Watch CCM Musical Theatre stars sing and dance in 'Tap Your Troubles Away'

UC College-Conservatory of Music students and alumni show off their singing and tap dancing skills in a virtual performance of Jerry Herman's "Tap Your Troubles Away." Produced by the Muny for its Summer Variety Hour Live series, the video features CCM musical theatre stars, as well as performing artists from the Muny.

The performance begins with CCM Musical Theatre Professor Katie Johannigman and current student Jack Brewer in the college's Patricia Corbett Theater. Then other CCM alumni and students, as well as Muny cast members join the performance virtually. CCM E-Media student Jack Bolander filmed Johannigman and Brewer at CCM and edited the videos that were submitted virtually to create the complete performance.

Johannigman was the resident choreographer at the Muny this summer, where she was supposed to direct and choreograph the nonprofit's teen show and serve as resident choreographer for all the organization's main stage shows. Due to the pandemic, she ran the Muny's teen program virtually and produced three musical numbers for them. Johannigman submitted the "Tap Your Troubles Away" performance as a creative dance piece that was featured during the Muny's Summer Variety Hour Live series. 

The performance showcases CCM musical theatre alumni: Katie Johannigman (BFA, '12),  Julie Kavanagh (BFA, '11), Leeds Hill (BFA, '11), Tyler Johnson-Campion (BFA, '17), Jordan De Leon (BFA, '14), Andrew Alstat (BFA, '20), Josh Daniel (BFA, '13) and Christine Cornish Smith (BFA, '13). It also includes current musical theatre students Jack Brewer, Haley Holcomb, Eli Mayer, Mikayla Renfrow and Joshua Johnson. 

A frequent collaborator with the Muny, Johannigman also recruited performers from the cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which the Muny presented in 2012: Riza Takahashi, Chelsea Turbin, Cameron Hobbs, Danny Bevins and Jordana Grolnick.

Johannigman directed and choreographed the performance, with associate choreography by Jack Brewer and music arrangement and accompaniment by CCM Musical Theatre Instructor Julie Spangler. During the fall semester at CCM, Johannigman is teaching a mix of in-person and online classes, including dance and tap classes.

"I am in class with half of my students who are masked and 10 feet apart, and I have the other half online who are dancing in their dorm rooms, living rooms, alley ways, driveways, or the CCM circle. We are being super safe and also trying to move forward," she says.

"My students are troupers, and we have had so much help from Matt Tibbs and his students in the sound department to make sure that our students at home can see and hear us as best as possible. It's a daily challenge and tapping in a mask ain't easy! But we are grateful to be together and safe."