‘33 Variations’ Swings Through Time at Beck Center

The regional premiere of 33 Variations is coming to Beck Center for the Arts.

Nominated for numerous Tony Awards, Broadway World called 33 Variations “one of the most satisfying new plays that Broadway has seen in a long while.”

The play will run in the intimate Studio Theater from Oct. 11 through Nov. 17.

Tickets are now on sale.

Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays.

Written by Moisés Kaufman, the award-winning author of The Laramie Project, this imaginative play follows a modern day musicologist diagnosed with ALS as she races to finish her research on Beethoven, according to a Beck Center news release.

“Across time in 1819 Vienna, the ailing and deaf composer becomes obsessed with a simple waltz. Plagued by illness, but gifted with passion, their parallel journeys entwine as they learn to embrace the gift of time and find peace in letting go.”

Tickets for 33 Variations are $29 for adults, $26 for seniors (65 and older), $12 for students (with valid I.D.), and $10 for children (12 and under). An additional $3 service fee per ticket is applied at the time of purchase. Preview Night is Oct. 10 for $10 with general admission seating.

The show will feature an ensemble of seven talented area actors including Equity actors Dana Hart and Maryann Nagel, who appear courtesy of the Actor’s Equity Association. Stuart Raleigh, former esteemed choral director at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and integral part of the Northeast Ohio music scene, will play piano.

“You don’t have to know anything about classical music to enjoy this show,” said director Sarah May in the news release. “It’s a wonderful, totally accessible story about determined people following their dreams, all underscored with some of the most beautiful music ever written.”

Wait. There’s more.

Post-show lectures are slated with experts from the medical and music communities to performances Oct. 13, Oct. 26 and Nov. 8. 

The panelists include leading interpreters of Beethoven, renowned pianists, and experts from Cleveland Clinic who will discuss the effects of ALS and hearing loss. The list of panelists and topics can be found on the Beck Center website.