Alderman wants to keep 'Jersey Boys' smoking
The Jersey Boys may not have to go cold turkey, after all.
Politics and theater -- the real kind -- make strange bedfellows.
(Brian Jackson, Sun-Times/Courtesy)
Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) wants to follow the lead of his vanquished opponent, Burt Natarus, by exempting live theater from Chicago's smoking ban.
Reilly said he would introduce the amendment at Wednesday's City Council meeting and push for speedy passage to allow the Chicago production of "Jersey Boys" to put cigarettes back into the hands of actors playing Frankie Valli and the boys.
"While I fully support the smoking ban and using it as a means to protect public health, I don't think it was ever intended to limit artistic expression. It would be wise for us to ... allow theater productions to obtain a special waiver when smoking is a critical component of their performance," said Reilly, a smoker.
The rookie alderman noted that smoking is "a pretty important component of one of the acts" in "Jersey Boys." And the award-winning musical about the Four Seasons is not alone.
"Many of America's most popular theatrical productions have components that include smoking on stage. ... Allowing on-stage smoking keeps the integrity of those scripts in tact," Reilly said.
"If we get into the business of censorship, which is what this would be, by forcing playwrights to alter their scripts simply so they can show a production here in Chicago, that would have a chilling effect on our ability to attract world-class productions."
Last year, the City Council's Buildings Committee snuffed out a Natarus-sponsored exemption for live theater. At the time, Health Committee Chairman Ed Smith (28th) advised producers to modify the lines of their plays to strike references to smoking and smoke-filled rooms.
Smith, who championed a Chicago smoking ban that preceded the statewide version, said Tuesday he remains dead-set against allowing smoking on stage.
"We passed it because it was a health issue and good for the city. That's what I'm gonna stay with. We've done the right thing. We will not change it," he said.
In a statement issued earlier this week, a spokesman for the Chicago production of Jersey Boys expressed confidence the smoking ban would be temporary "so Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons can live again, like they did in the '60's."
But, it's not clear whether the show can count on Mayor Daley's legislative muscle to push the exemption through the City Council.
Despite his efforts to promote Chicago's downtown theater district, Daley appeared to be somewhat ambivalent about the smoldering controversy.
"I think we should use common sense. Maybe they could do phony [herbal] cigarettes. I don't know," the mayor said.
But, Daley quickly added, "That is not a big issue."