The Cleveland Artists Development Group presents Cleveland native Greta Rothman in the show, which she wrote and developed at Rose's Turn, the cabaret and show tune bar in Greenwich Village.
"The show tells the story of a single woman with a chronic, uncanny and often hilarious ability to fall for men who are gay," according to production notes. The show includes such pop standards "One for My Baby," "I Can't Make You Love Me," "Love Fool," "I Get a Kick Out of You," Maltby and Shire's "She Loves Me Not," ABBA's "The Name of the Game" and more. The title of the show comes from a song written by Amanda Yesnowitz, which is the opening number.
"When I was living in Princeton and working at McCarter Theatre (1994-98) I went to an NYU Writing for the Musical Theatre workshop at Forbes college," Rothman told Playbill On-Line. "During this workshop, a young woman by the name of Amanda Yesnowitz performed a piece she had written entitled 'Those Seven Little Words, I Love You So You're Probably Gay.' Everyone around me was like, 'Does she know you?' It was my life in a nut shell.
"So, when I moved to New York and was trying to get my own cabaret show together, I tracked her down and got the song. With this song in place as my opening number — and using it as the title of the show — I was ready. I wrote down all the scenarios that have happened to me with my gay male friends and made a rough outline of topics I wanted to discuss. I filled in with songs that already exist like Bonnie Raitt's 'I Can't Make You Love Me' and Howard Jones' 'No One Is To Blame.'"
Those Seven Little Words appeared earlier this season at Cleveland Public Theatre to SRO crowds. There is hope that it has a future in regional cabarets or second stage venues. Conceived by Greta Rothman, with musical direction by Charles Eversole, the show offers a selection of contemporary songs. The company includes Charles Eversole (keyboard/vocals), Michael Caraffi (vocals), Andrew Rothman (percussion/vocals) and Eric Alan (vocals). The show is appropriate for audiences 18 years of age and older.
Rothman was raised in University Heights and is no stranger to Cleveland area audiences. She has performed as a special guest vocalist with the North Coast Men's Chorus and in local theatre productions. She graduated from Ashland University in 1994 with a B.A. in theatre. She has worked at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton and MCC Theater in Manhattan. Most recently she worked at The Drama League of New York, where she was responsible for all of the organization's benefits and awards ceremonies.
The show is presented at Kennedy's, a 100-seat cabaret space next to and underneath the Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square Center. The exposed-brick space is a canvas for local artist to create work. The Ohio, Palace, the State, the Allen and Hanna make up the arts district. The Ohio is home to Great Lakes Theatre Festival and Ohio Ballet.
Tickets for Those Seven Little Words are $15 and are available at the Playhouse Square Center Box office, or by calling (216) 241-6000 or (800) 766-6048.
Performances are 8:30 PM Friday and Saturday evenings July 25-Aug. 23. (There are no performances Aug. 8 9.)
More information is available by visiting the show's official website at www.sevenlittlewords.com.
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Cleveland Artists Development Group is committed to developing and presenting the work of Cleveland-based performing artists.
