The Cure For Valentine's Day Blues

I have decided that the only way I will be able to make it through this winter without transforming into some crazed snowbound maniac à la The Shining, is to constantly seek out and actually attend events outside of work and home.  So, I am at least mentally working on a "Things To Look Forward To" list.  

Tops on my list this week is Bridgeport Theatre Company's anti-Valentine's Day concert, Love Bites, on Friday, February 14th at 8:00 pm. This one-night-only show will not only provide some relief from my winter weariness, but it will serve as the perfect antidote to the sickeningly sweet treacle of this upcoming holiday that my single self has endured year after year after year. 

I was excited when I first heard that this concert was taking place. The idea of an anti-Valentine’s Day concert inspired me to come up with my own playlist of desperate, broken-hearted, defiant, vengeful, bitter, and ultimately triumphant songs to conquer and crush any little Valentine cherub under a black booted, stiletto heel. 

My fantasy list includes everything from a weepy Bernadette Peters instructing her lover on how to break up with her in the song “Tell Me on A Sunday," to Saffire’s “Three Time Loser” where the singer laments that she is about to go to jail for killing her two-timing “good lovin’ daddy” and “Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive," the ultimate single ladies anthem.

Luckily, the audience at Love Bites will not be subjected to my own particular taste in break up songs, although it would be interesting to find out if any on my list makes the cut. Instead, we will all enjoy an evening of angry and bitter anthems by Alanis Morissette, Carrie Underwood, and Kelly Clarkson, and weepy miss-you ballads by Adele, Stevie Wonder, and Coldplay. Also included will be single lady anthems by Beyonce, break-up songs from hit Broadway musicals, and belting. “Lots of belting.”

Featuring BTC favorites (including the stars from their sold-out hit production of "Dreamgirls") and a few special guests, this promises to be an epic night for both singletons and couples looking to do something fun and different instead of a pink-hearts-and-roses lamefest. 

With an all-local cast directed by Christy McIntosh, a live band under the musical direction of Eli Newsom, and choreography by Abby Root & Ryan Elle, Love Bites promises to be the cure for the Valentine’s Days blues. 

BTC Presents Love Bites: An Anti-Valentine’s Day Concert

Downtown Cabaret Theatre Company,

263 Golden Hill Street, Downtown Bridgeport

Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8:00 PM

Tickets are $18 - $23.  Call (203) 576-1636, Ext. 0 or visit:

http://bridgeporttheatre.org for tickets.