Presented in collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program
Last spring, the Beck Center for the Arts teamed with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre program in presenting the highly acclaimed “Spring Awakening”. This year they will be renewing the partnership with the production of the three-time Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning rock musical, “Next To Normal”. The show will run March 1 through April 21, 2013 in the intimate Studio Theater.
Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. There are no performances on Sundays, March 31 or April 14.
Tickets are now on sale.
“Next To Normal” deals with the life of a suburban family trying to cope with the stressful effects of mental illness all set to a rock and roll score. It is an intense and emotional roller coaster that ultimately sends a message of hope about a typical American family that is anything but typical.
The New York Times said Next to Normal is ““A brave, breathtaking musical…It is something much more than a feel-good musical. It is a feel-everything musical.”
Directed by Victoria Bussert, director of Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre, Next to Normal stars BW alum Katie DeBoer as bipolar depressive Diana and Equity actor and BW faculty member Scott Plate as Dan, Diana’s steadfast husband; as well as an ensemble of 12 talented young actors from BW’s nationally recognized MT program. With musical direction by Nancy Maier and choreography by David Zody, Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt and book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey (2009 Tony Award for Best Score).
“Not only is Next to Normal a powerful, startling, ground-breaking work in the American musical theater repertoire,” remarked Bussert “it is an experience that compels all of us to really look, listen and feel. At times it is astonishing, at other times agonizing -- but ultimately it honors the beauty and ferocity of the human spirit -- no matter the flaws.”
“Next to Normal” contains strong adult language and themes and may not be suitable for audiences 17 years and under.
Tickets are $28 for adults and $25 for seniors (65 and older) with an additional $3 service fee per ticket applied at time of purchase. Student tickets are $15 with valid I.D. (includes service fee).
Preview Night on Thursday, February 28 is $10 with general admission seating. Group discounts are available for parties of 13 or more. Purchase tickets online at beckcenter.org or call Customer Service at 216.521.2540, ext. 10. Beck Center for the Arts is located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available.
Opening night patrons are invited to Marquee Friday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Cleveland Artists Foundation gallery. Guests may enjoy complimentary appetizers from Cozumel Restaurante Mexicano, free musical entertainment by Lounge Kitty and happy hour priced drinks; as well as a free gallery exhibits throughout Beck Center including The Left-Handed Line of Mike Guyot and works by artist and composer Jing Jing Luo.
This production of “Next to Normal” is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTIshows.com) and is sponsored by the residents of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.
Beck Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that offers professional theater productions, arts education programming in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, and creative arts therapies for special needs students, and free gallery exhibits featuring local, regional, and international artists.
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