17801 Detroit Avenue Lakewood, OH 44107 beckcenter.org 216.521.2540 CONTACT: Julie Gilliland, 216.521.2540 x22 or [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2019 Beck Center For The Arts Produces The Scottsboro Boys Marking The Ninth Collaboration With Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program Running February 7 through 23, 2020 Lakewood, OH–Beck Center for the Arts is pleased to produce The Scottsboro Boys with the esteemed Baldwin Wallace University Music Theatre Program. This limited engagement runs February 7 through 23, 2020 in the Mackey Theater. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Special Wednesday and Thursday performances will take place at 8 p.m. on February 13, 19, and 20. Buy early and save with promo code: TRIAL to receive $5 off each adult or senior ticket purchased by February 6. Preview performance is the Thursday before opening night, February 6. Tickets range from $10 Smart Seats ® to $33 each. Group and student discounts are available. Tickets are on sale now. With a book by David Thompson, The Scottsboro Boys holds the distinction of the last production created by venerable songwriting team of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. They were primarily known for stage musicals, such as the poignant Cabaret and sexy Chicago. The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with the framework of a minstrel show. This powerful musical is based on the true story of nine young black men in a landmark case that helped give rise to the civil rights movement and changed history. This production was nominated for the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Book of a Musical, as well as nominations for 2010 Tony Award Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. Jon Martinez, director of The Scottsboro Boys, was tapped by Victoria Bussert of Baldwin Wallace to direct and choreograph Be More Chill, a co-production with Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program at Playhouse Square. The show went on to perform on Broadway. Mr. Martinez has also directed and choreographed in theaters across Chicago. He currently teaches in After School Matters, a program provided by the City of Chicago to high schools without sustainable theater programs. “The power and relevancy of this story is felt even today. It ripples through American history and exposes an embedded problem we still have. This show pulls back the curtain and presents us with our past in the effort to not make it our future," says director Jon Martinez. 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 The Scottsboro Boys is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). This production is presented with the support of FGI Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, Francine M. Gordon, Trustee. 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 disabilities, free gallery exhibits year-round, and outreach education programming. ### .