'You're Being Ridiculous' To Sing Their Stories This Weekend

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 29, 2015 9:45PM

"You're Being Ridiculous" producer and host Jeremy Owens. (Photo via You're Being Ridiculous' website Credit: Bronte Price.)

Chicago's live lit and storytelling community has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years to the point that, like the slam poetry boom that preceded it, you can spit in any direction and find an open mic or regular series around town. Another aspect the live storytelling and poetry communities have in common: there is a hell of lot of chaff surrounding tasty kernels of wheat.

Trust us when we tell you to hip yourself to You're Being Ridiculous. Host and producer Jeremy Owens has turned Mary's Attic into a playpen of strong performers baring their souls onstage for laughs, tears and a range of emotions with rapt audiences. It isn't as cathartic as Guts and Glory, as off the cuff as Story Club, or as polished as Story Sessions or The Moth; You're Being Ridiculous, at its core, lives up to its name.

Owens is throwing a wrinkle into the standard storytelling show with "You're Being Ridiculous: the Musical" at Davenport's Piano Bar Jan. 30 and 31. Despite having the word "musical" in the title, Owens doesn't believe this weekend's shows should be considered musical theater.

"it's more of a cabaret show," Owens told Chicagoist. "We aren't going to spontaneously burst into song (not that there's anything wrong with that). We have the really wonderful and personal stories that I like to think that people have come to expect from our show, the only difference here is that the stories are connected to a song. So our tellers will share a story and then sing a song that's somehow linked."

Owens had the idea for a cabaret version of YBR almost from the moment he launched the series five years ago. Owens was inspired to launch the series from Sherie Renee Scott's Tony Award-nominated play Everyday Rapture. "It's all about her travels from her half-Mennonite Kansas childhood to a life in show business," Owens said. "She basically tells the story of her life and sings all sorts of music along the way. She sings Tom Waits for crying out loud. It's amazing and I listened to the cast album and thought...this is what I want to do."

Owens' YBR shows are based on themes, with he and featured readers telling original stories based on those themes. This weekend will focus on love and relationships, which Owens chose because it will give this weekend's performers "the space to go crazy." The performers for these shows were chosen informally, with no audition process. "I asked a couple of people to do the show that I know can both tell a great story and sing," Owens recalled. "Basically, I twisted some arms and called in a few favors."

Owens feels Davenport's is the perfect space for this weekend's shows—in fact it was his only choice. "I've been to a couple of shows there and it's so cozy and perfect. When you go into the back room it feels like you're going to see something special," Owens said. "I'm really very lucky that they said yes. If they had said no, I'm not sure what would have happened."

"You're Being Ridiculous: The Musical" runs at Davenport's Piano Bar (1383 N. Milwaukee Ave.) 8 p.m. Jan. 30 and Jan. 31. Featured performers, besides Owens, include Allison Hendrix, Bill Howes and Allison Shoemaker. Tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows are available via Davenport's website or at the door. Cost is $18.