Y r L Me 4Z A ► litAla3rISCI7-- 1,4 tar ■ Gl•-• W0111°613 MA1, 2°)8 I MEDITERRANEAN 41 • 410 Catchy Catskills Music of Neil Sedaka fuels jukebox musical at Meadow Brook Theatre. Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News T he musical Breaking Up Is Hard to Do brought together a writing team — Ben H. Winters and Erik Jackson. The two were introduced by a producer and director, both intent on developing a jukebox play with a plot based on the songs of Neil Sedaka and each having a favorite writer in mind before deciding to establish a team. The show, running April 21-May 16 at the Meadow Brook Theatre, captures the popularity of Catskill resorts of the 1960s. The dialogue is enhanced by 18 songs, including "Love Will Keep Us Together': "Stupid Cupid" and "Laughter in the Rain." "The play evokes a wonderful era in American cultural histo- ry, American Jewish his- tory and American musi- cal history," says Winters, 33, who has written plays with original music as well as books. "We started with the time, place and songs and thought about how we could create a plot around the songs, which are not par- ticularly narrative. They're sweet songs about love and heartache — being in love, being out of love or wishing to be in love. "We crafted a story with a lot of people falling in and out of love and being deceived and undeceived, using songs [to project the emotions]." Set over a Labor Day weekend, the action takes place at Esther's Paradise Resort. The cast includes Mary Robin Roth (Esther Simowitz), Billy Konsoer (Del Delmonaco), Tobin Hissong (Harvey Feldman), Jamie Kolacki (Gabe Green), Andrea Mellos (Lois Warner) and Katie Hardy (Marge Gelman). "The specific comedy style of the Catskills flavors the show',' Winters says. "The character of Harvey is the comedian who gets off a lot of the really good lines." The Catskills, a vacation spot for Jewish New Yorkers starting at the turn of the 20th century, actually was the setting for Sedaka's career launch and the place where he met his wife. "Neil was involved in and out over the creation of the show',' says Winters, who did theater and comedy impro- visation while attending Washington University in St. Louis and worked as a journalist before moving to New York in 2001 and changing his focus to stage and fiction. "Neil gave a lot of ter- rific feedback and encour- aged us to use some of his lesser-known songs. He helped shape the feel of the piece." Winters, married to a lawyer and the father of two preschoolers, has written plays for children's theater and will have a new young readers' book, The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman, released in September. "I stole the character name from my kids' pediatrician because I think it's evocative- sounding': he says. "The book is about a middle- school band teacher, who is rumored to be a former rock singer." Winters is trying to market a Chanukah play, The Great Big Miracle, as an annual production. "It makes me so happy that Breaking Up Is Hard to Do is being regularly produced around the coun- try," Winters says. "Although it's set in a specific time and place, there are themes and music appealing to people of all times and places." "The play evokes a wonderful era in American Jewish history." Breaking Up Is Hard to Do will be performed Wednesdays-Sundays, April 21-May 16, at the Meadow Brook Theatre on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester. $24-$39. For performance times and tickets, call (248) 377-3300. or visit www.mbtheatre.com . C 1 GRILLE L 411 WEDNESDAYS- '/2 OFF ALL OUR MEDITERRANEAN BOTTLED WINES DAILY LUNCH SPECIALS SOUP AND SALAD OR SANDWICH STARTING AT $5.99. SAVE TIME AND CALL AHEAD TO PLACE YOUR DINE-IN LUNCH ORDER. 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