Behind-the-scenes at Sparrows Pt. 2
The following is based on an article by Thomas Benji in the July 1972 issue of The
Paper, and from my own research into Sparrows, a Chuck Renslow-owned drag bar
that opened in Chicago in October 1970 and closed two years later.
Roby Landers, the Black drag queen who hosted and directed the show, had
previously worked at the Chesterfield in the '60s. He told Benji that he didn't believe
in contracts, 'If somebody wants to leave, they should be allowed to leave. If they
stay with me it's because they want to. I hate to have somebody stay if they don't
want to, because then they don't give me the work that I want.'
There were three production numbers in the show; one had a western motif with
Artesia Welles and Ricky—a man playing a man—both wearing chaps and vests
and little else. Artesia Welles (Joey) told Whispers about joining the cast: 'When I
was 17 I was in a play called Whores of Babylon and it was in the Body Politic
Theater on Lincoln Avenue. Originally I was in the role of Cain, Adam and Eve's son,
and the director asked me if I wanted another part, it was one of the female parts,
and I said, 'Oh sure, I'll try it.' After the play closed I didn't have any immediate plans
so I went to Sparrows and did a guest spot. Then Roby (Landers) asked me if I
wanted a job and that's how it started.
'Roby took an immediate liking to me. I think I was about 18 at the time and a bit of a
smartass, and she really dug that stuff. Ebony (Carr) was there, Audrey Bryant,
Wanda Lust, Tanya Terrill and Jill Christie.'
'I was at Sparrows for about five months and then it closed. Chuck (Renslow) was
really cool about it, he told us in advance, and we pretty much all traveled en masse
to the Togetherness Lounge which was a half block from Dugan's Bistro. A lesbian
couple owned that bar.'
In Benji's article he talks about how popular Welles was, saying she had the best
stage personality as a comedienne.
Wanda Lust (Steve) also appears in Benji's article, giving make-up tips to drag
queens e.g. you have to take your face off before you can put another one on.
Another number that was popular was an 'extravagant take-off of Cabaret. Wanda
Lust played the part of Joel Gray as MC. The show cost $2 to get in, which included
two drinks, and it lasted 1-1/2 hours. The manger of Sparrows, David Cardwell, was
a major in theater at the University of Colorado and did productions at the Third Eye
Theater in Denver. He tells Benji, 'We've done something like 75 productions at
Sparrows, including Mame and Hair, where we used the music but wrote our own
lines. They were full productions with sets.''
J.C., a regular at Sparrows, told Whispers: 'I used to go there all the time when they
first started out. I thought that was the best drag bar in the whole city. They had a
bigger stage, and the people in there were friendlier. I knew most of the drag
queens at that time. I remember Roby Landers, and his friend ... they used to sit on
the swing and do 'the swing song.' They had a swing in there and he would sit on
the swing in his beautiful gown and he would sing a song as he was swinging. It
was so cute!! That was everybody's favorite. I do remember Ebony, and he did Etta
James a couple of times. Sparrows was a pretty big place; they had the bar at the
front and at the back there was tables and the stage.'
Ebony Carr told her story to Whispers a few years back. After being kicked out of
school for wearing a dress, 'I had to go and find a job, and that's when I went back
to Chuck Renslow at Sparrows. I had met him one Halloween when I performed
one song there, and I knew his manager, who had been impressed. I did Shirley
Bassey's 'Something.' So when I went back and told them my plight, they said, 'Why
don't you come on down?' and so I did.
'That was Roby Lander's show, and with Roby you were a chorus boy until you really
proved yourself. So for about two weeks I was a chorus boy, doing male lead with
Wanda Lust, and he and I would pull our wigs off and do boy parts with the other
girls. The first big thing that I did by myself was a Tina Turner song called 'Funky
Mosquito's Tweeter.''
Contact Sukie de la Croix at Windy City Times. You can leave a message on his
voicemail at (773) 871-7610. He collects memories and interviews over the phone,
in person, or via e-mail sukie@windycitymediagroup.com .
