WLWT: CCM alum makes Broadway debut in 'Wicked' as Nessarose

UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Mikayla Renfrow (BFA Musical Theatre, 2020) was recently featured by WLWT to talk about her Broadway debut as Nessarose in "Wicked." Read the story and watch the interview via WLWT.

Renfrow remembers seeing White Christmas with her grandmother and wanting to be like the performers on stage. She studied at the Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts and then enrolled in the Musical Theatre program at CCM. She was the first person in her family to graduate from college.

While at CCM, she received a scholarship for a weeklong intensive in New York City, where she saw her first Broadway show. At the end of May, she made her Broadway debut as Nessarose in Wicked and she is slated to be in the show through March 2023.

"Everything just kind of hit it's puzzle piece so seamlessly and when I look back at it I really understand the meaning of everything happens for a reason.”

The WLWT segment features clips from Renfrow's performances from CCM's 2020 Musical Theatre Senior Showcase; watch online.

CCM set the standard for musical theatre training ... literally. CCM Musical Theatre was the first program of its kind in the US, and it continues to be a leader in the industry. A four-year bachelor of fine arts (BFA) program, it was used by the National Association of Schools of Theatre in formulating the guidelines for the accreditation of Musical Theatre programs nationwide.

The program provides professional conservatory training designed to help singers, dancers and actors become accomplished musical theatre performers. Students participate in a number of productions while in residence and create a freshman and a senior showcase, the latter functioning as their New York debut for agents and casting directors. In addition, students undertake courses in English, history, psychology, dramatic literature, social and ethical issues and the humanities.

CCM Musical Theatre graduates are following careers as performers and creative artists in every facet of the entertainment industry. CCM Musical Theatre graduates are working on Broadway and throughout the nation in such productions as Anastasia, Hamilton, Waitress, The Book of Mormon, Pippin, Wicked, Jersey Boys, Les Miserables, Kinky Boots, Big Fish, Newsies and The Lion King. Students represent CCM in national and international touring productions, in dinner theatres and theme parks, on cruise ships, on television, in talent agencies, as producers and in many of the related entertainment fields.

Learn more about CCM Musical Theatre.

Featured image at the top: Max Clayton performing in The Music Man on Braodway. Photo/The Music Man Broadway production.