WTTW to air ‘Sirott & Murciano Backstage’

Bob Sirott, Marianne Murciano, Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan

Bob Sirott, Marianne Murciano, Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan

International superstar Gloria Estefan and her producer husband, Emilio Estefan, join veteran Chicago broadcasters Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano for a two-on-two interview on WTTW-Channel 11.

Billed as “Sirott & Murciano Backstage,” the half-hour special will air at 8:30 p.m. June 26 on the Window to the World Communications public television station.

Sirott and Murciano, the husband-and-wife team who host middays on Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720, taped the special last month at WTTW studios. The Estefans were in Chicago to promote the pre-Broadway world premiere of their biographical musical "On Your Feet!" at the Oriental Theatre.

In the wide-ranging interview, the Estefans reflect on “bringing their music and life stories to Broadway, overcoming adversity, and finding success and happiness in show business as a married couple,” according to a station announcement.

For Murciano, the special is more than a celebrity interview. She and Gloria Estefan first met at age 14 as classmates at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy High School in Miami. They’ve been friends ever since.

For Sirott, it marks a return to WTTW, where he hosted “Chicago Tonight” and “The Friday Night Show” from 2002 to 2005. If all goes as planned, there’s more to come.

The idea of “Sirott & Murciano Backstage,” he said, was to create an interview show that combined the style and feel of their local WGN Radio show with nationally known guests. They’re hoping it develops into a series for national distribution on public television.

In the meantime, Sirott joked, “We had no idea that if you pledge money to the station and the tote bag supply runs out, they give you a show!”