About the show
True Life Tales from The Honeymoon Capital of the World (Some of Which are True) is a "blue collar gothic spoken word folk opera," featuring autobiographical stories by writer/performer David Kodeski about hastily planned wedding ceremonies, neighborhood boogeymen, and the inauspicious birth of his show business career in the "Honeymoon Capital of the World," otherwise known as the small industrial town of Niagara Falls, New York. Interspersed between his stories are original songs performed by singer/songwriter Naomi Ashley and her 4-piece band. True Life Tales had its world premiere on October 16, 2015 and ran for four performances at Stage 773 in Chicago.
“I left the show humming some of the tunes I’d heard and with a vivid glimpse of one man’s life in Niagara Falls, a place where I had never really considered life beyond the big touristy waterfall.”
David Kodeski
David Kodeski is the creator of David Kodeski’s True Life Tales, an ongoing series of award-winning solo performances. His Niagrara! (You Should Have Been Yosemite) inspired a Niagara-based episode of National Public Radio’s This American Life and a radio version of Another Lousy Day was produced by Long Haul Productions and heard on All Things Considered .
David has performed two of his shows in Australia: Another Lousy Day, as part of the 2003 Western Australia Fringe Festival (for which he won Best of the Fringe) and I Can't Explain The Beauty, for the 2004 UWA Perth International Arts Festival.
David wrote the libretto for The Suitcase Opera Project (with composer Eric Reda) which was workshopped in both Chicago and Belfast. He has performed with Lucky Pierre, Theater Oobleck, The Encyclopedia Show, The Pansy Kings, and was an ensemble member of The Neo-Futurists.
David is a founding member of the solo performance ensemble, BoyGirlBoyGirl (BGBG), and is a recipient of a 1999 After Dark Award, the 2007 James Grigsby Award (with fellow BGBG member Edward Thomas-Herrera), and is an Illinois Arts Council grantee.
Naomi Ashley
Naomi Ashley has been a part of the Chicago music scene for over 18 years. As a singer-songwriter, she draws from American folk, roots, and country traditions to create a body of work ranging from witty and satirical to poetic and heartfelt. Her 2007 album, Another Year or So, was funded by a grant from the Chicago Artist Assistance Program. Her most recent album, Trying To Fly, was partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council.
In 2010, Naomi conceived and produced Outbursts, a show that brought songwriters, composers, playwrights, poets, and monologuists together to write and perform works inspired by the paintings of Hungarian-born, Chicago-based artist Zsofia Otvos. More recently, she's collaborated with BoyGirlBoyGirl as "Happy to See Me," featuring stories, songs, stories set to song and story songs performed live at Chicago area music clubs.