Two of the most recent high-profile Chicago shows focusing on the LGBTQ community include The New Colony's 2011 comedy 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche and The Inconvenience's 2012 drama Hit the Wall. Both shows opened to critical raves in the Windy City and later journeyed to New York for off-Broadway runs.
Now Hit the Wall and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche are both back in town with most of their original creative teams and casts. Both shows are opening within weeks of each other thanks to the Chicago Commercial Collective ( CCC ), a producing organization dedicated to reviving hit off-Loop theater productions for commercial runs.
"Hit the Wall was actually an impetus for us starting the company," said CCC producer Brian Lovener, noting how that show's original limited run at the Steppenwolf Garage immediately sold out, as did its return engagement that summer at the Chicago Park District's Theater on the Lake. Lovener had noticed how many off-Loop shows often had to close despite audience demand due to preexisting subscription seasons or overbooked theaters. So Lovener helped co-found Chicago Commercial Collective to help shine a light on the Windy City's excellent homegrown theater scene.
The CCC officially launched with a revival of Keith Huff's hit drama A Steady Rain with its original Chicago Dramatists cast, after it had played a sold-out limited run on Broadway with stars Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. While that local revival of A Steady Rain wasn't quite a commercial success, CCC had a major hit on its hands reviving TimeLine Theatre's To Master the Art. That Julia Child-inspired drama also had the promotional firepower of Broadway in Chicago for a successful run at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place in autumn of 2013.
"Our model is to essentially work with the nonprofits, find the right shows that we think have the staying power to run longer and then find commercial investment to make it happen while taking the pressure off of the nonprofit," Lovener said, adding that the commercial revival of To Master the Art brought in audiences of up to 17,000far more people than what a normal season at TimeLine Theatre can accommodate. "It's really a way to expand audiences for these nonprofits."
To launch the return of Hit the Wall and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Lovener said both shows were opening fairly close together to help cut down on promotional costs. He also hopes that the spring timing leading into Pride month will encourage interest in both shows.
Working with CCC has been a dream for Andrew Hobgood, a co-author with Evan Linder on 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche. The show is set in 1956 and focuses on five intrepid and very-prepared members of the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein who are meeting for their annual quiche breakfast.
"Brian pretty much asked us to tell him where the perfect space was [for the revival]," said Hobgood, excited to find what he calls the perfect venue for this show in the Chopin Theatre basement. "The Chopin has been more flexible than any other venue we've talked to in terms of us allowing us to create the whole 'from front door to show experience.'"
Out playwright Ike Holter is also very excited to have his Hit the Wall back in Chicago, even if it is coming at a very busy time. In addition to re-launching Hit the Wall, Holter is also the main curator for the forthcoming Collaboraction Sketchfest ( where 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche had its origins back in 2010 ), and he's about to debut a new play called Exit Strategy for Jackalope Theatre.
"That is kind of a dream to have the show running through Pride weekend, because that's the full-circle experience," said Holter, noting how he wrote Hit the Wall to utilize much of the mythology that has built up around the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York's Greenwich Village that launched the modern-day gay liberation movement.
Outside of Chicago and New York, Hit the Wall and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche are proving to be successful. Holter was a tad coy about where else Hit the Wall will be produced in future seasons ( contractually he said he wasn't allowed to divulge when and where ). Yet Hobgood was practically boastful that productions of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche have taken off since it was picked up for licensing through Samuel French.
"We've had more than 25 licensed productions in five different countries," Hobgood said, adding that he and Linder often only find out about productions via Google Alerts.
Hit the Wall continues in previews through April 27 at the Greenhouse Theatre Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., and then has regular-run performances through June 29. Tickets are $20-$55; call 773-404-7336 or visit www.greenhousetheatre.org .
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche plays May 1-June 8 at the Chopin Theatre basement, 1543 W. Division St. Tickets are $15-$40; call 773-404-7336, or visit www.5lesbianseatingaquiche.com or www.chicagocommercialcollective.com .
Pulitzer partner finalists
Playwright Annie Baker was the winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama with her four-character off-Broadway play The Flick. But there are some interesting lesbian connections among the two Pulitzer runner-ups.
Lesbian playwright Madeleine George ( currently represented in Chicago at Theater Wit with her comedy Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England ) was named finalist for her off-Broadway play The ( curious case of the ) Watson Intelligence. Also a finalist was the off-Broadway musical Fun Home, adapted by composer Jeanine Tersori ( Caroline, or Change ) and lesbian playwright Lisa Kron ( Well ) from Alison Bechdel's graphic novel memoir of the same name, which examines her family life with a closeted gay father who commits suicide not long after she comes out as a lesbian in college.
In an interesting twist, George and Kron are both spouses, so even if they didn't win the ultimate prize, they can be proud to be partners and Pulitzer finalists together.