“Some
may say that I couldn’t sing, but no one can say I didn’t sing”
This
past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Souvenir at the Alleyway Theatre,
based on the true life story of Florence Foster Jenkins. I also spoke with actress Mary Kate O’Connell
who reprised her award-winning role of Jenkins, whom she played in Glorious at
the Kavinoky.
O’Connell
and Company teamed with Javier Bustillos of Buffalo United Artist to produce
this piece. O’Connell said me that Javier saw this show
in New York City, off Broadway, when it first came out. “He called me during intermission to
let me know that he found the next play to produce!” she said. It took a while, but they
finally obtained the rights to this play.
O’Connell
loves playing this character with “a voice of tin but a heart of gold” and
said, “It’s a real gift to play this character, and explore her and her
passion for her art and music.” Souvenir takes the audience on a journey in which
they see the friendship between pianist and composer Cosmé McMoon and Jenkins blossom through hours of
rehearsal; they see Jenkins’ unwavering passion and belief in herself and how McMoon is swept away by it. The audience too, cannot help but be swept away
by her happiness and love for the music. Jenkins refuses
to be pigeonholed as a “society woman” with a lot of money and ego; she simply wants to share music with
people.
Souvenir
is a flash-back, told through the eyes of McMoon, played with dry humor
and gentleness by Gregory Gjurich. There is a single piano and a chair on set
with minimal costume changes (except for the second act when we are treated to
several vignettes showing Jenkins’ show at Carnegie Hall).
In
the start of act one, McMoon is sitting at a lone piano and talking about his
life, like he is speaking to an old friend. He is an artist, struggling with the music he writes and
dreams of being a great composer. Jenkins comes in to rehearse for her recital
at the Ritz Carlton, and McMoon is surprised by her complete lack of tone and
disregard for the notes written on the page.
Far
less than a great singer, Jenkins sees the audience moved to tears and feels
as though they are overcome with emotion because of her work; she has no idea
that they’re laughing at her. Still, she does not shy away from the music of
Mozart and seems to shun the more “popular” music of the day.
Her
ultimate achievement was a 1944 Carnegie Hall concert, which shockingly sold
out in only 2 hours, and for which over 2,000 disappointed “music lovers” were
turned away! Again, we see
snippets of this in Act 2. There were smiles all around
the theatre as O’Connell took them through Jenkins’ story, which cumulates in
an emotional and poignant ending.
This
weekend is your last chance to see Souvenir at Alleyway Theatre, January 29-31
Thursday
& Friday at 7:30PM and closes on Saturday at 8PM. Call for information
& tickets 716.886.9239.