Fri 10/2-Sun 11/1
Beck Center for the Arts opens its 2026-27 theater season with a bang, by presenting the world premiere of the latest work one of Cleveland’s most successful playwrights, Eric Coble.
The play, World Class Care, which is both humorous and thought-provoking, is set in the near future when two huge hospital systems control most of Cleveland — wait. Did they say “future”? Anyway, in this play, a stubborn homeowner refuses to give up his last piece of land while the health care systems connive to take it. The play is described as “a fast-paced comedy that examines what happens when profit-driven healthcare loses sight of humanity, in this brand-new, old-fashioned, futuristic farce which proves laughter is the best medicine.” This might not seem so funny these days.
Coble, whose plays have been performed in all 50 states, across the world and on Broadway, has been a Tony, Emmy and Pulitzer nominee. The Beck Cener previously hosted the Ohio premiere of his Broadway production, The Velocity of Autumn.
“I’ve always been fascinated by what happens when organizations that are created to help people become so large that their main function becomes to sustain themselves (because they’re here to help people!),” says Coble. “It happens in every country and in many forms (institutions, political parties, religions, militaries, etc). How does that happen? What happens to the individuals in that machine? Then another thing that fascinates me are the people who refuse to go along with the flow. These two ideas bang into each other nicely. That’s World Class Care: A wild trip into the world of huge institutions and the tiny people that support and oppose them.”
The play will be directed by Eric Schmiedl who has directed productions at the Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater, Cleveland Public Theatre, Karamu and theaters in Idaho, Oregon and Alabama, among others.
The show runs Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:30pm Friday October 2 through Sunday November 1. Go HERE for tickets.
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