MACKEY MAIN STAGE 2008-2009
Unless otherwise noted, Main Stage Shows are Friday & Saturday at 8:00 pm., Sunday at 3:00 pm.

September 12 – October 12, 2008
Musical by Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis
Directed by Scott Spence

Featuring:
Greg Violand* as Caldwell B. Cladwell
Matthew Wright* as Officer Lockstock
Sandra Emerick* as Little Becky Two-Shoes

Who's Who in the Company

2002 Tony Award winner for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.

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

Consider it a privilege…If you lived in Urinetown you’d have to pay to pee!

A wild and happy mix of biting satire and loving parody, Urinetown The Musical transports audiences to a Gotham-like city where ecological disaster has made the simplest human necessity, water, more precious than gold.

Attempting to regulate its consumption, the government has imposed a bizarre law—the use of private restrooms is banned and an omnipotent corporation, the Urine Good Company, is charging citizens money to use the toilet! Beck's original cast reunites!

Read what the critics had to say…

“If ‘Urinetown’ is a bellwether, it’s going to be a golden season… One could go on. Or, one could just go.” ~ Tony Brown, Plain Dealer

“Beck’s revival… a total delight… If you haven’t seen it before, do so now. If you have seen it, go again.” ~ Roy Berko, The Times

“…smart, acerbic and funny… now’s the time to see how this show was meant to be performed.” ~ Bob Abelman, Chagrin Valley Times

“one great song after another… a good idea not to miss this encore production – with a capital Pee.” ~ Christine Howey, Rave and Pan

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December 5, 2008 – January 4, 2009

Based on J.M. Barrie's tale
Music by Mark Charlap and Jule Styne
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Directed by Fred Sternfeld
Musical Director Larry Goodpaster
Musical Staging and Choreography by Martín Céspedes

Featuring
John Paul Soto as Peter Pan
Michael Mauldin as Mr. Darling/Captain Hook
Maggie Stahl-Floriano as Mrs. Darling,
Kelly Smith as Wendy
Alexis Floyd as Tiger Lily

Who's Who in the Company

This high flying musical story of Peter Pan, Wendy, John, and Michael and their adventures in Neverland is brought to life on Beck Center’s Main Stage for the holidays. Audiences of all ages will love this timeless story filled with pirates, fairies, death-defying feats of flying, and the dastardly Captain Hook. An exhilarating journey through Neverland for the whole family! More info...

Produced through special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

January 30 – February 22, 2009

By Pulitzer prize-winning American playwright, August Wilson
Directed by Sarah May

Featuring:
Angela Gillespie-Winborn as Ma Rainey
Michael May as Levee
Anthony Elfonzia Nickerson-El as Toledo
Robert J. Williams as Slow Drag

Who's Who in the Company

Band member, Levee (Michael May) flirts with Ma Rainey’s niece, Dussie Mae (Deja M. Foster)

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

Photos courtesy of Stephen R. Campanella

Ma Rainey (Angela Gillespie-Winborn*) records her latest album accompanied by band member, Slow Drag (Robert J. Williams)

Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as Chicago blues legend Ma Rainey sets out to record her latest album in the only one of Wilson's 10 plays set outside Pittsburgh. The play is set in Chicago in the 1920s and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers. Generational and racial tensions escalate among Ma Rainey’s band and producers, as the studio explodes in violence and tragedy.

Beck honors this year's passing of August Wilson and the 25th anniversary of the Broadway production! More info...

Produced through special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.

The show is intended for a mature audience due to language and subject matter.

The recording session heats up as Ma Rainey argues with her manager, Irvin. From left to right, Levee (Michael May), Irvin (Michael Regnier), Toledo (Anthony Elfonzia Nickerson-El), Ma Rainey (Angela Gillespie-Winborn*), and Slow Drag (Robert J. Williams)

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The Farnsworth Invention
March 13 – April 11, 2009

No show on April 12 (Easter Sunday)

A new play by Aaron Sorkin
Directed by Scott Spence

Who's Who in the Company

Pem and Philo

Lizette and David

Philo and crew in the lab

The turning point of the 20th Century wasn't ON television, it WAS television!

Separated by two thousand miles, two ambitious visionaries race against each other to invent and promote a device that would one day be called the "television." Each knowing that if he stops working the other will gain the edge. Who will unlock the key to the greatest invention of the 20th century: the ruthless media mogul or the self-taught Idaho farm boy? The answer comes to compelling life in this new play from Aaron Sorkin, creator of The West Wing.

More info...

Philo and Sarnoff

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June 26 – August 2, 2009
(No show on July 4th)

REQUEST SEATS

Written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman
Directed by William Roudebush

Presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI)

Cast includes:
Timothy Allen as Seymour
Meg Maley as Audrey
Leslie Feagan* as Mr. Mushnik
Taresa Willingham as Chiffon
Katrice Monee Headd as Crystal
Tonya Broach as Ronette

Who's Who in the Company

From left to right, Katrice Monee Headd as Crystal, Taresa Willingham as Chiffon, Timothy Allen as Seymour (holding the plant, Audrey II), and Tonya Broach as Ronette

It’s everyone's favorite boy-meets-girl, plant-eats-world phenomenon. From the producers of Hairspray and The Producers, and the songwriters of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, comes the biggest MONSTER hit! This musical comedy masterpiece is about a ‘nobody’ kinda guy, the girl he loves, and the man-eating plant that changes their lives forever. Look out! Here Comes Audrey Two!!!

More...

Foreground, Meg Maley as Audrey and the Urchins, from left to right, Katrice Monee Headd as Crystal, Taresa Willingham as Chiffon and Tonya Broach as Ronette

From left to right, Timothy Allen as Seymour and Leslie Feagan* as Mr. Mushnik

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

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