An American opera featuring Kurt Weillās innovative blend of Broadway theater, European tradition, American jazz and the lyrics of Langston Hughes will open Ļć½¶Šć Universityās mainstage season Oct. 3-5.
Based on Elmer Riceās Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, āStreet Sceneā presents a lyrical, gritty portrait of 24 hours in a Manhattan tenement building after the end of World War II.
The show was awarded the Tony Award for best score after its 1947 Broadway debut.
A cast of 46 and 38-piece orchestra from Ļć½¶Šćās Bass School of Music will explore āStreet Sceneāsā themes of love, jealousy and the search for happiness in three performances in Kirkpatrick Auditorium. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 and 4, and a 2 p.m. Oct. 5 matinee.
Reserve tickets ($20-$35, plus tax) are available online at okcu.edu/tickets or by calling 405-208-5227.
āThis ambitious show is a masterpiece that is seldom performed because of the massive cast with more than 30 named roles, each with their own backstory,ā said David Herendeen, Ļć½¶Šćās director of opera and music theater. āWe are excited to offer audiences a rare opportunity to experience a significant work of the American stage.ā
Matthew Mailman will lead the opera orchestra in numbers ranging from a joyous sextet celebrating ice cream, a wayward wifeās Puccini-esque aria, a boyfriendās bluesy lament and a Broadway-style jitterbug sequence, with choreography by Michael McCarthy.
āLike darker works ā like āSweeney Toddā ā or lyric expansions of the music theater form ā like āThe Light in the Piazzaā ā āStreet Sceneā is different and challenges the audience,ā Herendeen said. āThere is charm and humor, a wide variety of relationships, but the center of the story is the gossip that is the propellant. Some audience members might be scared away by this intensity, but others will be drawn to it.ā
A free directorās talk will be held 30 minutes before curtain of each performance.
Ļć½¶Šćās 2025-26 season continues Oct. 10-12 with the Oklahoma premiere of āRhondda Rips It Up!ā
The Bass School of Musicās Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company, the nationās oldest campus-based troupe, has been honored with 13 National Opera Association production awards, including two in 2025, and repeatedly named to Playbill's honor roll of top schools educating Broadway performers.
For more information visit okcu.edu/music.
