WINSOR! A Cleveland Cabaret Announced

The Musical Theater Project will produce "Winsor! A Cleveland Cabaret," based on the life of legendary local media personality Winsor French, at 7 PM on Thursday, July 6 and Sunday, July 9 at Nighttown in Cleveland Heights.

From the early 1930s until the late 1960s, Winsor French, the about-town columnist for the Cleveland News and later the Cleveland Press, was the darling of Cleveland society for his outspoken views. In an era of racism, French often reviewed local African American night clubs, and in the final days of prohibition, he wrote about speakeasies and even commented on the price of their booze.

A self-described "effeminate young man," French occupied desks in city rooms defined by masculine energy, enduring his colleagues' homophobia and risking the loss of his job by defending unconventional behavior.

TMTP's concert will highlight French's glamorous, outrageous and surprisingly touching life in a witty and elegant evening at Nighttown spiced with great Cole Porter songs including "Night and Day" and "Just One of Those Things."

Written by James Wood, author of Out and About With Winsor French, the cabaret stars Scott Plate in the title role and features Bill Rudman, Shayla Gragston and Alec Irion. Plate also directs the evening and Mark Graham is music director.

While writing French's biography, Wood discovered "a clever guy, writing with gay subtext." He was fascinated by "what French could do when, as a homosexual man, he should have been in the closet." As Wood notes, French's sister, Martha Hickox, believed an actor would portray Winsor better than a biographer. A stage version was successfully premiered by TMTP in 2013, with Wood continuing to develop it since then.

Nighttown is located at 12387 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights. General tickets are priced at $30. Table seating is not reserved. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006.

The show is part of "The Song Is You!" concert and cabaret season produced each year by The Musical Theater Project at a variety of locations.