Waitress @ Beck Center/BWMT

Through March 9, 2025

https://www.beckcenter.org/

(216) 521-2540

 

Roy Berko

WAITRESS is the kind of production that audiences love.  Though the script is shallow, the plot obvious, and there are no memorable songs, it matters little.  In the hands of the talented and well-directed cast, the standing ovation was well-deserved.  Go, see emerging young talent which will soon be featured in Broadway shows, and enjoy yourself!

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop

Like previous productions of "Waitress" in Northeast Ohio, this Beck Center confection may be too cerebral to call “easy as pie,” but the audience will certainly want to savor it as if it were.

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Mark Horning

This is a delightful show that hits all of the emotional marks while taking us on a great ride. If you had seen this show downtown at Playhouse Square as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series you would find this production equal if not better. A fun evening for all who love pie.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

 This charming production embraces food, melody and movement to celebrate life’s unexpected events — after all, you can’t plan everything. However, if you love musicals then odds are you’ll be satisfied by the delights served by Beck Center’s Waitress.

To see a full review of this show, read here or go to Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Ride The Cyclone - The Musical @ Beck Center For The Arts

RIDE THE CYCLONE

BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

FEBRUARY 9-25, 2024

216-521-2540 or beckcenter.org

Roy Berko

The strong directing, performances and production qualities of RIDE THE CYCLONE THE MUSICAL overcome the less than stellar book and music to make this is definitely worthy of a trip to Beck Center where the audience gets to appreciate and wonder at the talents of the students enrolled in the BW Musical Theatre program.

 To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop

It's hard to avoid the pun, but Beck Center for the Art's "Ride the Cyclone" is indeed a transcendental joyride of all things musical and ethereal about teens grappling with the afterlife after a tragic accident on a carnival rollercoaster. It's an amazing cerebral flip-side to those teen-tragedy "Final Destination" movies -- made all that more compelling by a magnificent production-lighting design by Trad A. Burns and Jack Anthony Ina and the rest of the magnificent cast and crew joining the Beck Center from the celebrated Baldwin Wallace University Music Theater Program.

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Mark Horning

This is one of those little gems of theater that if you blink will race by before you know it. The marriage of Beck Center’s technical staff with the enormous talent found in the BWU Music Theater Program gives us an extraordinary evening of musical entertainment. This show has it all: heart, courage, love and music. This is a highly recommended show to see.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

If all your favorite musicals had a love child, Ride the Cyclone might be it. Funny, touching, philosophical and musical — above all musical — this Beck Center and Baldwin Wallace collaboration is a delightful, witty creation.

Directed by Victoria Bussert and written by Canadians Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, this regional première features a small, but mighty troupe. (It is double cast; I saw the Raptor team.)

To see a full review of this show, go here or read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

Set in the amusement park in a small town called Uranium City—to ominously suggest a post-apocalyptic world—five high school students who belong to the choir group get on the rollercoaster ride, “The Cyclone.” During the ride, they were thrown out of their seats to the ground due to a mechanical failure.

Each student--Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg, Constance Blackwood, Noel Gruber, Ricky Potts, and Mischa Bachinski--has their distinctive personalities, histories, and dreams—which would not be materialized. That’s why the stories they share in their “last playground” become meaningful and profound to the extent that their shared stories would determine who they really “were” rather than they would be remembered by others. Many familiar themes and story and narrative devices/structures that remind the audience of those in SIX, The Wizard of Oz, Spring Awakening, and A Chorus Line make the show even more appealing.

To see a full review of this show, read Yuko's posts here.

GHOST

Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace Musical Theatre Program

February 10-26, 2023

https://www.beckcenter.org/

 

Roy Berko

GHOST THE MUSICAL has a weak book and non-memorable music, but it is worth seeing to appreciate its wonderful singing, dynamic dancing, fine acting and creative staging!   Go! See! Enjoy!

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop

For local audiences, the Beck production had them at a simple tearful acoustic-guitar rendition of "Unchained Melody" and an ethereally lit romantic tryst by a ceramist turntable, the hallmarks of the original film. But Beck Center once again earns it kudos for summoning the hallmarks of an expensive-looking Broadway extravaganza. The sprit of the movie and the Broadway production are conjured up equally convincingly.

To see a full review of this show, read Howard Gollop's review here.

Chris Howey

"Ghost the Musical that, while less than stirring melodically, is eager to please and has enough solid performances to deliver the ghostly goods."

To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Ghost: The Musical, now at The Beck Center is based on Ghost, a 1990s film. Not all film-based musicals work. This one does, at least in the splendid Beck Center production....

