SEATTLE — Just in time for the month when Cupid invites hearts to open up to love, home-grown writer and actress Joanna Horowitz invites you to laugh about what sometimes happens when they do.

    Horowitz, an Ellensburg High grad, went on to hone her talents in theater and music at Central Washington University. During her time at Central, Horowitz acted in a number of theater department productions, played in a folk/country duo called Cha Cha Galore and wrote for the Daily Record.

    Three years ago, she moved to Seattle to take a job as communications associate with the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She also is a regular freelance music writer for the Seattle Times.

    On Feb. 15, she’ll star in the premiere of her own one-woman country musical “100 Heartbreaks” playing at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Arts Center. Described as “part theatre, part cabaret, part country show,” the production runs for six nights only, Feb. 15, 16, 22, 23, 29 and March 1.

    It’s about Charlane Tucker, a wannabee country western singer convinced that getting her heart broken 100 times will give her professional traction in the world of country music.

    Cupid may not approve the premise.

    On the other hand, Horowitz, who has spent the past year writing and working on the piece, hopes audiences will be captivated by the show’s quick-witted storytelling and live country music inspired by the likes of Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams.

    Audiences also may be captivated by the fact that her character’s effort at getting her heart broken 100 times doesn’t exactly meet with complete success.

    “It’s a really funny show that has heart to it. It’s about a woman who decides she wants to be a country western singer but hasn’t suffered enough,” says Horowitz, now 25. “So she’s going along, trying to have her heartbreaks. She has 42 and then she meets a guy who refuses to break her heart.”

    Horowitz did a workshop of the show, then still a work in progress, in September.

    “I got really good response,” she says. “I used the feedback from the show to hone it.”

    For the most part, Horowitz says, “the piece isn’t autobiographic though Ellensburg definitely influenced the writing. I can relate to the character’s feelings that she has to earn her country stripes. I grew up in Ellensburg, which is certainly more country than Seattle. But I was never a boots-and-hat kind of girl.

    “When I realized I did want to play country music I had to figure out what experiences I could draw on. Late night drives through Kittitas Valley were definitely a part of that.”

    Growing up in Ellensburg, she says, she really didn’t listen to country western music. In high school she played in a punk rock band. Then, while playing with Cha Cha Galore, she and her musical partner got asked to perform some country western for one event.

    “So we learned as much country western music as we could,” she says laughing. “I learned I can yodel. I feel it’s the truest form of music. Its roots go way back. It’s all based on the idea of telling a simple story and telling listeners ‘we’re all in this together.’ There’s no pretense to it. I like that.”

    While the show is being performed in Seattle, Horowitz hopes local people will try to catch it.

    The production begins with an “opening night hoedown” at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Hill Arts Center, 1621 12th Ave., Seattle . Live music is by Purty Mouth and drink special are included in the ticket price. The production runs at 8:30 each night.

    Tickets, priced at $15, are available online at www.100heartbreaks.com or by calling (800) 838-3006.