Performance to highlight love

Until recently, cabaret was something that only happened in New York or Chicago.\nAward-winning Chicago actress Candace Johnson brings the art of the cabaret to Bloomington. in the Bloomington Playwrights Project production, "Love, Candy," complete with entertainment, champagne and dessert at 8 p.m. today.\nCabaret allows for an intimate atmosphere and a direct relationship between the performer and the audience, Johnson said. It is unique because it is music, theatre and audience participation. \n"It lets the audience be a part of the performance because it's about connecting," Johnson said.\nIn her show, Johnson said she will highlight love throughout people's lives, from the love you yearn for and get from your mother to the love you long for and need from your wife. Love is wonderful and funny, she said, and the show is an opportunity to share with everyone a universal theme and celebrate Valentine's Day.\nA student who saw Johnson in a recent Christmas cabaret said the best part of her shows is that she adds in her own little stories. \n"They're heartwarming; they're just really good experiences,'' junior Hubbell Carothers said. "If I could describe her in two words, she's hilarious.''\nStories and songs of love will go full circle and will highlight the trials and heartbreaks we all face while searching for the one true love of our lives. Johnson said she hopes to make audience members laugh, cry and just have fun.\n"It's a chance to hear some of the greatest romantic songs that have ever been written, as well as an event to make Valentine's Day one to remember," said Richard Ford, artistic director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project.\nPeople always want Valentine's Day to be complete with the perfect red roses, lit candles and elegant dinner, just like it is in the movies, and it never is, Johnson said. She said she wants people to laugh at themselves in love and understand the imperfections of love.\nSenior Betsy Rubenstein said she agrees that people want Valentine's Day to be perfect and she said the show is a great way to laugh at the reasons it is not, while spending time with someone special. \n"People do crazy things to prove they love people,'' Rubenstein said. "They do it because it's the thing to do with no emotion behind it, but a show like this allows people to experience an event together that is meaningful.''\nHer show will address the highs and lows of love. The songs she sings range from sentimental standards to comic love tales and will be combined with stories from funny to heartfelt.\n"The entire show is a tribute to Ms. Johnson's belief that Valentine's Day is not just a greeting card holiday; it's for everyone who believes in love," according to the flier distributed by the Bloomington Playwrights Project.\nIt celebrates a Valentine's Day that is for everyone.\n"It is a program full of favorite songs and funny moments," according to the flier.\nIt's a different way to celebrate Valentine's Day and a different way to learn to laugh at ourselves during our search for love.