The production will run from October 10 to November 3, 2024.
Beck Center for the Arts is pleased to produce Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys kicking off the 91st theater season, on the Senney Theater stage.
Al and Willie, as “Lewis and Clark” were top-billed vaudevillians for over forty years... now they aren't even speaking. When CBS requests them for a “History of Comedy” retrospective, the grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries, and laughs. Theater critic Clive Barnes, reviewing the original Broadway production wrote, “The Sunshine Boys is probably Mr. Simon's best play yet. It deals with a subject very dear to the playwright's heart—vaudeville.”
Directed by Beck Center favorite, William Roudebush, the cast includes the role of Willy Clark performed by Alan Safier*. Al Lewis is played by Rohn Thomas*, Ben Silverman is Doug Southerland. The Director Voice/Vaudeville Patient in this production is Morgan Mills, with Asst. Director (Eddie) played by Carson Betts. The Vaudeville Nurse will be Carolyn Demanelis, and the Registered Nurse is Joyce Bell Linzy. Actors' Equity Members are identified with an asterisk.
Artistic Director Scott Spence says, “Beck Center is always striving to bring a great balance to our theater audiences. Comedy and drama. Musicals and non-musicals. The newest plays, and the classics as well. Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys most certainly checks a few boxes as it is undeniably one of the funniest comedies written in the past 75 years, as well as being what could be called a certified classic! Neil Simon began sharpening his comic writing chops during Sid Caeser's Your Show of Shows on television of the 1950s. He was in on the ground floor of modern comic playwriting, yet Neil Simon's most prominent works are indeed modern classics. Classics have endured and will endure for centuries, much as Shakespeare and Moliere have. Simon's work is always a worthwhile venture to remind audiences that sometimes just pure entertainment is the focus of that rare evening out. We're thrilled to share it as we open our 91st season at Beck Center.”
Tickets for individuals and groups (of thirteen or more) are on sale at 216-521-2540 and Beckcenter.org. The Sunshine Boys runs in the Senney Theater September 13 to October 6, 2024 with THURSDAY performances September 26 and October 3, 2024. Produced with special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Preview performances are at 7:30 p.m. on the Thursday before opening night, with general admission seating for just $15. Smart Seats are available for each performance at just $15 per person. For more information on the 2024-2025 Professional Theater Season please visit beckcenter.org.
All performances are at theaters inside Beck Center for the Arts located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available. For more information visit beckcenter.org.
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