Rock Wild Man Dee Snider Brings 'Christmas Tale' To Chicago
(CBS) -- Dee Snider is best known as the rock star frontman who made heavy metal band Twisted Sister part of music history. Since then, he's done just about everything in show business: singer, songwriter, radio host, reality TV star and author.
Now he can add musical theater to his resume.
Snider says his "Rock & Roll Christmas Tale" is a sort of "Wonderful Life" show that mixes Christmas with rock and roll.
"I was informed years after the song came out, that 'We're Not Going to Take It' and "O Come All Ye Faithful" share the first six notes. I sang in the church choir. So, singing in that church choir kind of paid off," Snider said.
Dee Snider Rocks Christmas In Chicago
Performances will begin at the Broadway Playhouse on Nov. 4 and runs through Jan. 4. Snider says he's excited to debut the show in Chicago. He hopes people who come to the show walk away with a warm fuzzy feeling.
"You don't have to be a Dee Snider fan, you don't have to be a Twisted Sister fan, you just have to be a fan of the holidays. It's really a family show, with the kids, the grand kids, it rocks and you walk out feeling Christmas-y, you walk out feeling in the spirit of the holidays," Snider said.
He says he's already become an unofficial Chicagoan.
"I'm living here now, I feel like a Chicagoan. I've got my Sox hat, I'm watching and rooting for da' Bears, so I feel ingrained now. I've been eating a lot," he said, laughing.
Snider wrote and will narrate and appear in the show. He says penning a stage story was something he always wanted to do.
"My band Twisted Sister recorded a Christmas album about 10 years ago now, and it was really successful and it showed a desire from the general public for rocked-out Christmas songs," he said.
In the early MTV days, he was known for his big, wild blond hair and extravagant make-up, but Snider says he's a totally different person behind the glam rock.
"I love my past, but I'm almost 60 now and that was a long time ago, so I really wanted to introduce the public to Dee Snider circa the New Millenium," he said.
Appearing on the "The Apprentice" and other reality shows, he says, has introduced him to a whole new generation.
"Thanks to reality TV, a lot of younger people know me as Dee Snider now and not from Twisted Sister," he says.
Snider is no stranger to Broadway. He starred in "Rock of Ages" for three months. He says he'll continue his satellite radio show while he's living and performing in Chicago.
Snider says he'll be releasing "Rock And Roll Ain't Dead: Dee Snider Essentials" next spring, featuring tracks from throughout his career.
You can also buy tickets for "The Dee Snider Experience" -- an intimate meet-and-greet with the star, including seats in the first two rows, autographs and photos.
For more information, click here.
