Beck Center For The Arts Announces 2024-2025 Youth Theater Season

Beck Center for the Arts, one of the oldest continuously running Youth Theater programs in the nation has announced a creative and inspiring new season lineup.

The 2024-2025 season includes shows for everyone in every family. The season begins with some Halloween fun and wraps up with a highly popular musical based on a young adult novel.

Sarah Clare, Associate Director of Theater Education, says “We are thankful for the opportunity to provide incredible opportunities for the next generation of artists, performers, and persons in this community. We look to the past and to the future in our 76th Youth Theater Season! This season allows us to poke fun at conventions, see classical literature through a new lens, and find our own voice in a world that can be oppressive and isolating.”

Beck Center for the Arts' Youth Theater alumni include Michael Chernus (Orange Is the New Black; Manhattan; Severance); Dee Hoty (three-time Tony Nominee); Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold; Transformers: The Last Night); Rory O'Malley (Hamilton; Tony Nominee, Book of Mormon); and Daniel Reichard (Drama Desk Nominee, Jersey Boys).

Ticket prices are $15 Adult/Senior, and $13 Children/Student (ages 18 & under). Please purchase tickets at beckcenter.org, call 216.521.2540 or simply stop by Beck Center Customer Service in person. Entire season lineup available at: beckcenter.org/youth-theater.

THE MONSTER BASH OF DREADSTONE MANOR

Written and Direction by Russel Stich

Senney Theater

Student Matinee: Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.

Friday, October 25, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Every hundred years, members of the various creature and monster communities gather to share updates, acknowledge achievements, and have a good time at an event known as Monster Bash. Join Mortimer and Lucretia Darkholme and their children, Macabre, Malice, Morbid and Morose as their home, Dreadstone Manor, plays host to Monster Bash 2024.

As the unconventional guests arrive and the celebration gets under way, the local residents can't help but notice all the unusual visitors and strange happenings at the mysterious house atop the hill. Before long, thanks to the prodding of some nosey know-it-alls, there's a plan to storm the house and force the visitors out. This brand new comedy is written and directed by Beck Center's own Russel Stich.

CHANNELING GRIMM

Written by Tracy Wells

Direction by Rachel Spence

Studio Theater

Fridays, December 13 & 20, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays, December 14 & 21, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Sundays, December 15 & 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Student Matinee Thursday, December 19, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

This fun fairy-tale themed play by Tracy Wells brings The Grimm Brothers from the page to the stage. When Cameron doesn't know what to write for an Honors English assignment on the fairy tales of The Brothers Grimm, their friend Jaimie has a solution… to watch tv of course! With the help of an unusual remote control, they find the wackiest assortment of fairy tale themed programming. From a Project Runway style competition to a Frog Prince soap opera, a game show hosted by the Magic Mirror, and a sitcom starring Rumpelstiltskin, Channeling Grim is a fun show for the whole family.

THE TEMPEST

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by TBA

Studio Theater

Fridays, February 28 & March 7, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays, March 1 & 8, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 2 & 9, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.

Student Matinee: March 6, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

The Tempest, Shakespeare's final masterpiece, is a captivating tale of magic, love, family, and forgiveness. Exiled from their kingdom, Prospero and daughter Miranda have survived on an enchanted deserted island for 12 years. When fate and a chance to exact revenge transpire, Prospero conjures a storm that shipwrecks their enemies and others on the same island. As Miranda falls in love with one of the shipwreck's survivors, Prospero endeavors to use magic and manipulation to exact revenge. This piece explores themes of loss, restoration, fault, and forgiveness, and celebrates what it means to be human.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Music & Lyrics by Elyssa Samsel & Kate Anderson

Book by Timothy Allen McDonald & Jodi Picoult

Based on the novel by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer

Direction and Choreography by Sarah Clare

Senney Theater

Fridays, May 2 & 9, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturdays, May 3 & 10, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.

Sundays, May 4 & 11, 2025 at 3:00 pm

Student Matinee: Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

Produced with permission by Music Theatre International (MTI)

Between the Lines is an empowering and enchanting new musical for anyone who has ever sought to find their place in the world. Based on the novel by international bestselling author Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer, Between the Lines explores the story of an outsider in a new town and a new school. Delilah seeks comfort in the pages of her favorite book, where she feels heard and understood by the handsome Prince Oliver. But, as the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur in both extraordinary and astonishing ways, Delilah discovers how to find her place in the real world while keeping her dreams alive. This enchanting piece reminds the audience to live the story you want, if it is not the story you're in.

Please note students must be enrolled in the same semester that the show performs in to be eligible to participate in the production.  You do not have to be enrolled at the time of auditions.

Programming at Beck Center for the Arts is made possible through the generous support of the Ohio Arts Council. Beck Center gratefully acknowledges the generous funding provided by the citizens of Cuyahoga County through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. For more information on Beck Center programming please visit beckcenter.org.

Beck Center for the Arts also offers arts education for all ages, all skill levels, and all abilities with classes and lessons in music, dance, visual arts, and theater, as well as creative arts therapies. Financial assistance is available for qualified applicants so that these programs can be enjoyed by all.

Beck Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that offers professional theater productions on two stages, arts education programming in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, and creative arts therapies for individuals with disabilities, free gallery exhibits year-round, and community education programming.

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