Beck Center Presents BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, Now thru 6/1

Beck Center for the Arts presents the regional premiere of the award-winning rock musical, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, tonight, May 25 through July 1, 2012 in the Studio Theater. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 7 p.m. Sundays. There are no Sunday matinee performances for this production. Tickets are now on sale.

Meet America’s first political maverick, who kicked British butt, shafted the Indians and smacked down the Spaniards all in the name of these United States. Who cares if he didn’t have the constitutional right? This award-winning rock musical recreates and reinvents the life of “Old Hickory,” one of our nation’s founding rock stars, from his humble beginnings on the Tennessee frontier to his days as our seventh Commander-in-Chief in the Oval Office. This production includes adult language and themes and is recommended for mature audiences ages 17 and older.

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is directed by Beck Center’s Artistic Director, Scott Spence, features Equity actor Dan Folino as the audacious Andrew Jackson and includes an ensemble of 16 talented area actors. “In the spirit of such past Studio Theater hits as Reefer Madness, Evil Dead The Musical and Jerry Springer The Opera, comes Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, a rock and emo retelling of the life and times of our divisive seventh U.S. President” remarked Spence. “Known as the father of modern Democracy and more infamously for his ‘Trail of Tears’ treatment of Native Americans, Andrew Jackson was a rock star of the early 19th century – and everyone knows the life of a rock star is anything but smooth sailing. We are thrilled to welcome back to town Dan Folino as the People's Prez.”

Written by Alex Timbers with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson was called "an intriguing, often outrageous look at American history, filtered through the satiric eye of Timbers and Friedman’s pulsating rock score" by the Associated Press. This New York Times Critics’ Pick received rave reviews during its Off Broadway run. The New York Post called it “irreverent and subversive” and the Daily News said it was “offbeat, fresh and fun!” Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson was nominated for two Tony Awards and won the 2012 Outer Critics’ Circle Award and 2011 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical.

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, May 24 is $10 with general admission seating. Seating in the Studio Theater is limited. Preview Night tickets go on sale online at 12:01 a.m. May 24 and are expected to sell out quickly. Group discounts are available for parties of 13 or more. Purchase tickets online at beckcenter.org or call Customer Services at 216.521.2540, ext. 10. 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 Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI) and is sponsored by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.

Beck Center for the Arts (beckcenter.org) 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.