I thoroughly enjoyed Spider Saloff's performance at Victory Gardens Theater. Spider has a wonderful, smooth, rich tone to her voice and impeccable phrasing. Although there were serious technical difficulties
with her microphone that continued throughout her performance, she unflinchingly “drove right through it”
and maintained her focus on the eight characters she has so lovingly handcrafted.
Spider has a great sense of humor and her Marlene Dietrich inspired character and dance number,
“Falling for Everyone” was absolutely spot on and completely adorable.
I highly recommend seeing “Roar Of the Butterfly” for appreciators of fine Jazz vocals who are looking for a delightful evening of light yet poignant and meaningful entertainment.
Spider Saloff on the creation of her one woman show;
"This performance is in the tradition of Lily Tomlin and Tracey Ullman, so I portray eight different characters in what's best described as a musical comedy," Saloff said.
"When my husband died, the play took a complete turnaround, and I eventually decided to write myself out of it and turn it into the story of Butterfly," says Saloff, whose show launches its Chicago premiere engagement Thursday night at Victory Gardens' Richard Christiansen Theater.
Saloff plays multiple characters who gather for Butterfly's memorial service, all soliloquizing and singing about how the late drag queen changed them.
"It's about an individual who touched so many lives in so many different ways,"says Natalija Nogulich, who's directing the show. "But it's not like he got up and sang a song to a bunch of schoolchildren and they were wowed. He had an alternative lifestyle. He seemed to touch everyone: a hairdresser, the waitress, the man who drove his limo.”
"Not only do they remember him, but he did something significant in their eyes. He sparked someone to follow a dream for dancing. He sparked someone (else) not to give up on his daughter's addiction. But I also made the decision that I was going to talk about loss, and not have it just be a crazy comedy. I mean, it is a silly comedy, it has wild characters, it's based on weird people … but it does talk about loss and death."
"The whole story has a kind of leavening feeling. Even though it's a memorial, like many memorials, it's a celebration."
Spider Saloff’s ‘The Roar of the Butterfly” is playing through May 20th. For ticket information, visit www.victorygardens.org.
