Acm - 1,001 Afternoons in Chicago

Liner Notes by Seth Boustead In 1921 Ben Hecht, who would go on to become famous for his Hollywood screenplays, was an unknown Chicago journalist who wrote a column for the Daily News that his editor described as 'journalism extraordinary; journalism that invaded the realm of literature." The stories printed in that column have been anthologized as 1,001 Afternoons in Chicago and they are a singular portrait of the sights, sounds and people who inhabited roaring '20's era Chicago before prohibition. Hecht had great sensitivity to music, (in fact he had perfect pitch,) and that musical sense, always apparent in his writing and flawless dialogue, makes these stories perfect for the radio play medium. When I approached Anderson Lawfer of the Strawdog Theatre Company about turning these stories into a play for music and voices, he was immediately interested and put together one of the most talented teams I've ever had the fortune to work with. Lawfer and co-conspirator Michael Dailey chose six of the most compelling stories including Grass Figures which, spread between the other stories, becomes the framing device for the whole play, the glue that holds it together and a sort of confessional from Hecht in which he agonizes over the transition from journalist to short story writer, and where he tries desperately to find a thread of meaning to interweave the lives of the people he observes. My colleague Amos Gillespie and I wanted the music to be an equal partner with the voices, to create a highly charged sonic atmosphere in which images such as telephone poles like inverted music notes, anonymous figures lying in the grass, or late night clocks eerily chiming different times would come to vivid musical life. Though the characters inhabited 1920's era Chicago, their stories still resonate today. From the desperate Sklarz having one last debauch before giving himself over to despair, to a moody late night streetcar ride, to a con man too smart for his own good, these people are timeless. Hecht didn't write short stories so much as act as a vessel for personalities who are still very much with us today. 1,001 Afternoons in Chicago remains an indelible part of his enduring legacy and we hope we've done him justice with this radio play.