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It’s 2063 and love is in the air at the Greer Cabaret Theater

By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger 4 min read
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“The Perfect Mate,” a musical at Greer Cabaret Theater in Pittsburgh, explores how love might function in 2063.

For those who think dating is difficult now, just imagine what it will be like in the year 2063.

“The Perfect Mate” is a rom-com musical that offers a glimpse behind the curtain during a month where our thoughts turn to love and relationships.

The original musical emerges from the imaginations of David Rossmer and Dan Lipton, longtime collaborators who write music, lyrics and scripts together.

According to Mark Fleisher, executive producer, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO), “The Perfect Mate” was born from the CLO’s SPARK Festival, which is a major initiative of the organization’s Next Generation Capital Campaign.

“SPARK was created as an effort to cultivate new and innovative work from emerging and established musical theater artists,” explained Fleisher. Various writing teams joined SPARK for festival residencies, which culminated in private readings hosted by Pittsburgh CLO leaders. One of those musicals developed through the residency program was “The Perfect Mate.”

The Writing Team

Rossmer and Lipton’s relationship goes way back to their teens where they met at a New York-based summer camp called French Woods, which focuses on the performing arts.

The dynamic duo said that they came up with the idea to write a Ray Bradbury-esque short story for the SPARK festival since the CLO was looking to commission one-act musicals.

“They wanted something that would work with their small cabaret space and needed new shows to fill that. Our hope is that other theaters will express interest in the show as well,” said Lipton.

The project was well-suited to the pair.

“We have always been drawn to telling stories with music,” said Lipton, mentioning “The Who’s Tommy” as just one inspiration. Prior to this, Lipton had written another rom-com titled “The Other Josh Cohen,” a musical, which was nominated for six Drama Desk Awards in 2013.

Audiences are likely to be intrigued by “The Perfect Mate,” which takes place in the future and addresses many of the issues singles deal with today.

“We began work pre-pandemic and it’s been interesting watching the progression to what the world is now. It’s shockingly close,” said Rossmer, adding that he doesn’t want to be misunderstood. “Although that last statement is true, I’d like to stress the fact that it is not a dark show. It’s a comedy about how we never change. Just the toys we play with do.”

Both men’s relationship with music stems from their childhood. Lipton, who plays piano, said that his parents placed a piano in the living room and he began banging on it as a child.

“I just figured out how to make better noise,” he said with a chuckle.

Rossmer, on the other hand, said his love of music began with his mother playing Beatles songs on the guitar. “We also had a player piano that I fell in love with,” he said.

Dance sequences for the show are credited to Whitney G-Bowley, a New York-based dancer, actress and choreographer whom the team describes as a “wonderful choreographer.”

“G-Bowley imagines what vibrant movement looks like in the future and has fun with it,” said Lipton.

As for the theme, suffice it to say that finding one’s perfect humanoid robot, custom- designed to one’s specifications, may not be everything it’s cracked up to be.

“Perhaps our perfect partners are the ones who have the right flaws,” posited Rossmer.

Both men promise a “visual feast,” despite the smaller cabaret space.

“There’s a huge video wall in the background which we make use of and we use lights and color to portray a fun version of the future,” said Lipton.

Rossmer said that he’s looking forward to the reactions of the Pittsburgh-area audience.

“My wife did her fellowship here, so I became very familiar with the area and the people here are fun and savvy. Everyone is game, so we hope they will join in the fun with a musical in their own backyard,” he said, adding that it’s a human message about how we live in a world where we all strive for perfection and eventually we have to stop and decide if that’s a good idea.

Fleisher said that he’s looking forward to seeing the world premier of “The Perfect Mate” come to life through the Pittsburgh CLO Kara Cabaret Series.

“By taking a leadership role in the development of new works we are ensuring that local audiences can enjoy the very best of musical theater for generations to come,” he said.

“The Perfect Mate” premiers at the Greer Cabaret Theater which is located at 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, and runs from Feb. 2 to March 17. To learn more, visit https://trustarts.org/production/92202/the-perfect-mate.

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