Jul 9, 2008 12:37 pm US/Central
Alderman Wants Dramatic Exemption For Smoking Ban
'Jersey Boys' Actors Were Recently Banned From Smoking Cigarettes In Character
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The Jersey Boys might not have to go cold turkey for too long, if one Chicago alderman has his way.
The city ordered the actors in the production to stop smoking cigarettes as part of the drama, after an irate theatergoer complained that it violated the city's smoking ban, which forbids smoking in indoor public places.
But Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) is introducing a measure at the City Council meeting Wednesday to make an exception to the ban for theatrical productions.
Smoking was the norm in the 1950s and 60s when the play about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons takes place. Ald. Bernard Stone (50th), a former part-time actor, told the Chicago Sun-Times smoking must be allowed if the play is going to be true to its time.
The Public Health Department has primary responsibility for enforcing Chicago's smoking ban. But spokesman Tim Hadac says the crackdown on Jersey Boys didn't originate there. He says someone likely flagged down a police officer during a production.
In Minnesota, a similar law has been used to legitimize smoking in public places. A state law on smoking in indoor public venues in Minnesota contains an exception for actors lighting up in character in theatrical productions, so long as patrons receive advance notice.
Some bar owners earlier this year were evading the smoking ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them "actors." The customers played right along, merrily puffing away — and sometimes speaking in funny accents and doing a little improvisation.
The state of Minnesota requested a court order to stop such "theater nights" last April.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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