Beck Center For The Arts Announces Youth Theater Production of

The Canterbury Tales Or….Geoffrey Chaucer’s Flying Circus

Lakewood, OH-Beck Center for the Arts, one of the oldest continuously running Youth Theater programs in the nation is proud to announce the first production of the 74^th Youth Theater 2022-2023 Season.

The 2022-2023 season starts with a fun comedy perfect for the entire family. The season begins with a modern parody of the classic Canterbury Tales. Audiences will be laughing in the aisles with this fresh take on the famous fables with The Canterbury Tales Or… Geoffrey Chaucer’s Flying Circus, directed by local talent Russel Stich.

Sarah Clare, Associate Director of Theater Education states, "We are so lucky to have such an amazing and dedicated group of students working on this show. Not only do we get to see our students hone their comedic acting chops, but we also get to see them take on the stories their parents and grandparents studied in school. Luckily, our version is a little bit easier to digest than the original in Middle English."

Audiences will see The Canterbury Tales told with a Monty Python flair. Many believe that Chaucer’s literary masterpiece revolutionized English literature. You’ll meet many of the pilgrims who tell his tales, including the Wife of Bath who has cleaned up her act for this adaptation and is now selling self-help DVDs. The parson, the pardoner, and friar join in for the fun as well telling their tales. The Miller makes an appearance too, though nobody wants to hear anything he has to say! This production takes challenging literature and tosses in a good helping of humor to create a silly yet educational comedy.

Beck Center for the Arts’ Youth Theater alumni include Michael Chernus (Orange Is the New Black; Manhattan); Dee Hoty (three-time Tony Nominee); Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold; Transformers: The Last Night); Rory O’Malley (Hamilton; Tony Nominee, Book of Mormon); and Daniel Reichard (Drama Desk Nominee, Jersey Boys).

The show runs November 3 through November 6, 2022, in the Senney Theater. A Student Matinee will take place on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. Public can attend the Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday performance at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices are $14 Adult/Senior, and $12 Children/Student (ages 18 & under). Please reserve tickets at beckcenter.org, call 216.521.2540, or simply stop by Beck Center Customer Service in person. 

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. For more information on Beck Center programming please visit beckcenter.org.