{"id":49620,"date":"2017-12-19T09:09:49","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T14:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=49620"},"modified":"2017-12-19T09:09:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T14:09:49","slug":"dayton-com-story-why-these-wright-state-graduates-are-getting-noticed-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2017\/12\/19\/dayton-com-story-why-these-wright-state-graduates-are-getting-noticed-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayton.com story: Why these Wright State graduates are getting noticed abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excerpt<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"

Wright State alumna Heather Douglas (seen here as Cassie in 1990 s A Chorus Line ) is a London-based choreographer who had leading roles in such West End productions as Chicago, Cats and The Producers.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re heading to New York City, it\u2019s no secret that Wright State University\u2019s Theatre Department is well-represented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In fact, Law Terrell Dunford (Javert in 2014\u2019s \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d) is in the ensemble of Broadway\u2019s hit musical \u201cWaitress\u201d and Jon Hacker (Curly in 2013\u2019s \u201cOklahoma!\u201d) portrays Joey in the newly remounted off-Broadway production of \u201cJersey Boys.\u201d But across the pond, three alums have particularly taken London\u2019s West End theater scene by storm.<\/p>\n

Heather Douglas, the Department\u2019s first Distinguished Alumna, portrayed Velma Kelly in \u201cChicago,\u201d Bombalurina in \u201cCats\u201d and Ulla in \u201cThe Producers\u201d to name just a few. Her film contributions include \u201cDe-Lovely\u201d (starring Kevin Kline) and \u201cThe Producers\u201d (she was Uma Thurman\u2019s body double). She credits Suzanne Walker, former WSU dance instructor, for nurturing her artistic gifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe craziest thing in the world is that Suzanne Walker gave me the opportunity to choreograph the 1991 spring musical in my final year at Wright State,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cI never fully understood at the time why she had such faith in me. It was the last show of the year, \u2018Gypsy,\u2019 and a big subscriber audience. Boy, did she have some serious insight to know that I would later go on to choreograph in the West End and internationally in opera, cabaret and musical theater.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI feel truly blessed to have worked with such greats as Tommy Tune, Cy Coleman, Susan Stroman, Mike Ockrent, Frank Wildhorn, Anne Reinking, Gwen Verdon, Gillian Lynne, Mel Brooks, Mitzi Gaynor, Julie Andrews, and my mentor Suzanne Walker.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Douglas currently choreographs gala events and shows throughout England. Her most recent assignment was a project for P&O\/Cunard\/Carnival Cruise Lines about Dusty Springfield. She remains grateful for the instruction she received at WSU.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI could not have imagined any better training than the training I received at Wright State,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the greatest things I talk about to this very day is how my training taught me versatility. All of my tutors stressed the importance of this. I realize how lucky I was to learn different styles within each discipline and not just in the execution of the style, but the history and importance of it in every decade that was being taught.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost drama colleges do not have the time or staff to be able to cover such things as well as Wright State. The staff I had throughout my time there was exceptional. I owe so much of who I am as a professional to my tutors. Of course every experience working after college helps you to grow and learn, but Wright State really prepared me for \u2018the business we call show.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

In addition, KJ Hippensteel, a Tom Hanks Scholar seen in 2005\u2019s \u201cUncle Vanya\u201d and \u201cRagtime,\u201d stars as Elder Price in \u201cThe Book of Mormon.\u201d He also performed on Broadway in \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d and toured the U.S. in \u201cWicked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe show has an open-ended run at the Prince of Wales Theatre,\u201d said WSU artistic director W. Stuart McDowell. \u201cWhen I saw it last year the place was packed to the rafters (and Hippensteel) received a standing ovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Lastly, Grammy-nominated pop star and reality TV judge Nicole Scherzinger, dynamic in 1997\u2019s \u201cChicago\u201d and 1998\u2019s \u201cShow Boat,\u201d was nominated for the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award (the London equivalent of the Tony Award) for her portrayal of Grizabella in the revival of \u201cCats.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI was blown away by her performance,\u201d McDowell noted. \u201cSir Andrew Lloyd Webber has called her one of the best singers he\u2019s ever heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

View the original post at Dayton.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Excerpt If you\u2019re heading to New York City, it\u2019s no secret that Wright State University\u2019s Theatre Department is well-represented. In fact, Law Terrell Dunford (Javert in 2014\u2019s \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d) is in the ensemble of Broadway\u2019s hit musical \u201cWaitress\u201d and Jon … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":49623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wright-state-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49624,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49620\/revisions\/49624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}