Event

Naked Lunch: The Musical

The last big obscentiy trial of the 20th century targeted the controversial novel, "Naked Lunch" by William Burroughts in 1965. The gurus of the Beat Generation- Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, and Jack Kerouac- rose to its defense. They took the witness stand to testify in favor of free speech, free thought, and free love.
Now this iconic trial is an original musical comedy called "Naked Lunch: The Musical." It's a song-strewn courtroom comedy that features publishers, prosecutors, prudes, profesors and poets facing off against each other to sing their testimony attacking or praising the book. The trial is a musical panoply that ranges from Bach to Broadway, from rock to tango.
The cast features standout Chicago performers along with professional opera singer Joanna Ceciliani and a team of Yale alumni recreating their roles from the show's 2016 performances in New Haven and Los Angeles.
One critic called it "a clever, consistently funny musical" featuring "hilarious" songs. The lyrics and "beautiful melodies...have a Gilbert and Sullivan feel," and "(t)he
First Amendment questions raised by the musical are timeless."--Victoria Ordin, Cabaret Scenes.
For three nights only, this raucous send-up of a uniquely American effort to muzzle a "dirty book" will be presented at Saint Sebastian Players theater, 1625 W. Diversey in Chicago on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 1,2, and 3 at 8:00 pm. Running time is 1 hr 30 min with no intermission.