Allison Moorer doesn't let it get her down. Even though the alt-country singer has been shuffled among four different record companies over the past five years. Even though her latest album, the live Show, was abandoned by her last label before it was even released. "The major-label system is about what the promotion department thinks they can get played," she sighs.
Life hasn't been easy for Moorer. She came out of a tumultuous household (her father killed her mother, then himself; Moorer's older sister, country-torch siren Shelby Lynne, raised her). She got a break when her self-penned "A Soft Place to Fall" was featured on The Horse Whisperer soundtrack in 1998. She made three albums over the next four years. "I don't do music that's tailor-made for the radio," she says. "It's as simple as that."
Moorer has a new home at Sugar Hill Records, the Nashville-based indie that's scored with bluegrass CDs by Dolly Parton and Nickel Creek. She's testing new material on the road and hopes to have a new album out next spring. "There are some definite changes," she says. "But I'm not gonna reveal anything yet." Moorer plays an acoustic show at Wilbert's (812 Huron Road) at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $15; call 216-902-4663. -- Michael Gallucci
Fatal Attraction
Boy Gets Girl is not a romantic comedy.
10/3-10/26
If you think a story about a news reporter going on a blind date with a good-looking Manhattanite would make a fine romantic comedy, let Boy Gets Girl dispel that myth. Rebecca Gilman's drama (opening Friday at Studio Theatre) centers on Theresa, whose friend sets her up with Tony, a deceivingly charming sexual predator. When Theresa decides not to go out with him anymore, Tony's attentiveness turns into homicidal obsession. And after every Friday performance, domestic violence and stalking-crimes experts will speak. "I love doing plays that leave the audience thinking and arguing long after coffee and dessert," says director Sarah May. Boy Gets Girl runs Friday through October 26 at Beck Center's Studio Theater, 17801 Detroit Avenue in Lakewood. Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 to $22. For more information, call 216-521-2540. -- Cris Glaser
"Merry" Go Round
Cleveland Orchestra straddles Strauss.
10/2-10/5
The Cleveland Orchestra's three concerts this weekend, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, are concluding with Richard Strauss's "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks," which will be a showpiece of the program the Orchestra will play in Vienna at the end of the month. Also featured on this weekend's bill are works by John Adams ("Chamber Symphony"), Claude Debussy ("Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun"), and Franz Joseph Haydn ("Symphony No. 100 in G Major -- Military"). Rousing pieces all, and great workouts for the Orchestra's upcoming trip. The Cleveland Orchestra performs at Severance Hall (11001 Euclid Avenue) 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $27 to $67, available by calling 216-231-1111. -- Michael Gallucci
Latin Beat
FRI 10/3
Mercedes Sosa has been making world music for more than 35 years, first in her native Argentina and then in Spain, where she was forced into exile because of her political views. Her strong, unwavering commitment -- she fought for civil rights during her country's period of military dictatorship and was once arrested onstage -- shames most contemporary message artists. She's at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium (11150 East Boulevard) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $25 to $30; call 216-421-7350. -- Michael Gallucci
