The link below will take you to an interesting April, 2020 article called "The Bradbury Chronicles", about Ray Bradbury's theatrical work. It was written by Georgia Holof, one of his collaborators on the musical version of FAHRENHEIT 451. My favorite part of the story is when Ms. Holof notes that while in rehearsals for the production, it was Ray's birthday. When asked what he wanted for a birthday present, he replied, "Toys!"
I was reading an interview with actress and comedian Cecily Strong, of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE fame, which appeared in today's Chicago Tribune. In the interview, she said, "The last professional show I did before high school - when I didn't do theater anymore - was during eight grade and it was "Fahrenheit 451," a musical at Bailiwick." Suddenly, a light bulb figuratively formed over my head, and I thought, "Wait a second! I saw that show at Chicago's old Bailiwick Theater on Belmont Avenue in the late 1990's on it's opening night. And Ray Bradbury was there at the theater! And Cecily Strong...at that time, not at all well known...was in it?" I immediately started "Googling" and found out my memory was right. The musical version of FAHRENHEIT 451 to which I referred in the post immediately above was put on at the old Bailiwick Theater in April, 1998, and Ray was in attendance. And yes, Cecily Strong, who grew up in the Chicago area, played Clarisse! If you would like to read more about that 1998 Chicago production of the musical version of FAHRENHEIT 451, you can access the review written by Chicago Tribune theater critic Richard Christiansen by clicking on the link below:
