Mwah!

This past weekend I was back in Chicago for my musical theater writers workshop at Theatre Building Chicago. This time I stayed at the Tremont Hotel on Chestnut which had the honor of being attached to the "Mike Ditka Restaurant".

I'm not normally drawn to football-themed establishments, but it was hailing outside so I ended up doing take out there. The food wasn't that bad, but the Caesar Salad I got was the size of a football field! Why was I surprised?

Saturday night I went to see Kiss of The Spider Woman at the Bailiwick Theatre because my Chicago collaborator Greg Silva was playing one of the very nasty guards, "Estaban". The Bailiwick is a great little theater (right next door to Theatre Building Chicago) that has been around for over 20 years:

Since it's founding in 1982, Bailiwick Repertory has consistently endeavored to achieve the vision of gifted directors in productions that have been as diverse as our audiences. We have also worked hard to remain accessible, affordable, and responsive to our community. With the director as fulcrum of our artistic process, Bailiwick has been recognized with more than 150 Citations, Nominations, and Recommendations from the Jeff Committee for all aspects of production. We have also received more than three-dozen After Dark Awards, several Black Theater Alliance Awards, and the Pride Series has been inducted into the City of Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame and been the recipient of the Torch Award from the Human Rights Campaign, the only theatre in the nation to be so honored.

Directed by Susan Finque and starring Katherine Lynne Condit as Aurora, with Ryan Lanning as Molina and Stan Q. Wash as Valentin. Others in the cast include Kate Garassino, Maria Campos, Danny Bernardo, Anthony Apodaca, Ben Asaykwee, Baron Clay, Marchelllo Lee, Chip Payos, Clay Sanderson, Greg Silva, Manny Sosa, and Randolph Johnson.

I have to admit, although it is a Kander and Ebb show (with book by Terence McNally) it isn't my favorite Kander and Ebb show. I did see it in Toronto with Chita Rivera and Brent Carver. I like the score but don't love it (the way I love Chicago or Flora, The Red Menace). My favorite number is "The Day After That" The book is well written and the subject matter extremely compelling, but it's just not my favorite.

The Bailiwick's production was very, very good. It was well directed, with really nice production values, great choreography and everyone in the cast had really great voices. The male chorus was really strong. And the guards were really nasty! The show worked really well in this small theatre and Susan Finque filled the stage with both intimate moments and flashy Aurora numbers. And for only $25-$30 a ticket, I can see why it was a full house on Saturday night!

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