Young Luke Grimaldi Snyder has come out of the closet at last. On May 5, the 17-year-old blond told his mother, Lily Walsh Snyder Grimaldi Santana Snyder, and his adoptive dad, Holden Snyder, that he was gay. In the process, he threw over his adolescent beard, a jade named Jade with an agenda. Much to everyone's surprise, macho Holden—who's suspected for weeks—was very accepting while Lily—the heroine everyone loves—had issues. Lily was wounded by Luke's inability to be open and honest with her for months. Why would he confide in Jade and not in his own mother? Stay tuned for another episode of the 50-year-old CBS soap, As the World Turns.
As tipped by Jonny weeks and weeks ago, About Face Theatre has announced it will revive Patricia Kane's Pulp as part of the 2006-2007 season, to be staged at the Victory Gardens Greenhouse, and that About Face has engaged Broadway director Gary Griffin for a major production. Jonny always knows, dear hearts, always.
But first, in October curly haired cutie director Scott Ferguson will stage the Chicago premiere of a relationship comedy, Say You Love Satan, by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Talk about relationship hell. If you've ever met a guy who looked like an angel but had the devil in his eyes, this show is for you. It will be followed in January by Emily Mann's landmark docu-drama Execution of Justice, as re-examined by director Gary Griffin some 30 years after the actual events of the play. Execution of Justice portrays the infamous trial of San Francisco fireman-turned-supervisor Dan White, accused of murdering Mayor George Mascone and legendary gay Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978. Finally, in spring 2007 About Face will remount its 2004 musical hit, Pulp, with original director Jessica Thebus once more in charge and with its complete original cast. Since its 2004 Chicago debut, Pulp has been produced in Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta.
FYI: The Victory Gardens Greenhouse, 2257 N. Lincoln, is the old Victory Gardens complex, not the new Victory Gardens at the Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln, which opens in September.
On May 19, the Goodman Theatre hosts Women's Night, beginning with cocktails and a networking reception at the Holly Hunt Showroom in the Merchandise Mart at 5 p.m., followed by an 8 p.m. performance of Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House at the Goodman. The production is staged by About Face artistic associate ( and director of Pulp ) Jessica Thebus. Tickets for Women's Night are $75; ( 312 ) 443-3811, ext. 578. The event co-chairs expect more than 200 professional women to attend. Those of you who are only amateur women—you know, guys in drag—stay away.
A recent press release from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ( CSO ) caught Jonny's eye. It announced the record-setting success of the CSO's April 18 Corporate Night, at which over $1.2 million was raised. What great classical music star might have been such a lucrative draw, Jonny wondered? Itzhak Perlman? Yo-Yo Ma? Renee Fleming? Who had played with the CSO before executives of 130 corporations and their well-heeled guests? Alfred Brendel? Lucianno Pavarotti? Denyce Graves? Jonny couldn't help smiling when the press release announced that the star performer for the night was Elvis Costello in a special performance with 'members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.' The program featured a number of Costello tunes arranged for the orchestra, plus selections from Il Sogno, a full-length orchestral work by Costello. Yes, it was a great success but ... Elvis has left the building.
FYI: Elvis Costello will be back in Chicago—or at least Highland Park—for a June 11 concert at the Ravinia Festival.
Look to the lobby of the Palmer House, 17 E. Monroe, for theater next week, dear readers. Jonny can assure you there will be plenty of strutting and preening as the international leather community descends upon Chicago for another IML. There will be more costume, more high drama and perhaps more action than on all Chicago stages combined. The contest often has welcomed high-caliber, erudite and refined talent as part of the evening's entertainment. Jonny remembers Judy Tenuta performing at IML oh-so-many-years-ago. And lest you think the magic aura of leather can't be suitable attire for any occasion, Jonny personally has witnessed IML founder Chuck Renslow at Lyric Opera of Chicago, dressed in leather.
