[NEohioPAL] "Shocking, irresistibly funny" Jerry Springer: The Opera Premieres at the Beck Center

[Fran Storch]

Jerry Springer: The Opera

Beck Center Premieres Award-Winning Musical

Beck Center for the Arts presents the regional premiere of the award-winning musical Jerry Springer: The Opera, in the Studio Theater, February 18 through March 27, 2011. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays. There are no matinee performances for this production.

Strippers, cheating spouses, tap-dancing Ku Klux Klan members. Just another episode of America’s favorite lurid TV talk show, The Jerry Springer Show. Come see what happens when Jerry and his show end up in Satan’s world in this musical that London’s The Sunday Times calls “a shocking, irresistibly funny masterpiece.”

Jerry Springer: The Opera, winner of London’s Best New Musical in the West End award and three Olivier Awards, features Matthew Wright, who returns to the Beck Center in the title role. The production also includes Equity actor Darryl Lewis as Montel and Jesus (see complete cast list below).

This production is not recommended for children and contains material that may offend some people.

“While we pride ourselves on the eclectic mix that we offer at the Beck Center, we are truly excited to showcase pieces that local audiences have not gotten a chance to see, and Jerry Springer The Opera is no exception,” says Director Scott Spence. “It comes with a high pedigree and is stimulating, provocative, and entertaining all in one package. We embrace the conversations that are beginning to happen surrounding this astounding new musical and cannot wait to share it with Northeast Ohio audiences.”

The performance on Friday, February 25 will include a post-show talkback session discussing the impact of art on our society and the cultural debate surrounding the show. The panel, moderated by Thomas Mulready of Cool Cleveland, will feature Scott Spence and other cultural experts.

Tickets are $28 for adults, $25 for seniors (65 and older), and $17 for students (with valid ID). An additional $3 service fee per ticket is applied at the time of purchase. Preview night on Thursday, February 17, is $10 with general admission seating. Group discounts are available for parties of 13 or more. Tickets for Preview Night go on sale at 10 a.m. on February 17. This show is in our smaller, more intimate Studio Theater so seating is limited.

For tickets, call the Beck Center box office at 216.521.2540, ext. 10, or purchase seats online at www.beckcenter.org<http://www.beckcenter.org/>. Beck Center is located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available.

Beck Center’s production of Jerry Springer: The Opera is sponsored by Cox Communications, Ohio Arts Council, and Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

Beck Center for the Arts is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that offers professional theater productions, arts education programming in dance, music, theater, visual arts, early childhood, and creative arts therapies for special needs students, and gallery exhibits featuring regional artists.



Jerry Springer: The Opera



Cast of Characters

Zandra/Mary………………..Leslie Andrews

Tremont/Archangel Gabriel………………..Ryan Bergeron

Dwight/God………………..Patrick Ciamacco

Peaches/Baby Jane………………..Diana Farrell

Irene………………..Lissy Gulick

Security………………..James Lenahan, Nathan Taxel

Montel/Jesus………………..Darryl Lewis*

Shawntel/Eve………………..Joanna May Hunkins

Chucky/Adam………………..Robert Pierce

Steve………………..Michael J. Rogan

Warm-Up Man/Satan………………..Gilgamesh Taggett

Andrea/Archangel Michael………………..Shelley Thorpe

Jerry Springer………………..Matthew Wright*

Audience………………..Tim Anderson, Ian Atwood, Joy Fowler, Kathryn Gucik, Lydia Hall, Melanie Hauer, Shannon Hubman, Justin Charles Schickler, Mark Robert Snyder



Understudies:

Warm-Up Man/Satan………………..Ian Atwood

Peaches/Baby Jane………………..Joy Fowler

Irene………………..Lydia Hall

Zandra/Mary………………..Melanie Hauer

Shawntel/Eve………………..Shannon Hubman

Dwight/God………………..Mark Robert Snyder

Tremont/Archangel Gabriel………………..Matthew Ryan Thompson



 *Actor appears courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the union of actors and stage managers.



Production Staff

Artistic Director/Director………………..Scott Spence

Musical Director………………..Bryan Bird

Choreographer………………..Martín Céspedes

Stage Manager………………..Diana D'Alessandro

Scenic & Lighting Designer………………..Trad A Burns

Assistant Scenic & Lighting Designer………………..Benjamin Gantose

Costume Designer………………..Jenniver Sparano

Sound Designer………………..Richard B. Ingraham

Special Effects/Make-Up/Prosthetics………………..P.J. Toomey

Technical Director………………..Joseph Carmola

Sound Operator………………..Liz Gnau

Videographer………………..Jerry Sgro
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