David Safran & Emma Morris
David: he/him'; Emma: she/her
David Safran and Emma Morris | Sponsored Artist 2015 | Photo courtesy of the Halle Butler
During David Safran and Emma Morris’ 2015 HCL Sponsored Artist Residency, they co-create the comedy horror musical The Hotwife of Hyde Park. With HCL’s support, the duo received a grant from The Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation to further develop their musical.
That same year, HCL hosted a preview of Hotwife songs at the Cliff Dwellers Club performed by Chicago actor and current Lookingglass Theater Artistic Director Kasey Foster with musicians Matthew Muñiz and Charlie Otto.
In 2022, Chicago literary magazine Oyez Review published lyrics to three songs from The Hotwife of Hyde Park.
Photo courtesy of Halle Butler
The Project
Photo courtesy of Halle Butler
The Hotwife of Hyde Park: A Bawdy Comedy Horror Musical About Failure
Set at a sprawling housing project, a group of failed artists—all intermittently psychotic—pitch their outrageous ideas for a comeback to a low-level city worker with a big, kinky secret.
With support from HCL, David and Emma wrote and recorded songs for this comedy horror musical, collaborated on the plot-heavy libretto, documented the process of making a musical, and staged the initial performance of The Hotwife of Hyde Park.
About the Artists
David Safran is a singer-songwriter, musician, essayist, producer, and investigative reporter. Active in Chicago’s independent music scene since adolescence, Safran is known for his versatile baritone voice, sardonic lyrics, and varied musical style. Outside of music, Safran is known for his freelance reporting in outlets such as The Guardian, Los Angeles Magazine, Newcity, and the Awl. Additionally, Safran produced NBCUniversal’s award-winning podcast series “The Lost Kids.” Since 2021, Esquire Magazine has repeatedly included “The Lost Kids” in its list of best true crime podcasts.
Emma Morris is a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago. For several years she served as Manager Editor for a niche website, and has written poetry, short stories, song lyrics, horoscopes and a supernatural novella. In 2018 she was a recipient of the Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award for her poem ‘MS 57947,’ which was later published in Ninth Letter. Other poems have appeared in The Oleander Review and Occulum Journal.
For more information, visit www.youtube.com/@hot-headsthehotwifeofhydep4669
