Most public figures retreat from the public eye at least for a while after they have been disgraced, but not the former governor of Illinois.
Rod Blagojevich keeps making the rounds, including an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman earlier this week.
And if the reality of Illinois politics isn't absurd enough, next week the Blagojevich saga comes to the stage. The legendary Chicago comedy troupe The Second City premieres its rock opera Rod Blagojevich Superstar.
"Like all great theatrical ideas, Rod Blagojevich Superstar started with drinking," says Kelly Leonard, one of the show's creators. "We were having our holiday party at The Second City, and we said, 'Wouldn't it be great to do a '70s rock opera about Blagojevich?' "
Leonard adds: "It really fit into this sort of overblown, would-be messiah who's kind of just a naive, arrogant and vain buffoon."
Leonard says the cast of the show is confident Blagojevich will attend once the show opens in Chicago next week.
"As weird as that sounds, it feels to us like he's the type of guy who would come to the show, laugh his head off and go backstage for a photo op with the cast," he says.
Produced for broadcast by NPR's Sonari Glinton and Ben Calhoun of Chicago Public Radio.
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