BRUNSWICK – Comedy and music will be featured at The Theater Project’s seventh annual Winter Cabaret opening at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23, at 14 School St.

Performances will be every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Feb. 7, plus two Sunday matinees, at 2 p.m. Feb. 1 and 8.

Al Miller, the Theater Project’s artistic director, said, “Well, we thought about doing something different for 2004, but the hue and cry to continue Winter Cabaret won us over and we are delighted to begin a new chapter in a very fun and funny series.

I hope audiences will join us for lighthearted rib-tickling entertainment, jazzy piano and scrumptious desserts.”

This seventh annual “escape from the winter blues” combines comic theater, music and goodies provided by The Humble Gourmet.

The theater will be transformed into a relaxed cabaret complete with candlelit cafe tables, soft lighting and a wait staff.

It features The Theater Project Ensemble Company performing new, short comedy sketches. Playwrights represented are David Ives (who delighted cabaret audiences in past years with “Words, Words, Words” and “Foreplay”) and Mo Gaffney and Kathy Naijmy (who wrote last year’s hit comedy “Parallel Lives”). Peter Dugas entertains with jazz piano.

The acting and directing ensemble includes Miller, Wendy Poole, Christopher Price, Lee K. Paige, Keith Anctil and the stars of “Parallel Lives,” Heather Weafer and Michele Livermore Wigton. JP Gagnon is lighting designer, Jen Roe is costume and props designer, and Wendy Poole is production manager.

The Theater Project is in downtown Brunswick, directly behind the Eveningstar Cinema.

All tickets are pay-what-you-want with a suggested price of $15.

For reservations, people can call The Theater Project’s box office at 729-8584. Reserved tickets must be picked up a half-hour before curtain time. Latecomers cannot be seated, organizers said.

The Saturday, Feb. 7, performance is the annual “Wear Something Red” Champagne Benefit Gala. Tickets for the gala are $30.