Singer-songwriter Elizabeth Rose took her one-woman show, "If U Want Me U Can Have Me – Right Now," to the Incoming Tide Festival at Wildcliff Manor in New Rochelle last weekend.

The Incoming Tide Festival was coordinated by New Rochelle's Eric Woodlin, producer and founder of Incoming Tide Entertainment. The name of the festival signifies, for Woodlin, a fisherman, the abundance of incoming tide which "brings in tons of fish" just as the festival brings in emerging talent, "artists coming into our little world."

Rose's show was the sole theater piece among the comedy and music acts of the festival.

"If U Want Me" is about Rose's lifelong determination to build a career as a songwriter and performer. The show features 19 of Rose's original songs, which are connected by short narratives about Rose's marriage, her first time performing with a rock band, her performance in a menacing biking bar, and her attempt to communicate the power of music to New York City public school students.

There are poignant moments in Rose's journey, such as the end of her first marriage, and a ruthless rejection by a music executive who told her she sang like "Minnie Mouse doing James Brown." Yet, Rose as narrator is plucky and self-deprecating throughout, and the tone is consistently comedic, through both narration and song.

Rose warns of the dangers of dating via Village Voice personal ads, singing, "When answering the personals, please read between the lines"; describes Woodstock, NY,  where she lived briefly, with lyrics like, "It's kind of mellow there, nobody cuts their hair."

After the show, Rose came down into the audience, which, she admitted, consisted "mostly of people related to me," and asked for feedback about the show, which she began writing four years ago and has been revising ever since. Audience members lauded the show's musical range, which covered old-school blues, rock and roll, folk, and even rap. 

Some suggested, though, that the comedic tone was too consistent for a show featuring such personal vulnerability.

"There were very poignant, sad pieces when you were smiling," an audience member said. "Although I understood why you were smiling, at points, smiling instead of screaming." 

The dialogue with the audience added a sense creative collaboration to the performance, which was helpful for the theater buffs in attendance. One such theater buff was Rikki Woodlin, daughter of festival coordinator Eric Woodlin, a ninth-grader in New Rochelle High School's P.A.V.E (Performing and Visual Arts Education) program. Woodlin, who is writing a play with a group of her friends, offered her take on Rose's show.

"The music was close together," Woodlin said. "I wanted more dialogue. But I liked all the songs."

Angie Lorenzo, Rikki Woodlin's mother and organizer Eric Woodlin's wife, said "If U Want Me" was a show she "really enjoyed, the incorporation of story and song," and one she "could definitely see off-Broadway."

Lorenzo, who works for NBC TV, explained that her family members are all "big supporters" of the arts, who take frequent trips to Manhattan to see Broadway and off-Broadway shows and concerts. But New Rochelle, Lorenzo believes, is also a community ripe with creativity.

"New Rochelle is so diverse," Lorenzo said. "There's artists living among us, so many creative people. We're aware that there are performances available in Manhattan, but it's so much better when we can have something of this [festival's] quality in our own backyard."