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<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align=center><FONT face=Georgia><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: helvetica"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT color=#282828> </FONT></SPAN></SPAN><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ">‘Elliot & Me’ is a l</SPAN></B><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
color=#202124>ove's labor's lost </FONT></SPAN></B></FONT><EM><B
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"></SPAN></B></EM></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; mso-outline-level: 2"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#222222 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia>The name Elliot Willensky, which belonged to a middle-class Jewish
songwriter from Bayonne, New Jersey, never achieved national recognition.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But his songs certainly did.
</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>During
the ‘70s and '80s, Elliot – a charming, cocky, medical school dropout – penned
hit tunes for top artists, including Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight, Smokey
Robinson, </SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#222222>Tony Orlando,</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>
Chaka Khan, and The Fifth Dimension. He once pitched a song to the Beatles,
which they turned down, but “Got to Be There” appeared on Michael Jackson’s 1972
solo debut album </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">and
sold over 3 million copies worldwide.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; mso-bidi-font-family: arial"><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia>The composer/lyricist died of a stroke in 2010 <SPAN
style="COLOR: "><FONT color=#333333>at the age of 66 </FONT></SPAN>and his
brother, Steven, has been attempting to secure Elliot’s legacy in an
autobiographical, two-man, pop music-infused play co-written with <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Scott Coulter</SPAN>.<SPAN style="COLOR: ">
In 2011, a reading of “Elliot & Me” premiered in Northeast Ohio – Steven’s
wife Judy was born and raised in University Heights – at the Cleveland Institute
of Music.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A revised version
</SPAN>got a <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">staged concert reading
</SPAN>at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square in 2014.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>More recently, the work was primed for a
live stage production<SPAN
style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: "><FONT
color=#222222> at Hudson Theatre Works in </FONT></SPAN>New Jersey, featuring
professional actors Eric Briarley as Elliot and Drew Seigla as Steven.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And then the pandemic hit.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#222222><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>A</SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>
production of the show was staged and video recorded this past </SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>November,
in partnership with </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial">Woodstock
Theater Group, </SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>and
will be streamed by the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre this week as a
pay-per-view event from <SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: en-us; mso-fareast-language: en-us; mso-bidi-language: ar-sa'><FONT
color=#000000>February 18 – 21.</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#000000><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: en-us; mso-fareast-language: en-us; mso-bidi-language: ar-sa'></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#000000><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: none; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat; BACKGROUND-ATTACHMENT: scroll; BACKGROUND-POSITION: 0% 0%; COLOR: ; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; LINE-HEIGHT: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: en-us; mso-fareast-language: en-us; mso-bidi-language: ar-sa'>For
more of this review, go to: <A
title=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/
href="https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/">https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/</A></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>