Moving to New York City in 1979, Beaver worked steadily onstage in stock and on tour, simultaneously writing plays and researching a biography of actor George Reeves (a project which he still pursues between acting jobs). He appeared in starring roles in such plays as "The Hasty Heart" and "The Rainmaker" in Birmingham, Alabama and "The Lark" in Manchester, New Hampshire, and toured the country as Macduff in "Macbeth" and in "The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia". During this period, he ghostwrote the book "Movie Blockbusters" for critic Steven Scheuer.