Don't be deceived by the title of John Loos' SNL Showcase, now playing at the Annoyance Theatre. Despite its abbreviated moniker, it's not an actual audition showcase by the Chicago-based gay comedian for the long-running NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live.
"It's a way to frame my one-man show—actually a one-man play about auditioning for Saturday Night Live, which I have not," Loos said.
Like so many performers who specialize in improvisation and sketch comedy in Chicago, Loos has had the hope and dream in the back of his mind that one day that he might be featured in a local showcase and subsequently be asked to audition in New York for Saturday Night Live.
"I've never had the opportunity to do that, so this is sort of my own effort to create my own opportunity, I guess in a tongue-in-cheek way," Loos said. "Early on in the show, I declare that some of this is true and some of this is a lie, and I leave it up to the audience to decide."
Loos' show is also a way to point out that in the history of Saturday Night Live, there have only been two openly gay male performers in the ensemble: Terry Sweeney from the 1985-86 season and John Milhiser from 2013-14.
"I would hope that they would see something like this and maybe could diversify it in that way," said Loos, citing campaigns in recent years that pushed for more African-American representation on Saturday Night Live. "They can only benefit by diversifying."
In addition to performing his own shows, Loos remains a member of GayCo, Chicago's oldest and longest-running LGBTQ sketch comedy troupe which is currently planning its next revue show titled 50 Shades of Gay. Loos has also performed for The Second City as a cast member aboard Norwegian Cruise Line ships and its corporate shows, so he knows about tailoring material for more generalized audiences versus Chicago audiences who might already be used to his typically out and proud approach.
"I'm more of a traditionally campy performer," Loos said. "I think there's a lot of gay comedians who kind of struggle to find out where they belong along the greater comedy tapestry."
Another future project for Loos includes getting officially hitched to his long-time partner, Andy Eninger, the head of the writing program for The Second City Training Center.
John Loos' SNL Showcase continues at 8 p.m. Sundays through Sept. 20 at the Annoyance Theatre, 851 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets are $10. Call 773-697-9693 or visit www.theannoyance.com or www.johnlooscomedy.com . There is also one remaining performance of Hang In There, Carol! ( John Loos' Unwanted & Unauthorized SNL Writing Packet ) at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at Donny's Skybox at The Second City, 1608 N. Wells St. Call 312-337-3992 or visit SecondCity.com or JohnLoosComedy.com .
Revisiting Glory Days
There's a weird subset of musical theater fans known as "flop collectors." They pride themselves on seeing Broadway shows that failed artistically or financially ( or both ).
So no doubt that local flop collectors are eyeing the upcoming Chicago premiere of the Broadway musical Glory Days by the Refuge Theatre Project. Glory Days notoriously closed immediately after its opening night on May 6, 2008, giving it only one official Broadway performance after playing 17 previews.
But the artistic forces of Refuge Theatre Project believe in Glory Days and what it has to say. After all, Glory Days had a very successful regional run before Broadway at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia. A cast recording was also made to document the show by songwriter Nick Blaemire and playwright James Gardiner.
"We're trying to reach out to the twenty-somethings who don't normally go to the theater, and this show reaches out to that audience," said Ross Egan, co-founder and artistic director of Refuge Theatre Project.
Glory Days is a four-actor musical that shows four high school friends reuniting after their freshman year away at college. They have plans to pull a prank on the high school football team that tormented them while they were in school, but in the process they find out that there have been a lot of personal changes that might fray their friendships. For example, one character named Jack comes out as gay to them.
"Those people who don't typically frequent the theater, they're going to be able to see themselves and what they experience in that time of change," said out director Matt Dominguez about Glory Days and his drive to cast the show with actors as close in age as possible to the characters. "If you listen to the entire score, you start to discover really great contemporary music that really is talking about a variety of issues and what it means to be in that time of being a kid but then realizing that you have to grow up."
Refuge Theatre Project's Chicago premiere of Glory Days plays from Thursday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Sept. 20, in the Collaboraction Room 300 in the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 6 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20. Call 773-231-7691 or visit RefugeTheatre.com .
