The roots of showtunes at SidetrackThe Video Bar date back to 1981.
Pepe Pena was at the Midnight Sun, a gay bar in San Francisco, when he heardand watchedthe video for Aretha Franklin's version of "Think" from The Blues Brother.
In 1982, Sidetrack opened in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. The gay bar was signless, intentionally, with one room and less than 1,000 square feet and beer cases as seating.
In 1983, Sidetrack launched showtuneson Mondays, which then was a traditionally slow night.
"I never expected, 34 years later, to still be doing showtunes," Pena said. "I knew video [back in the 1980s] would be around for a while, but I never thought it would last this long."
Showtunes are now at staple at Sidetrack three days a week, every week, 52 weeks a year: on Sundays, Mondays and Fridays.
"The crowds on Sundays and Mondays are very different," Pena said. "The Monday crowd is [filled with] true believers in showtunes. They know all the words and many of them can actually sing. It's normally a younger crowd, [with a lot of] theatre students. Sunday is fun day, sort of the Rocky Horror Picture Show on steroids. The crowd is very responsive."
Pena said the three most popular tunes are "Let It Go" from Disney's Frozen ( by Idina Menzel ), Madonna's "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from Evita and "And I'm Telling You" from Dreamgirls ( the Jennifer Holliday version ). In fact, the Holliday rendition was voted the No. 1 all-time showtune a few years ago by Sidetrack customers.
As for the napkin toss that always is a mainstay with the Evita song, Pena laughedit was a random customer reaction. A few napkins were tossed the first time, then more the next time it played, and so on. Now it's a white-out of napkins for Madonna and Evita.
"To see people react to something that you're playing, that's like heaven and it never gets old," seeing the napkins fly in the air, Pena said.
Pena's personal favorite showtune is "I'm Singing In The Rain" by Gene Kelly.
Ryan Masterson and Brian Smith share the showtunes video coordinator duties with Pena.
Sidetrack opened with a showtune library of 10 hours, if that many, Pena said. Today, there are more than 1,500 hours, stored on CDs and meticulously labeled.
"To me, showtunes are part of gay culture and historyand I'm proud that we are able to keep it alive," Pena said. "Most of all, it's fun, it's entertaining, it's quality music, quality performances."
THE STATS
Age: 70
Neighborhood: Lincoln Park West
Relationship status: Married to Art Johnston
Job title: Co-owner and video coordinator at Sidetrack: The Video Bar
Most recently book you've read: The Ocean at the End of the LaneA Novel by Neil Gaiman
Favorite TV show: Breaking Bad
Favorite movie: Blade Runner
Favorite Chicago restaurant: Yoshi's Cafe
Little-known fact: "I love alternative rock [music]."