17801 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 beckcenter.org 216.521.2540
CONTACT: Julie Gilliland, 216.521.2540 x22 or [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 4, 2019
Matilda the Musical Artistic Director Scott Spence’s 100th Production Directing at Beck Center for the Arts
Lakewood, OH–Beck Center for the Arts is proud and thrilled to announce Scott Spence is directing his 100th Beck Center production, a feat rarely achieved by artistic directors, with Matilda the Musical. Named Time magazine’s #1 Show of the Year in 2013, Matilda the Musical is the perfect expression of Mr. Spence’s immense talent in directing large multigenerational casts in huge musical productions. Highlights of Mr. Spence’s directing career with Beck Center for the Arts include: Altar Boyz (which received an encore production at Playhouse Square’s Hanna Theatre), two productions of Urinetown the Musical, and Evil Dead the Musical, which extended to a 12 week run in Beck Center’s intimate Studio Theater. This limited engagement of Matilda the Musical runs July 12 to August 11, 2019 in the Mackey Theater, closing the 2018-19 Professional Theater season. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Special Thursday performances will take place at 8 p.m. on August 1 and August 8, 2019. Buy early and save with promo code: MISSHONEY to receive $5 off each adult/senior ticket purchased by July 11, 2019. Preview performance is Thursday, July 11 before press opening night on Friday, July 12. Tickets range from $10 Smart Seats ® to $33 each. Group and student discounts are available. Tickets are on sale now.
Matilda the Musical, based on the novel by the brilliantly batty Roald Dahl, includes a book by Dennis Kelly, and music and lyrics by Tim Minchin. Scott Spence chose longtime collaborator and creative partner Larry Goodpaster as musical director, and recent recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award at the 2019 Hispanic Leadership Conference , Martín Céspedes to again choreograph at his side.
Matilda the Musical won seven 2012 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and still holds the record for most Olivier awards won by a musical, tying with Hamilton in 2018. At the 2013 Tony Awards, the show won five awards, including the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Scott Spence says: "The comically nightmarish world of Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) makes for such excellent Broadway musical theatre. His world where the children find heroism among the most despicable of adults is so life affirming. Ten of the cast's 26 performers are 13 and under--- and they are powerhouses!"
Called “Broadway’s Biggest Little Hero,” this production concludes Beck Center’s 85th Season on the right note. This musical tells the story of a precocious five year old girl with the talent of telekinesis. She adores reading and overcomes many a challenge with her family and school life. As many can relate, a dedicated teacher showed her that life can get better when we grow up.
Ella Stec and Sophia Tsenekos will play Matilda. Timothy Allen, a member of Actors’ Equity Association, returns to play the role of Mr. Wormwood along with his cast mates, which include students with Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program.
Beck Center is 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 or call Beck Center Customer Service at 216.521.2540 x10.
This production of Matilda the Musical is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and is generously sponsored by John P. Murphy Foundation. All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.MTIShows.com. 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.
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, free gallery exhibits year- round, and outreach education programming.
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