FELLOW TRAVELERS

• Conductor | William R. Langley 
• Directors | Daria Zholnerova*, Greg Eldridge
• Scenic Designer | Mark Halpin
• Lighting Designer | Baron Leon *
• Costume Designer | Brittannie McKenna Travis *
• Sound Designer | Kaitlin Barnett *
• Wig & Make-Up Designer | Tiara Jones *
• Production Stage Manager | Quinn Morgan*
• Musical Preparation | Marie-France Lefebvre, Lisa Hasson
• Intimacy Director | Susan Moser  

*CCM Student

Fellow Travelers Act I will run approximately 55 minutes, followed by a 15-minute intermission. Act II will run approximately 55 minutes.

By Greg Eldridge and Daria Zholnerova

Fellow Travelers has a special connection to Cincinnati and, indeed, to CCM. Many CCM students have been involved throughout the years in workshopping new productions through the Opera Fusion: New Works program and in partnership with Cincinnati Opera. Fellow Travelers is a clear example of the value of these workshops, and several cohorts of CCM singers have been involved at various stages of its development. Now regarded as a modern classic, a return to CCM of this beautiful music had been in the cards during the pandemic, and it is a huge thrill to welcome home this stunning opera in an entirely new production.  

Fellow Travelers is many things — a social critique, an alarming portrait of a world in which multiple bigotries influence all aspects of governance, a questioning of the compatibility between religion and lived experience, but it is, above all else, a love story. In a world in which relationships of all types are often reduced to mere physical expressions or a showcase of sexuality in place of intimacy, we have sought to explore with Timmy and Hawk what happens when two people in love can carve out their own bubble in space and time and be with each other — even if ‘only for an hour.'

• Scene 1 – A Park in Dupont Circle 
  Reporter Timothy Laughlin is newly-arrived in Washington D. C. as a correspondent for the Star newspaper. He meets State Department official Hawkins Fuller on a park bench, and the two exchange pleasantries.
  
  
• Scene 2 – Office of Senator Charles E. Potter  
  Tim is summoned to a job interview for Senator Potter of Michigan, an interview secretly arranged for him by Hawk. He meets Tommy McIntyre, an off-the-books aide of Senator Potter, and is hired as one of Senator Potter’s speechwriters.

• Scene 3 – Office of Hawkins Fuller 
  Tim visits Hawk’s office with a gift to thank Hawk for arranging the interview. Hawk is out, but Tim meets his secretaries — the kind Mary Johnson and the acerbic Ms. Lightfoot. He leaves the book and its inscription of thanks at Hawk’s office. 
  
  
• Scene 4 – Timothy's Apartment
  Tim cooks himself a meagre dinner before being surprised by Hawk who has tracked him down to thank him for the book. Hawk offers to take Tim out to dinner, but Tim declines saying he has too much work to do. They spend the night together.  
  
  
• Scene 5 – The Next Day 
  Tim thanks God for the gift of Hawk and their previous night together, but worries about how to reconcile this new feeling of being loved with the teachings of his church.
  
  
• Scene 6 – The Hotel Washington 
  At a Christmas party for state officials, people share rumors about who might be fired next for being secret communists or homosexuals. Hawk flirts with Tim, leading Mary to warn him not to be too brazen. Hawk ignores her, and Ms. Lightfoot overhears them. 
  
  
• Scene 7 – Interrogation Room M304
  Hawk is summoned for questioning after accusations of being a homosexual. He is repeatedly asked about his private life and denies any implications of homosexuality. 
  
  
• Scene 8 – Timothy's Apartment  
  Tim tells Hawk of his burgeoning friendship with Mary, but a distracted Hawk reveals his suspicion that Ms. Lightfoot informed on him to the authorities. He offers Tim a belated Christmas present – cufflinks with Hawk’s initials on them. Tim is worried that people will find out about their relationship, but Hawk encourages Tim to embrace who is and seek out more sexual experiences.

INTERMISSION

• Scene 9 – Office of Senator Joe McCarthy  
  Tim has finally made it to the inner sanctum of politics in Washington D.C., but it is not as wholesome as he had imagined. Tommy McIntyre encourages Tim to set aside his morals and ‘just play the game’, before hinting that he knows about Tim and Hawk. 
  
  
• Scene 10 – Mary's Kitchen / Timothy’s Apartment  
  Mary has invited Tim to dinner to tell him that she has fallen pregnant after a fling and will be traveling interstate to have an abortion. She expresses her fear that Tim will get hurt if he gets too close to Hawk. Later, Hawk suggests a threesome to Tim and, with Mary’s warning ringing in his ears, Tim tells Hawk to leave. 
  
  
• Scene 11 – The Roof of the Old Post Office 
  Tim meets Hawk in private and reveals that he has enlisted in the army and expects to be posted to Korea. Tim leaves and asks Hawk not to contact him again. 
  
  
• Scene 12 – Office of Hawkins Fuller
  Hawk returns to his office and is met by Mary who hands in her letter of resignation. Hawk realizes that everyone is abandoning him and determines to make changes. 
  
  
• Scene 13 – Tim in France / Hawk in Chevy Chase / Mary in New Orleans 
  

  Tim writes to Hawk and Mary after 2 years in France. Hawk is now married to a woman he met at the Christmas party, but confesses to Tim that he misses him and would like to see him when he returns to America.

• Scene 14 – The Brick House 
  Tim reunites with Hawk in Washington D.C. and asks for help to get a job. Hawk asks if Tim is interested in also finding a wife as a cover for their relationship, but when Hawk talks about his honeymoon Tim gets upset and leaves. Hawk, left alone, regrets that love is not possible for them. 
  
  
• Scene 15 – Mary’s Kitchen / The Brick House / Room M-304 
  Hawk confesses to Mary that, in order to force Tim to leave him and start a new life, he has reported Tim to the authorities as a possible homosexual. He asks Mary to tell Tim the news and to make sure that Tim hates him. 
  
  
• Scene 16 – A Park in Dupont Circle 
  Following the death of Joe McCarthy, Hawk finds Tim on the bench where they first met. Tim is returning to New York, never to return to DC. Their time together has changed them both forever.

CCM wishes to thank composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce for giving their time so generously to coach, consult and converse with our production. A grateful student body gives thanks.

With heartfelt thanks to the supporting staff, coaches, voice teachers, acting coaches and supervisors who have made this complex undertaking possible.

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