Bottom Line: Ghost: The Musical is a must-see for those who love fantasy, music, dance, and also nourish a spark of romance and comedy. Life is funny; turns out Death at times can be too.

To see a full review of this show go here or read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

 

SCOTTSBORO BOYS @ Beck Center (Baldwin Wallace/Beck co-production)

February 7-23, 2020

216-521-2540
 or http://www.beckcenter.org

Roy Berko

“THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS” is a powerful piece of historical theatre whose message must be heard, especially in these days of the continuance and rise of racial and religious prejudice.  The Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program production itself was inconsistent in its overall effect, but is still a staging worth seeing. 

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Kerry Clawson

Beck Center for the Arts and Baldwin Wallace have joined forces for a bold and devastating show, “The Scottsboro Boys,” in the Ohio premiere of this stark, historically-based musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Mark Horning

You can bill this show as an intense historic drama played out through the most nocuous manner possible (i.e. a Minstrel Show) that illustrates the truths and pathos far better than any other manner could. It is a show that will leave you angry about racial inequality but wiser with the final scene bringing it all home. 

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Chris Howey

This fascinating piece is about a deadly serious Depression-era event that added fuel to the black civil rights movement in the 1960s. 

Howard Gollop

If nothing else, the Beck Center for the Arts and the Baldwin-Wallace musical theater program deserve accolades for at last bringing this criminally neglected decade-old musical to Northeast Ohio.  It not only marks the final collaboration of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb, it majestically and ingeniously unfolds a chapter of Black American history that gave birth to the civil rights movement.

Then again, this production of "Scottsboro Boys" -- conceived in the style of a classic minstrel show -- deserves so much more adulations for its sheer talent -- magnificently helmed by choreographer-director Jon Martinez.

Complete article appears in Elyria Chronicle Telegram

Laura Kennelly

Brilliant and daring. The latest Baldwin Wallace University/Beck Center collaborative production, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys, directed and choreographed by Jon Martinez, provides a stunning (albeit starkly condensed) musical sketch of a real event.

To see a full review of this show, go to Scottsboro Boys or read Laura's post at Cool Cleveland.

Andrea Simakis

It's a swift, sometimes beautiful, often brutal ride---entertaining and horrifying all at once.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

ONCE @ THE BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Through February 24, 2019

(216) 521-2540

Or http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

‘Once’ at the Beck Center entrances but does not transport.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog here or go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Roy Berko

  

The Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program production of “Once,” is vibrant, and has talent overload.  This production rivals the Broadway staging and is much superior to the touring show which was part of the Key Bank Series.  It’s the kind of production that you might be tempted to go back and see again!  Go. You will enjoy!

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Kerry Clawson

 There’s a deep sense of melancholy as well as a quiet joy emanating from the Beck Center for the Arts stage now with the musical “Once.”
Audience members are transported to a Dublin bar and its environs for this show, a partnership between Beck Center and the musical theater program at Baldwin Wallace University. With a cast of 16 directed by Victoria Bussert, it’s extraordinary how this talented young ensemble brings to life the world of an Irish and Czech community brought together by music.

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Mark Horning

You simply cannot be made to feel any better than seeing this extraordinary production with its wide range of musical numbers (soft love ballads to rousing dance numbers). The cast is spot on in their acting, singing, musician and dancing skills as they fill the stage with unabashed glee. Feeling under the weather? This is the tonic you need to cure your mid-winter blahs. 

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

Once is a deeply spiritual work though that might not be obvious from its completely secular environment (a Dublin street, a bar, a vacuum repair shop, a hillside). We see love, charity and hope manifested in this tender story that never descends to sentimentality (or religiosity for that matter).

To see a full review of this show, read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

HAIR @ BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Through February 25, 2018

(216) 521-2540

Or http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

Like “Rent,” a brave alt-rock and grunge musical that transplanted the Parisian bohemians of Puccini's “La Boheme” to the grime of 1989 New York and tackled the defiant aftermath of the first wave of the AIDS crisis, “Hair” was a cultural phenomenon in its day but is now a beloved relic. 

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's blog at www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/

Roy Berko

See “Hair?”  Of course! The overall effect will leave you “Walking on Air,” asking “What a Piece of Work is Man!” and cause you to exit humming, “I Believe in Love.”  Bravo!

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Kerry Clawson 
 
Theatergoers can kick back and enjoy the wild party that is "Hair" at Beck Center for the Arts, a collaboration with Baldwin Wallace University’s Music Theatre program.

Led by director Victoria Bussert, 30 vocally gifted students bring an extremely high level of youthful energy and spirit of rebellion to this 1967 rock musical, which follows the Tribe — a group of young adults who are part of the 1960s hippie counterculture protesting the Vietnam War.

