playbill vip

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR...

Nine, the Musical, reminds us that in the pursuit of having everything we risk being left with nothing and no one.

This musical started in Rimini, Italy, with the film director Federico Fellini (1920-1993). Known for his 16 Academy Award nominations and 4 Oscar-winning films (La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, Amarcord, 8 ½), he is the winningest director in the Foreign Language Film category. Nine, the Musical, is based on 8 ½, the story of Guido Contini, a famous but flawed film director. With a lyrical score by Maury Yeston and a cast of mostly females, you can imagine the plot that is about to unfold. But while initially provocative, the underlying plot reveals itself to be both sad and tragic. That redemption is possible keeps hope alive as we watch Guido struggle to maintain everything in his life, including his women. That there is confusion at times about what is in Guido’s mind and what is real life is intentional. How does Guido’s story really end? Is he alone? Was the risk worth it? You decide.

We thank you for coming. Enjoy the show!

Winner! Five 1982 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score Winner! Seven 1982 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, Lyrics and Music Winner! Two 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical Winner! Three 2003 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Revival of a Musical

Beasley has taught at Jacksonville University since 2008. Her students can be seen performing in Broadway tours, on cruise ships, as members of young artist programs, in television and film, as well as with equity theaters across the country. She is currently an Associate Professor of Voice and Chair of the Department of Music.

As a Director, Beasley focuses on archival research and study to bring her shows and characters to life. For Nine, the Musical, a trip to Italy and the Federico Fellini museum and archive in Rimini facilitated connections to the show and Fellini’s life as a film director. Research at Harvard and the Kurt Weill Foundation inspired her productions of Little Women, the Musical, which won awards for Best Actor and Best Scenic Design from Broadway World, and the Jacksonville premiere of Street Scene, an American Opera, which was awarded the University Performance grant in 2013 by the Kurt Weill Foundation. Research at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago was behind the production of Aida, the Musical. Other productions include Light in the Piazza, Les Misérables, Hot Mikado, Gianni Schicchi, A...My Name is Alice, A…My Name Will Always be Alice, A Grand Night for Singing, and Children of Eden. She has also written her own opera review entitled, Opera Goes Pop!, which was performed by Jacksonville students in 2014. The spring 2017 performance of There’s a Moon Out Tonight: Doo Wop Songs from 1954-1963 in the Black Box Theatre at JU was generously reviewed and recommended by NPR’s Glen Fisher. In Chicago, she served as the music director, to critical acclaim, of a production of The Last Five Years for OneTheatre as well as music directing for Valparaiso University. Other credits include The Ballad of Baby Doe, The Magic Flute, West Side Story, Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, and Barber of Seville. Her 2018 production of Into the Woods at Jacksonville University received the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Region IV award for Excellence in Directing.

Her CD Fashion Sense: Songs in Recital was released in 2015. Her book entitled Dramatism and Musical Theater: Experiments in Rhetorical Performance was released in 2021 by Peter Lang Publishing