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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Easy to like, hard to
love musical comedy<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
2</I>/6/09</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face=Calibri
size=3> </FONT></o:p><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The romantic musical comedy <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">I Love
You Because</I>, which opened last weekend at the 14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre
in downtown Cleveland, covers very familiar territory.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And not necessarily in the way its
creators intended.</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 105%; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
plot </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN">concerns
two twenty-something brothers, who dive headfirst into the New York City dating
pool and surface with girls who could not be more mismatched.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Amidst a flurry of song and dance
self-disclosures, with titles like “We’re Just Friends,” “The Perfect Romance”
and “Maybe We Just Made Love,” the intimate ebb and flow of their respective
relationships are laid bare and explored in detail.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the end, the brothers fall in love
with these girls and all is right with the world.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 105%; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"><FONT
size=3><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"></SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">During
the show’s off-Broadway run in 2006, composer Joshua Salzman and lyricist Ryan
Cunningham </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">suggested
t</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">hat
their production is a modern-day telling of </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Jane Austen’s classic novel </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Pride
and Prejudice</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That is, the featured characters
fall in love because of, not in spite of, their significant differences.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps, but this is not what inspires
that distinctive aftertaste of familiarity.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">No,
the waft of déjà vu that emanates from the stage is grounded in this show’s
blatant lack of originality. </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I
Love You Because</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
is as frantic and formulaic as a TV sitcom—a <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Friends</I> with
benefits.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Its
small cast, minimal staging, pop-inspired playlist, and focus on the cycle of a
relationship have an all-too-recognizable theatrical lineage as well.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I
Love You Because</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
is essentially </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">I Do, I Do</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Last Five Years</I> and dozens of other
slice-of-life, cabaret-style romantic musical comedies that have graced the
stage. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Sure, there are differences. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">I Do, I Do</I> is a sentimental exploration
of a 50-year marriage told sequentially.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black">Jason Robert Brown’s</SPAN> <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Last Five Years</I> dissects a bitter
5-year marriage by having the wife </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">traveling
backwards in time from the end of the relationship and the husband traveling
forward from when they first met.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I
Love You Because</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">is saccharine-saturated
fare that tends to </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">go
nowhere fast.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What
its storyline </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">lacks in
innovation and what its fairly unremarkable songs lack in sophistication, this
14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre performance of </SPAN><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I
Love You Because</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">more than makes up for in
entertainment value.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This is a very
enjoyable, highly professional production, due exclusively to the creative team
of local artisans that pieced it together.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Stage wizard Victoria
Bussert’s fun and fastidious direction and choreographer Martin Céspedes’
trademark flair keep this production in a constant state of overdrive.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It has incredible momentum, facilitated
by a tight three piece band under the direction of Matthew Webb, so there is
never a dull or empty moment from start to finish.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The intimate stage, framed with Russ
Borski’s clever glass brick set design, is used to its fullest and is populated
with talent galore.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
immediately likable—OK, adorable—six-member cast comes complete with an
abundance of comic instinct, attention-absorbing stage presence, and phenomenal
voices.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Collectively, they lift the
material to a higher plane and sell it as if it were beachfront property.
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Jodi Dominick and Jessica
Cope as the girls, Corey Mach and Matt Lillo as the boys, and Kyle Primous and
Ursula Cataan as an assortment of interesting New York denizens also
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">bring
their own distinctive qualities to their roles.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They transform fairly one-dimensional
caricatures into richer characters.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, first-daters, those in a 5-year
relationship and those celebrating a 50-year marriage may be looking for a fun,
effortless and effervescent evening’s entertainment.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They will find it in the cozy
14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">I
Love You Because</SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> runs through May 17 at the
14<SUP>th</SUP> Street Theatre at Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range from
$39.50-$44.50, call (216) 241-6000 or visit <A href=""><FONT
color=#000066>www.playhousesquare.org</FONT></A>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>