THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

'But everyone ended up being very friendly and supportive,' says Michael Elyanow, easily finishing Cohen's train of thought in that way that lovers and life partners tend to do. 'In fact, it was a little odd, being the focus of all of that attention. We felt like rock stars, like monkeys at the zoo. It was like, 'Look, there's those dudes who want to have a baby!''

Cohen and Elyanow, 37, a playwright and a full-time lecturer in the Radio/ Television/ Film Department at Northwestern University, have been together for seven years, but it was just shortly after the two were introduced through a mutual friend that they realized their lives were on the same trajectory: Both had similar professional and personal life goals—including starting a family.

'It was about six months after we were together and we were having one of those 'things that are important in life' conversations, and I said to Michael 'I just want you to know that it's very clear to me that I'm going to be father. I don't know when and I don't know how, but I am going to be a father.' '

'I was glad that he was the first one to say it, because I felt the exact same way,' says Elyanow, scooping Cheerios into a bowl for their 8-month old son, Milo.

The couple dated for several months, moved in together, and had a commitment ceremony three years later. It's the stuff that (independent) films are made of—this boy-meets-boy, boy-marries-boy, story book romance—something the couple freely admits with wry, good-natured humor.

'I always say we moved in together on the second date,' deadpans Cohen, referring to the fact that before the couple met they were literally next-door neighbors whose paths had never crossed.

In August 2002, two years after the commitment ceremony, the couple filed the necessary (and extensive) paperwork necessary to begin the adoption process, through The Cradle, an Evanston-based agency that had only recently begun accepting gay applicants. The Cradle is a private, non-profit, state-licensed adoption agency that has been placing infants with everyday families and celebrity parents (Bob Hope, Donna Read, George Burns) for 75 years. They feature an 'open-adoption' process, which in simplified terms means that the mother flips through books that contain letters and pictures of prospective parents. They meet the parents, select the candidates they feel most comfortable with, have the baby—and if they don't change their minds at the last minute—a new family is brought together.

'Our social worker told us that it would take a year to two years before anything really happened,' says Cohen. 'You see, they had no history to base our case on, no prior cases like ours, so they had no idea how long this would take.'

The couple submitted their paperwork on Aug. 10, 2002. On Aug. 20, 2002 they received a phone call from the social worker who calmly informed them that a woman had come in who was nine months pregnant. She was having a C-Section the very next day. And she was debating between two couples as to who would raise her newborn child. One of those couples was The Cohen-Elyanows.

'I kept thinking, 'Why isn't Michael HOME! Why isn't Michael HOME!,' says Cohen, the one who took the call from the social worker.

'I walked in while you were on the phone with her and, you were standing in the hallway, and I could just tell by the look on your face ... ' says Elyanow.

The mother eventually picked Jeremy and Michael for two reasons, according to the proud papas:

'She told us that she felt like it was gonna be so much harder for us as a gay couple [to adopt a child],' recalls Cohen, his typically animated voice, now quiet with emotion. 'And she said that when she saw our pictures [in their file] she knew we would able to give him the opportunity to interact with a whole spectrum of individuals.'

Those pictures featured everyday events, holidays, birthdays etc. that the couple had shared with family and friends, gay and straight, Black and white, punk-ass artists and 9-5 working stiffs.

'We used to wake up with our feet hitting the ground, running,' says Cohen. 'Both of us would have all these thoughts racing through our minds, screenplays, mentoring students, the future of theater, a scene I was working on...'

'But now it's different,' finishes Elyanow. 'When Milo gets up in the morning, he is always smiling and laughing. Always. As if to say, 'Hey! Life is Good, Man!' '

In fact life isn't just good for the Cohen-Elyanows, it's great: Not only are Jeremy and Michael partners off stage, they're also partners on stage as well with their very first theatrical collaboration, a dark comedy, titled The Idiot Box, which is written by Elaynow and directed by Cohen.

'Its funny, just yesterday in rehearsal we were talking about how this play could basically be a manual on how NOT to parent,' muses Elyanow.

'The Idiot Box is about six sitcom characters whose lives are shaken up when 'reality' crashed into their perfectly safe world. To me, each of these characters is a child in a way, and their parent is 'the television.' Television tells them what behavior is and isn't acceptable. It tells them to stay away from places it deems forbidden. It tells them who they're supposed to be and what role they are supposed to be playing in their group of friends.'

Once these six characters break through the protective bubble-wrap of the 'sitcom universe,' the characters begin to explore their darker sides, their intellectual sides, their sexual sides. 'Billy,' for example (think 'Joey' on Friends) falls head over heels in love with this girl—only to discover that she is actually a gay guy in drag. And guess what? Billy discovers that he's still attracted to Ramona/Raymond, despite (or because of?) the fact that she is a HE.

'You know, I grew up in an era of television where the current state of the world was reflected on the sitcoms,' continues the playwright/screenwriter, who has two screenplays in development with top Hollywood producers. 'Current affairs were addressed on Maude and Good Times and All in the Family. But they really aren't today. After Sept. 11 happened, I was shocked that none of the sitcoms that take place in New York City addressed the terrorist attacks. I think Sex and The City made some vague, tongue-in-cheek reference to 'Manthrax' but that's about it. With The Idiot Box, I wanted to show that we could use the theater as a forum for just this kind of dialogue.'

So, could Jeremy and Michael's lives, with their partnership on stage and off, and with the addition of their new son, ever fit within the rigid, predictable landscape of the 'sitcom universe,' the universe they so joyfully pull apart in The Idiot Box?

Anything's possible, but one thing is certain: A sitcom based on the Cohen-Elyanow's could be about a lot of things, but 'gay parenting' would not be at the top of the list.

'My big theme, my challenge as a parent is not about being a gay parent,' explains Cohen. 'It's about being ... an artist/parent. The people I feel most connected to are people who are other artists, who are also parents, and understand the challenges and rewards of being both.'

The Idiot Box. Written by Michael Elaynow Directed by Jeremy Cohen. Naked Eye Theatre Company at The Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont. Opens May 19; (773) 327-5252.

----------------------------------------