MEAN GIRLS, THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, and More Set For Beck Center For The Arts 2025-2026 Theater Season

Beck Center for the Arts has announced its 2025-2026 Professional Theater Season, the 92nd season which includes a big splash, comedies, dramas, musicals, and a new collaboration with Oberlin College & Conservatory Music Theater Program.   

Beck Center for the Arts' Artistic Director Scott Spence shared, “This year we are producing three amazing musicals (including Mean Girls which will be a locally produced premiere) in the Senney Theater, and three topical yet wildly entertaining non-musicals in our intimate Studio Theater, including August Wilson's Two Trains Running. Following the success and critical acclaim of last season's Jitney, also by Wilson, it was clear that we should circle back and add yet another of Wilson's Century Cycle to the mix. Each and every title next season reverberates with motifs of tolerance, understanding and acceptance.... all of which have never felt more necessary than they are today. Beck Center loves serving Northeast Ohio audiences and we are thrilled to have them join us on the ride once again.”

Season Tickets and Flex Passes for the 2025-2026 Professional Theater Season range in price from $136 to $384 and are available for purchase now for renewing subscribers at 216-521-2540. Season tickets and flex passes go on sale to new subscribers on June 2, 2025. Tickets to individual shows will go on sale to the public on July 1, 2025, at 216-521-2540 and Beckcenter.org.

Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Preview performances are 7:30 p.m. the Thursday before opening night, with general admission seating for just $15. Smart Seats are available for each performance at just $15 per person. For more information on the 2025-2026 Professional Theater Season please visit beckcenter.org.

Andy Warhol in Iran

Andy Warhol in Iran written by Brent Askari. Directed by Sarah May. Studio Theater. October 3, 2025 to November 2, 2025. Presented in arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Andy Warhol, having become a portrait painter of the rich and famous, travels to Tehran when commissioned to take polaroids of the Shah's wife. Warhol meets a young revolutionary who throws his plans into chaos and opens the pop icon's eyes. This fictionalized portrait on this famous visit leaves the audience asking, “who was the artist and who was the revolutionary?”

The Spongebob Musical

THE SPONGEBOB MUSICAL, Based on the beloved animated series by Stephen Hillenburg, book by Kyle Jarrow. Musical Production was conceived by Tina Landau. Original songs by Yolanda Adams, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, Jonathan Coulton, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetics Zeros, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T's, They Might Be Giants, T.I., and songs by David Bowie, Tom Kenny & Andy Paley. Additional lyrics by Jonathan Coulton. Additional music by Tom Kitt. © 2023 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. Created by Stephen Hillenburg. Directed by Scott Spence, Musical direction by Larry Goodpaster, and choreography by Lauren Marousek. Senney Theater. Running December 5, 2025 to January 4, 2026 with December 6 at 2:30, December 7 at 2:30 pm ONLY, December 13 at 2:30 pm ONLY, December 20 at 2:30 pm ONLY, December 27, 2025 at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm,  January 3, 2026 at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Thursdays December 11 and December 18, 2025 at 7:30 pm. Presented in arrangement with Concord Theatricals. 

Winner of 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical. Yes, THAT SpongeBob. And yes, a MUSICAL. Who lives in a pineapple under the seas and became the hottest star on Broadway? SpongeBob! Dive into this story as the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home. SpongeBob and his friends come together to save the fate of the undersea world. The power of optimism really can save the world! Sure to make a splash with your family and friends of all ages.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening in collaboration with Oberlin College & Conservatory Music Theater Program, Books and lyrics by Steve Sater, music by Duncan Sheik, based on the play by Frank Wedekind. Directed by Victoria Bussert, musical direction by Matthew Webb, and choreography by Lauren Marousek. Senney Theater, February 13 to March 1, 2026 with added Wednesdays February 18, and February 25, 2026 and Thursdays on February 19 and 26, 2026. Presented in arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Young lovers must struggle against all odds to build a world together in this electrifying fusion of morality hitting up against passion in a pop rock score that exhilarates audiences like no other musical. How did you play your hand when adults held all the cards? 

Two Trains Running

August Wilson's Two Trains Running, Directed by Jimmie Woody. Studio Theater, February 27, 2026 through March 29, 2026. Presented in arrangement with Concord Theatricals

Finalist! 1992 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Memphis Lee's coffee shop lies in Pittsburgh's Hill District, a neighborhood on the brink of economic development. Like most neighborhood hang outs, you'll find the sage elder statesman, an ex-con, a numbers runner, a quiet waitress with a past, and a man with special needs who is looking for his ham. Compared to works by Chekhov, in this drama Wilson reveals the hopes and dreams of a community on the brink of change in the 1960s.

Speech & Debate

Speech & Debate by Stephen Karam. Directed by Don Carrier. Studio Theater, May 29 through June 28, 2026. Presented in arrangement with Dramatist Play Service

Three misfit high school students in Salem, Oregon form a unique debate club, complete with a musical version of The Crucible, an unusual podcast, and a plot to take down their corrupt drama teacher. With his signature wit, playwright Karam follows the trio's attempts to fend off the menace of encroaching adulthood with edgy humor and subversive antics. 

Mean Girls

Mean Girls Book by Tina Fey, lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde) and composer Jeff Richmond (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). Adapted from Fey's hit 2004 film, Mean Girls.

Directed by Scott Spence, Musical direction by Larry Goodpaster, and choreography by Lauren Marousek. Senney Theater. July 10 to August 9, 2026 with Thursdays July 23, 30, and August 6, 2026. Presented in arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

Mean Girls was nominated for a staggering 12 Tony Awards. We have all experienced some “Plastics” in our lives. Cady Heron grew up on an African savanna, but nothing could prepare her for the wild and malicious ways of her strange adventure in suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to popularity? By taking on frenemies led by the charming but cutting Regina George. Cady learns the hard way that you can't cross a queen bee without getting stung.