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Mark Horning

Hair was groundbreaking in its time but over the years it has been watered down to a sanitized version that barely resembles the original. It is still worth coming to see for the songs and the great performance but without the drugs, free love and nudity something is loss in the translation. This is not your mom and dad’s version but still worth buying a ticket.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's blog.

Christine Howey
Due to a number of curious decisions by director Victoria Bussert and her team of designers, a play that should have lots of sharp edges, wild hairs and surprising turns comes off as slick and smooth as a hardboiled egg. Welcome to Nair.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan
To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene

Laura Kennelly

Fifty years ago Hair shocked audiences with its brash attitudes (and nudity). With song and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot, it portrayed life lived by New York City hippies who urged the virtues of “turning on and tuning out.” It has aged moderately well, but thumbing one’s nose at authority, freely expressing sexuality, resisting is all so commonplace today that even the delightfully anachronistic slogans carried in the current Beck Center production just don’t carry the punch they did. We’re pretty hard to shock these days.

To see a full review of this show, read Laura's post at Cool Cleveland.

HEATHERS THE MUSICAL@ Beck Center for the Arts

May 27-July 2, 2106

216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

With its brilliant, regional premiere production of “Heathers: The Musical,” the Studio Theater in the rear of the Beck Center for the Arts has most assuredly established itself as the go-to performance space for dark, delightfully deranged musicals.  Audiences should forever expect irony, an adrenaline rush and a splash zone when entering the intimate performance space.  And be thoroughly entertained by the time they leave.  

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's CJN article here.

Roy Berko

Heathers the musical continues the Beck trend of staging dynamic, small, cult appealing shows (e.g., Evil Dead, Reefer Madness, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) in its Studio Theatre.  With dynamic choreography, a well-played rock-infused-with-ballads score, and enough blood, gore and simulated sex to grab and hold an audience, Heathers should be awarded with a sold out run! 

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Mark Horning

For those who love a little titillation in their theater excursions, The Beck Center’s “Heathers: The Musical” nicely balances the sex, mayhem and murder with comedy and sprightly musical numbers for a surprisingly enjoyable evening.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's blog.

Art Thomas

The Beck Center continues to reflect the current trends in musical theater with this production of "Heathers". Outrageous is a word that comes to mind to describe the obsessions of teenagers that can drive them to murder. This critic chuckled often enough to feel guilty at this brash show. Director, choreographer and designer have brought their "A" game to the production.

Click here to read the complete review at WestLife

'night MOTHER @ Beck Center

March 21-May 4, 2014

For tickets call:  216-521-2540 or go on-line to http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

This beautifully written, 90-minute, Pulitzer Prize-winning conversation between a mother and her suicidal daughter is not an easy or pleasant evening of theater.  But with Dorothy Silver and Laura Perrotta in the leads, it is a thoroughly mesmorizing one.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's Cleveland Jewish News article here.

Roy Berko

Beck’s “’night Mother ”is one of the finest evenings of theatre one can experience.  The script, the acting, the directing are all of the highest quality. It is not an escapist experience, but is an opportunity to look at an on-going issue of our culture and gain an understanding of how the lack of fulfillment of our basic needs has an effect on life decisions.  It’s not for escapists, but for realists. This is an absolutely, must see for anyone who wants to participate in an all embracing theatrical experience. 

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Howard Gollop
No review yet.

Mark Horning

For those looking for high drama and are not squeamish about a frank portrayal of suicide this will be a good show for you to see.  It is superbly acted, humorous at times and the high drama carries clear to the fade-out, but be forewarned…it is a shocker even when you know the ending.  After the show, head across the street to “The Sweet Spot” for some nerve soothing gelato.  You will need it.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's blog.


Christine Howey
Playwright Norman's script is a perfect GPS device for locating loneliness and depression, no "recalculating" required. And this production delivers the audience to that destination with harrowing assurance.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's review at  Cleveland Scene

Andrea Simakis

The play, by Marsha Norman, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1983. It boasts a bang-up cast – the very fine actresses Dorothy Silver and Laura Perrotta. At its helm is Scott Plate, a smart director who brought heat and corrosive comedy to the Studio Theater last year with "The Little Dog Laughed."

All that goodwill, not to mention star power, is the only way to tackle what is arguably one of the gloomiest scripts in American theater. And no matter whose name is in the program, there's no getting around that.
To see a full review of thi
s show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

Art Thomas

As relevant today as it was more than thirty years ago, "'Night Mother" still packs a solid punch as a desperate adult daughter calmly explains her iminent suicide to her mother. Winner of a well-deserved Pulitzer Prize, "'Night Mother" is solidly acted by Laura Perrotta and Dorothy Silver.

