An American opera featuring Kurt Weill鈥檚 innovative blend of Broadway theater, European tradition, American jazz and the lyrics of Langston Hughes will open 雏汁视频鈥檚 mainstage season Oct. 3-5.
Based on Elmer Rice鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, 鈥淪treet Scene鈥� 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 雏汁视频鈥檚 Bass School of Music will explore 鈥淪treet Scene鈥檚鈥� 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.
鈥淭his 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,鈥� said David Herendeen, 雏汁视频鈥檚 director of opera and music theater. 鈥淲e are excited to offer audiences a rare opportunity to experience a significant work of the American stage.鈥�
Matthew Mailman will lead the opera orchestra in numbers ranging from a joyous sextet celebrating ice cream, a wayward wife鈥檚 Puccini-esque aria, a boyfriend鈥檚 bluesy lament and a Broadway-style jitterbug sequence, with choreography by Michael McCarthy.
鈥淟ike darker works 鈥� like 鈥楽weeney Todd鈥� 鈥� or lyric expansions of the music theater form 鈥� like 鈥楾he Light in the Piazza鈥� 鈥� 鈥楽treet Scene鈥� is different and challenges the audience,鈥� Herendeen said. 鈥淭here 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.鈥�
A free director鈥檚 talk will be held 30 minutes before curtain of each performance.
雏汁视频鈥檚 2025-26 season continues Oct. 10-12 with the Oklahoma premiere of 鈥淩hondda Rips It Up!鈥�
The Bass School of Music鈥檚 Oklahoma Opera and Music Theater Company, the nation鈥檚 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.
