire circus/acrobatics addition.  Lots of “magic to do.”  But, she
indicates, in spite of “lots of stuff going on,” the beauty and meaning of
the songs “Corner of the Sky,” and  “Morning Glow,” aren’t diluted.
“Nothing crazy goes on during those numbers.”



What advice would she give any kid with Broadway stars in their eyes?  Ciara
said, “it’s not easy, not glamorous, you have little social life, you have
to put yourself out, be fearless, not look stupid, there is so much to
learn, be nice to people, being talented and nice adds up.  It’s hard work!”



She obviously practices what she preaches.  As Bussert said, “Ciara was
always an amazing student -- very intelligent, focused and passionate about
her work. She got her equity card doing DREAMGIRLS at Cain Park the summer
after her sophomore year.  She played a wide variety of roles at BW
including Kate in THE WILD PARTY, Emma in LIZZIE BORDEN and Phyllis in
FOLLIES.”  “She is truly special.”



Ciara, and the other BW students banner their training in their program
bios by including the phrase, “A proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace.”  Grads
from other schools don’t necessarily do that.    Why the BW tribute?  What
is so special about the BW program?   As Ciara stated, “The focus is on
each person individually.  We all have our differences and we are taught
not to look at another person, don’t compare yourself, don’t be jealous.”



Having seen Ciara in all of her BW performances, and both BIG FISH and
PIPPIN, I can attest to her talent, stage magnetism, and dedication.  Look
for the name Ciara Renée, “a proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace,” to appear
on lots of Broadway playbills in the future!

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