Fri 5/27-Sun 6/26
The next production at the Beck Center for the Arts centers on a collision of two theatrical cultures — Elvis impersonation and drag performing — with a plot that’s outrageous, hilarious and heartwarming. The Legend of Georgia McBride, written by Matthew Lopez (the first Latin writer to win the Tony for Best Play), centers on a washed-up Elvis impersonator who finds himself enmeshed in drag culture.
The play premiered in 2014 in Denver and opened off Broadway in 2015. Since then it’s been performed around the country, but the Beck Center is staging its regional premiere, directed by local actor/playwright/director Eric Schmeidl, who has a history with the play & approached Beck Center about bringing it to northeast Ohio
“I first met Matthew Lopez’s The Legend of Georgia McBride at the Denver Center Theatre Company when it was workshopped,” says Schmeidl. “I attended the premiere and was really touched by the compelling characters from the young Elvis impersonator, Casey, to his wife, Jo, and of course the unforgettable Miss Tracy Mills. And, the drag performances included in the production were absolutely charming. I saw firsthand that the play can serve both as a celebration of identity and inclusion as it champions this wonderfully theatrical dramatic form of performance we call Drag.”
To make the show really authentic, Beck Center brought on Veranda L’Ni, Cleveland’s tallest drag queen and host of events such as Drag Bingo and Drag Queen Story Hour, on board as Director of Drag.
The show runs through Sunday June 26 in Beck’s Studio Theater, with shows Friday and Saturday @ 7:30pm and Sunday @ 2:30pm. For tickets to go beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540 x10.