There's a jazzy Spider in town, and she's ready to weave a web of a story for her audience at Victory Gardens. Spider Saloff has spun an original script—with lyrics and song all composed by her—entitled Roar of the Butterfly, which focuses on the funeral of a drag queen.
Known in the Chicago cabaret scene, Saloff sang with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. When she sang Gershwin she toured the United States and even headlined the St. Petersburg Gershwin Festival in Russia.
From New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center to Chicago's Green Mill her nightclub act has been one to witness throughout the years. A five-time winner of the MAC Award, including Best Jazz Vocalist, Saloff has released eight albums on Kopaesthetics Records.
Along came this Spider for a recent Nunn on One interview.
Windy City Times: Hi, Spider! Is that your real name? I have to ask…
Spider Saloff: It is now! [Laughs] I was born with it. It was a nickname that wouldn't leave. People will always remember it. It found me. I didn't choose it. It has worked out beautifully.
WCT: It is a good stage name, like Chita Rivera. Where are you from?
SS: I was born in Philadelphia, then I lived in New York City a good chunk of my adulthood. I moved to Chicago and fell in love with it. I am here forever!
WCT: How did you get started performing a cabaret act?
SS: I was formally trained as an actress then I was in musicals a lot because I could sing. I did a lot of theater but when I was in New York I started to be attracted to the nightclub thing. I certainly loved the whole personal approach to entertaining an audience, the intimacy of it. I loved jazz so I started working in cabaret and jazz clubs in New York. After some acclaim I was moved to Chicago by the Gold Star Sardine Bar for a long-term engagement. I was here for a year, fell in love with Chicago and never left.
WCT: That's a big compliment to Chicago.
SS: I love Chicago. I still live like New York. I still don't own a car. I can take buses and trains everywhere. It is sophisticated but livable and, geographically, has more space than New York. It has a great vibe to it.
WCT: You can still travel. I saw you did Roar of the Butterfly in L.A. and Australia.
SS: I'm always traveling. That was a blast.
WCT: How were audiences there?
SS: Delightful. Frankly, [on] opening night in Melbourne I was quite terrified. I wasn't sure if they would get any of the jokes. It takes place in a bar in New York. It has all of these outrageous characters. I didn't know if there would be a cultural separation. They got every joke and people cried. People came back twice to see the show. It was astounding how the audiences loved the show. I was thrilled.
WCT: So you wrote the lyrics, this show is all you…
SS: Yes, and I play eight characters in it.
WCT: That is crazy.
SS: You've got my number—okay!
WCT: It is based on a true story. These are people you knew?
SS: Yes; it takes place at a memorial service for an Asian drag queen named Butterfly. He was a real person in New York. That memorial service actually did take place. The characters are all based on real people. Some of them actually knew Butterfly and some of them didn't. I have woven the story a bit fictionally so that some of them knew him.
WCT: So this is a tribute to this drag queen?
SS: Yes; it is about how one person's life changes so many others even though he is an outrageous character he is embraced by all of these unlikely people.
WCT: When did you first start singing jazz music?
SS: When I was a child I used to sneak and listen to my dad's Billie Holiday albums instead of listening to The Monkees. I always loved jazz and worked in musical theatre. When I was in New York I started to work with some jazz musicians and the styling. I developed my improvisational skills. One thing led to another and it has just been a life long love affair.
The music in the show is not a jazz score per say. It has a couple of songs that have a jazz feeling to them but the songs are all radically different in the show because they were written for different characters to sing.
WCT: Do you ever get stage fright?
SS: No, not really. The day of the show I get very excited. I feel like my tail is wagging! I do anticipate and wish it would start. I can't stand waiting backstage for another minute. It is like a horse at the gate waiting to get out.
WCT: Since this is a memorial of a drag queen, are any of the eight characters LGBT?
SS: Yes; there is a bisexual character in the show.
WCT: Are you hoping to bring the show to Broadway after this run?
SS: This is the first major production of the show. It is the first time I am working with Natalija Nogulich, who is a fantastic film and stage actress as well as director. She is coming in from L.A. to do it. Dennis Mae is doing the set and David Miller is doing the lighting. It is very exciting to have a full production of the show. Our next plan is to take it to an off-Broadway theatre. Those plans are still in the works. We are hoping for a limited run or special engagement in the fall.
WCT: Are you a big Cole Porter fan?
SS: Oh, yes. I did a Cole Porter CD and I performing that next spring. It has been to Chicago a couple of times. We have done numerous Cole Porter concerts including one with a full symphony. I am told I am one of the best interpreters of his music. The CD Cole Porter Live at Maxine's was recorded here in Chicago with Jeremy Kahn, who will be playing for Roar of the Butterfly as well. He is a monster pianist. He played for the entire production of Wicked while they were here, and the Lion King.
The Roar of the Butterfly lands at Victory Gardens's Richard Christiansen Theatre May 2-20. Visit victorygardens.org for ticket information. Catch Spider at www.spiderjazz.com .
