Beck Center Decks the Halls With SHREK THE MUSICAL, THE NUTCRACKER, and More

The holiday season is already underway and Beck Center for the Arts has created a great lineup of family-friendly events to keep your hearts warm despite the frigid temperatures! From magical musical theater and dance performances on tour, to an exhibition tradition and hilarious youth theater, there's sure to be something memorable for people of all ages and abilities.

Check the most difficult person to shop for off of your list with Beck Center's annual Limelight Holiday Exhibition. The exhibit is open now through Monday, January 7, 2019. Original paintings, glass art, prints, illustrations, jewelry, and more from artists Linda Merchant, Nancy Nelson-Brotz, Lisa Ruschman, Patricia Sigmier, and Jenny Whitehead are available for purchase.

Move over Mr. Grinch! Beck is welcoming a different kind of green character to our stage and his name is Shrek! Beck takes on Shrek The Musical on the Mackey Theater stage December 7, 2018 - January 6, 2019. Based on the Dreamworks Animation Motion Picture and book by William Steig with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanine Tesori, Shrek The Musical boasts impressive credits. Originally produced on Broadway by DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions and originally directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford. Beck Center's production will be directed by Scott Spence, Artistic Director of Beck Center for the Arts, with musical direction by Larry Goodpaster, and choreography by Martín Céspedes. Featuring Gilgamesh (G.A.) Taggett as Shrek courtesy of the Actor's Equity Association (AEA). Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). Tickets are on sale now.

Beck Center Dance Education presents a holiday classic, The Nutcracker. The remaining shows are sensory-friendly performances for those with special needs and their families on Friday, December 7 at 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Tickets are still available for the 11:00 a.m. production and can be reserved by contacting Ed Gallagher at egallagher@beckcenter.org. Dance students will take the show on the road for an annual holiday tour on Saturday, December 8, visiting North Park Senior Living and East Park Retirement Community to spread holiday cheer beyond the doors of Beck Center for the Arts.

Beck Center's Youth Theater program, will present a heinously hilarious production of Law & Order: Nursery Rhyme Unit, written by Jonathan Rand and directed by Rachel Spence. Alliterations and rhymes aside, this show will have the whole family laughing. Law & Order: Nursery Rhyme Unit is produced through special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. Running December 14-23 in the Studio Theater, performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. A student matinee will take place on Thursday, December 20 at 10:00 a.m.

Make the holiday season super by joining in on Super Saturday! Super Saturday is a FREE experience for children ages 1-8 to explore music, dance, theater, and visual arts. Events take place in the main building from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Explore string instruments on December 8, 2018 and brass instruments on January 26, 2019. The January 26 date will be sensory-friendly with sensory room and resources available for families of children with special needs.

All information regarding dates, times, and tickets is available online at beckcenter.org or by calling Customer Service at 216.521.2540 x10. 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.

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 special needs, outreach education programming, and gallery exhibits featuring local, regional, and International Artists.

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