Click here to read the complete review at WestLife

CARRIE: THE MUSICAL @ Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace University

Beck Center
February 7-March 9, 2014
For tickets and information call 216-521-2540 or go online to http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

It is no surprise that the same local theater company that dared to bring us the delighfully outrageous “Jerry Springer: The Opera” thought to take a stab at resurrecting “Carrie: The Musical.”  What is surprising is that even the exceptionally gifted director Vicky Bussert can not find a steady pulse in this stillborn show.

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's article here.

Roy Berko

“CARRIE:  THE MUSICAL” sizzles with fine performances, great dancing, well tuned singing, compelling illusions, and an emotionally encompassing attitude which is so relevant in this era of school bullying.  This must-see production deserves to result in sold-out houses.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Tom Fulton

CARRIE, The Musical! is at the Beck Center in Lakewood, now through March 9. It is a highly entertaining, beautifully directed, but silly musical that wants to be about teenage angst and bullying but is burdened with telekinesis, moody thunder, blood obsession, self-motivated chairs, and a floating Jesus. But forget that. See it for the sheer energy of performance.

To see the full review of this show, go to:  http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/also-on-stage-carrie-the-musical/Content?oid=3781475

Howard Gollup

With sheer talent from youthful college singers, dancers and actors who actually pass for high-schoolers, Steven King’s original horror novel conception of the ultimate bully payback resonates better than ever.  Veteran local director Victoria Bussert wrings out all the emotion and pathos from Lawarence D. Cohen’s script, and she clarifies and punctuates the drama and horror with firm grasp on an onslaught of scenes.

This review is only available on-line to those who subscribe to the Chronicle-Telegram

Mark Horning

The Beck Center for the Arts production of “Carrie – The Musical” combines all the elements needed to make a great show: solid performances, great singing and dancing numbers, believable special effects and an easy to follow story line with a strong theme.  With its anti-bullying message, this should be required viewing for all area high schoolers and families. 

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's blog.

Andrea Simakis

But this CARRIE is director Victoria Bussert's version--a powerful wallop of a piece with a smart, pop sensibility balanced by real emotion.  In that way, it's like nothing that has come before.  This one will give you  nightmares and break your heart.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

Art Thomas

The youthful cast from Baldwin-Wallace University are best in the energetic Gregory Daniels choreography. The production points up the bullying aspects of the script and downplays the supernatural elements that graced the Stephen King novel. The term "a rare treat" perfectly applies to this production.

To see a full review of this show, read Art Thomas' story HERE
    

NEXT TO NORMAL
BECK CENTER/BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY
March 1-April 21, 2013

                                                 216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org

Bob Abelman

At the Beck Center for the Arts, a powerful and startling story has been paired with magnificent storytelling, resulting in a “Next to Normal” worthy of the original’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards, while serving up something special of its own design and on its own terms.       

To see a full review of this show, read Bob Abelman's News-Herald article here.


Roy Berko

NEXT TO NORMAL, a combined Beck Center and Baldwin Wallace University production, is well done.  This is the type of show that should result in sold out houses.

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.


Fran Heller

In the more than two decades I have been reviewing Cleveland theatre, I have never seen two productions of the same show within a month's span of time.
Following the mind-blowing production of "Next to Normal "at Lakeland, Beck Center's production of the landmark musical is equally compelling, proving the show's staying power and how two uniquely creative approaches can achieve the same stunning impact.
If you saw the show at Lakeland, the Beck production makes the experience worth repeating. If you haven't seen it yet, see it at Beck.

To see a full review of this show, read Fran Heller's review at the Cleveland Jewish News


Christine Howey

Director Bussert brings the story of Dan and Diana, and Gabe, front and center, making this Next to Normal a powerful and memorable experience.

To see a full review of this show, read Christine Howey's blog Rave and Pan

Kory

NEXT TO NORMAL is a little less than I was expecting from Beck Center, but still an incredible show!

To see a full review of this show, read Kory's blog here.

Andrea Simakis

Through two intense acts -- made even more so by the choice to stage the show in the smaller, more intimate of the Beck's two theaters -- those bottles of uppers and downers and anti-psychotics glow yellow or orange or red, taking on the look of circuitry inside a computer -- or the wiring in Diana's febrile brain.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.

Art Thomas


Although the life journey is rough for the characters, this production is a harmonic convergence for the audience. The storyline and dramaturgy are honestly interpreted by the talented cast and the each member of the multigenerational audience on the night I attended was intimately drawn into the show.

To see a full review of this show read Art Thomas' review at WestLife