Beck Center Presents HAIRSPRAY, 7/8-8/14

Beck Center for the Arts presents the Tony Award-winning hit musical, Hairspray, on the Mackey Main Stage, July 8 through August 14, 2011. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Buy tickets online at www.beckcenter.org or call 216.521.2540 x10.

Welcome to the ‘60s! Break out the Aqua Net and cheer on pleasantly plump Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad as she pursues her dream to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. Change is in the air as this loveable, larger-than-life heroine manages to replace the program's reigning princess, integrate the television show, and find true love - all while singing and dancing - and never mussing her hair.

Based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters, the Broadway production of Hairspray won eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, audiences will doo-wop along to upbeat songs such as "Good Morning, Baltimore," "I Can Hear the Bells," "Welcome to the ‘60s," and "You Can't Stop the Beat."

Directed by Beck's Artistic Director, Scott Spence, this production of Hairspray welcomes back Equity actress Tina D. Stump as Motormouth Maybelle and features Kevin Joseph Kelly as Edna Turnblad, as well as a cast of 35 talented young actors including many musical theater students from Baldwin-Wallace College and Kent State University. Also, returning this summer is Mark Heffernan as Wilbur Turnblad, who starred in last season's summer blockbuster hit, The Producers. "For years Beck Center has carefully chosen a musical comedy for our summer audiences that will stimulate the senses," exclaimed Spence, "as well as generate laughter and joy by producing a show with vibrant vocals and electrifying dance numbers. Hairspray fits the bill perfectly, so it was a no-brainer for our season finale this year."

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for seniors (65 and older), $17 for students (with valid ID), and $10 for children (12 and under). An additional $3 service fee per ticket is applied at the time of purchase. Preview night on Thursday, July 7, is $10 with general admission seating. Group discounts are available for parties of 13 or more.

Tony Award-winning playwright and Hairspray author, Mark O'Donnell will be the special guest at a kick-off event on Saturday, July 16 for Connect to Beck, or C2B, a New Group developed to introduce young professionals to the Beck Center through social, cultural and insider events. Guests will meet-and-greet O'Donnell at a pre-show reception at 6 p.m. in the CAF Gallery. Tickets for this special event are only $50 and include drinks, appetizers, the 8 p.m. performance of Hairspray, and a one-year C2B membership. All proceeds from C2B will benefit Beck Center's scholarship programs. For more information, email questions to c2b@beckcenter.org.

To purchase tickets for Hairspray or the C2B event, call the Beck Center box office at 216.521.2540, ext. 10, or purchase seats online at www.beckcenter.org. Beck Center is located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available.

Beck Center's production of Hairspray is produced through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and is sponsored by West Roofing Systems, Cox Communications, the Ohio Arts Council, and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

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