Chicago attorney co-writes musical about famous obscenity trial

Back when budding attorney Bill Hannay was studying at Yale University in the 1960s, he became interested both in avant-garde literature and the constitutional freedom of expression issues raised by those books. A good example were the obscenity trials author William S. Burroughs faced — both in Los Angeles and Boston — over the publication of his erotic novel “Naked Lunch.”

Decades later, Hannay — today a partner in the prominent Chicago law firm of Schiff Hardin — and his Yale classmate, Damon Baker, collaborated on “Naked Lunch: The Musical.” The duo realized that the “Naked Lunch” trails featured testimony from quite the eclectic cast of characters — including writers Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer and Jack Kerouac, plus skittish librarians and New England socialites.

Focusing on the novel’s initial obscenity trial in Boston’s Superior Court, “Naked Lunch: The Musical” will be presented in a Chicago workshop staged reading at the St. Sebastian Players Theatre, 1625 W. Diversey at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. For ticket information go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2891715.