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<p class="s12" align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><span class="s13"><b><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Beck Center For The Arts Announces
</span></b></span><span class="s13"><b><span style="font-size:22.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p>
<p class="s12" align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><span class="s13"><b><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Jimmie Woody To Direct August Wilson’s
<i>Jitney</i></span></b></span><span style="font-size:22.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s12" align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s12" align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#C00000;background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow">Preview tickets just $10 on Thurs, April 4 at 7:30 pm at</span></b><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#C00000">
<a href="https://beckcenter.na.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/16939"><span style="color:#C00000">https://beckcenter.na.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/16939</span></a>
</span></b><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="s12" align="center" style="margin:0in;text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="s12"><span class="s9"><b><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Lakewood, OH</span></b></span><span class="s10"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">–</span></span><a href="http://www.beckcenter.org/"><span class="s11"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:blue">Beck
Center for the Arts</span></span></a><span class="s10"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> is pleased to announce the juggernaut, August Wilson’s</span></span><a href="https://www.beckcenter.org/shows/jitney"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">
<b><i>Jitney</i></b></span></a><span class="s10"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">, directed by
</span></span><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmie-woody-216a42b3/"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Jimmie Woody</span></a><span class="s10"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">. Running
</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">April 5 – May 5, 2024, in the Studio Theater, this dramatic piece of theater encompasses the 1980s and the African America experience in the United States of America.</span><span class="s10"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">In 1979, esteemed playwright August Wilson wrote<b><i> Jitney</i></b>, set and produced in 1982 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.
<b><i>Jitney</i></b><i> </i>became the 2000 Drama Desk Award winner. Eventually, it won the
<span style="color:#202122;background:white">Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play for capturing the influence of generations of jitney drivers on their communities.
</span></span><span style="color:#00B050;background:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Jimmie Woody says of his directorial debut at Beck Center for the Arts,
<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none">“</span></span><span style="color:#242424">I am humble and proud to stand on the shoulders of a giant within African-American culture. In Africa, Griots were the storytellers and keepers
of a village’s culture, August Wilson is a Griot of African-American culture of the 20th century. I love August Wilson because he has an innate ability to capture the soul, the pain, the love, the struggle, the culture, the resilience, and the poetry of the
African-American spirit. I am grateful to direct a legend within African-American Culture & American Literature.”
</span></span><span class="s16"><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s12"><span class="s9"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Run dates are
</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">April 5 to May 5, 2024 in the Studio Theater in Lakewood.<span class="s10">
</span><span class="s16">Ticket prices range from </span><span class="s17">$38 (adults), $34 (for seniors 65 and older) $17 for students with valid ID. A $3 service fee per single ticket will be applied at time of purchase. </span><span class="s16">Curtain
times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. </span><span class="s17">Preview performance is 7:30 p.m. the Thursday before opening night, with general-admission seating for just $10. Smart Seats® are available for each performance at just
$10 per person. For more information on <b><i>Jitney,</i></b> please visit </span>
</span><a href="https://www.beckcenter.org/shows/jitney"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">beckcenter.org</span></a><span class="s17"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s8" style="margin:0in"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#313131;letter-spacing:-.3pt">A</span><span class="s10"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">ccording to
<i>Entertainment Weekly, </i></span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#111111;background:white">“With<b> <em><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Jitney</span></em></b>, August Wilson shines a spotlight on the multi-faceted black
American experience.” </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="s8" style="margin:0in"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="s8" style="margin:0in"><span class="s21"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">This play is presented through a special arrangement
</span></span><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">with<i> </i>Concord Theatricals.<i>
</i></span><span class="s25"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="s8" style="margin:0in"><span class="s25"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="s8" style="margin:0in"><span class="s25"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">All performances are at theaters inside </span></span><a href="http://www.beckcenter.org/"><span class="s29"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:blue">Beck
Center for the Arts</span></span></a><span class="s16"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> located at 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, just ten minutes west of downtown Cleveland. Free onsite parking is available. For more information please visit </span></span><a href="http://www.beckcenter.org/"><span class="s29"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:blue">beckcenter.org</span></span></a><span class="s16"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Beck Center for the Arts is proud to be a part of Northeast Ohio’s professional theater landscape, operating under a letter of agreement with Actors’ Equity Association. We are a Small Professional
Theater (SPT) based on the number of seats, number of our performances, and the maximum weekly hours of work we provide to actors. We produce every show on our stages, by choosing the play, casting and rehearsing it, building the sets, props, and costumes,
directing and performing the live music, and designing lights and sound. We proudly utilize regional resources and talent.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="color:black">Beck Center for the Arts also offers arts education for all ages, skill levels, and abilities with classes and lessons in music, dance, visual arts, and theater, as well as creative arts therapies. Financial assistance is offered to
qualified applicants so that these programs can be enjoyed by all.</span></span><span class="s26"><span style="color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
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