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<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><?xml:namespace
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style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>What Were They Thinking:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Got
To Be There<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Cleveland Jewish
News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member, International
Association of Theatre Critics</SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN> </P></o:p></SPAN>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This
interview is the lastest installment of the "What Were They Thinking" Cleveland
arts series.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
name Elliot Willensky, which belonged to a middle-class songwriter from Bayonne,
New Jersey, never achieved national recognition.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But his songs certainly did.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>During the 1970s and '80s, Willensky
penned hit tunes for top artists, including Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight,
Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, and The Fifth Dimension.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Got to Be There” – a song that appeared
on Michael Jackson’s solo debut album – was </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white">released in 1972
and sold nearly 900,000 copies in the U.S. and over 3 million copies
worldwide.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Elliot wrote
that.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; BACKGROUND: white"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>Elliot died in 2010 <SPAN style="COLOR: #333333">at the age of 66,
</SPAN>and Steven Willensky is hoping to bolster his older brother’s legacy with
a new musical called “Got to Be There.” <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The show will get a <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">staged concert reading on </SPAN>Monday, Nov.
3, at Westfield Insurance Studio Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><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 style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>The CJN caught up with Steven during early
preparations.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN><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 style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willensky</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My brother was every <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">Jewish mother's worst nightmare: He dropped out of
</SPAN>medical school with one year to go to write <SPAN
style="BACKGROUND: white">jingles for Hertz, Fresca, and Chrysler and R&B
songs </SPAN>for Detroit’s Motown Records.<SPAN style="COLOR: black"> <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN>Elliot was incredibly talented and
lived life to the fullest.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><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 style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">CJN</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When did the actual writing of the show
begin?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><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 style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willensky</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My brother and <SPAN
style="COLOR: black">I were extremely close and, back in 2009, we began kicking
around the idea of putting together a two-man show where we would tell funny
stories about growing up and, in between, perform his songs… even though neither
of us had a great singing voice.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Tragically, he passed away from a stroke.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>About 6 months later I decided I was
going to write the show and stage it, with me doing the narration of the stories
and several great singers performing his songs.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In September 2011, "Elliot and Me"
premiered to a SRO audience at Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of
Music.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">CJN</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Why the Cleveland Institute of
Music?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willensky</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In 2002, I came back to Cleveland from
<SPAN style="COLOR: black">Southern California to work for American Greetings.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>My wife Judy was born and raised in
University Heights.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Elliot and Me”
was performed as a fundraiser for the recently opened Maltz Hospice House at
Montefiore, where I had been Chairman of the Board.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We netted over $125,000 at the
performance and the audience reaction was absolutely
incredible.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">CJN</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I would imagine that most of the
audience knew </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">either you or Elliot
personally.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>What made you think
that the show could reach a broader audience? <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willensky</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: black">One of the
benefactors of that evening’s performance was Mark Pedowitz who, at the time,
was President of Touchstone Television. He was extremely moved by the story and
hooked me up with theater folks in New York to help nurture the project along. I
hired Scott Coulter to take my random vignettes and write a script with a
beginning, middle and end. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In the
new show, “Got to Be There,” actors play out the scenes rather than having me
narrate the stories. We had a well received reading in New York last summer and
have been refining the script since.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">CJN:</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Have you taken yourself out of the show
completely?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Willensky</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Oh no.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But I now have an actor playing me.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For the upcoming staged reading, local
performer <SPAN style="COLOR: black">Connor O'Brien is “Steven.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I get to be younger, thinner, better
looking, and sport a great singing voice. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Ah....the magic of musical
theater!<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">For
more of this interview, go to: </SPAN></FONT></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><A
href="http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/leisure/arts/article_f7a8e374-5a17-11e4-9c4d-d7f79d9a320b.html">http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/features/leisure/arts/article_f7a8e374-5a17-11e4-9c4d-d7f79d9a320b.html</A></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>