Here's director Michael Rogaliner's tip on how to pack a room for Divas: Sing "It's Raining Men." "I don't know what it is," he says of the Weather Girls' tune.
Every Thursday through Saturday, Cabaret Rock's five-woman cast performs two 50-minute dinner sets of songs, ranging from Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" to Grand Funk's "Some Kind of Wonderful." But on Friday and Saturday nights, they unleash a third show of 14 "diva hits" -- including Pink's "Get the Party Started" and Britney Spears' "Toxic." "It's higher energy," explains Rogaliner. "Because we do songs that people want to hear that I wouldn't do during dinner hour." Later this year, he hopes to narrow his divas down to a specific decade. "Familiarity is, for better or worse, the way to hook an audience," he says. Divas is at 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Pickwick & Frolic Cabaret, 2035 East 4th Street. Admission is free; call 216-241-7425. -- Cris Glaser
Birth of A Nation
1/14-1/16
A staged reading of Citizenship in the Nation -- about a pair of Boy Scouts who begin a sexual relationship -- is part of Cleveland Public Theatre's Big [Box] series this weekend. It's at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at CPT, 6415 Detroit Avenue. Tickets are $10; call 216-631-2727. -- Michael Gallucci
Look Who's Tolkien
1/15-1/30
No fancy optical tricks are needed for Karamu's Youth Theatre production of The Hobbit, which is populated by actual little people. It runs Saturday through January 30 at Karamu House's Jelliffe Theatre, 2355 East 89th Street. Show times are 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $6; call 216-795-7070. -- Cris Glaser
