''Souvenir'' is a two-character

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, with incidental music, by Stephen Temperley.

Overview

In a

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

supper club in 1964,

Cosmé McMoon Cosmé McMunn (February 22, 1901 – August 22, 1980), who used the name Cosmé McMoon, was an Irish-Mexican-American pianist and composer, best known as the accompanist to notably tone-deaf soprano Florence Foster Jenkins.McKinnon, George"Scene C ...

flashes back to the musical career of

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. ...

, a wealthy socialite with a famously uncertain sense of pitch and key. In 1932, she met mediocre

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Cosmé McMoon, and the two teamed up in the hope of achieving success. Over the next dozen years, their bizarre partnership yielded hilariously off-key recitals that became the talk of New York, earned them cultish fame. The play culminates in a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall in 1944, where the audience "turns on her in gales of derisive guffaws."

Judy Kaye Judy Kaye (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Ragtime'', '' Mamma Mia!'', and ...

plays "the one who gets to hilariously murder the music of Mozart,

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

and to wear more of Tracy Christensen's elegant as well as spectacularly silly costumes than a whole ensemble in a more populated musical."Sommer, Elyse
"Review. 'Souvenir A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins'"
curtainup.com, August 19, 2005 The play's title, ''Souvenir'', comes from Jenkins insisting on recording "Queen of the Night" (Mozart), saying that when her voice is not as strong, the recording will make "a lovely souvenir."

Productions

The play was produced by the Off-Broadway

York Theatre Company York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each se ...

running from November 23, 2004 to January 2, 2005. The production was directed by

Vivian Matalon Vivian Matalon (11 October 1929 – 15 August 2018) was a British theatre director. Born in Manchester, Matalon began his career as an actor in a series of forgettable British films, but his greatest success has been as a director of West End, ...

and starred

and Jack Lee. The play opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

on November 10, 2005 at the Lyceum Theatre, where it ran for 68 performances and fourteen previews. Directed by Vivian Matalon (who originally suggested the subject matter to Temperley), Judy Kaye and Donald Corren comprised the cast.Kenrick, John
''Souvenir''
musicals101.com, accessed November 1, 2015 Kaye was nominated for both the 2006

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

and 2005 Drama Desk Award for her performance. The Lyric Stage Company, Boston staged ''Souvenir'' in February 2007; their production featured direction by Spiro Veloudos, and starred Leigh Barrett as Jenkins, with Will McGarrahan as Cosmé. Barrett won the

Elliot Norton Award The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually to honor the best achievements in Boston-area theater. The genesis of the awards was the Norton Medal, which was first awarded in 1983 and was named after long-time theater critic Elliot Norton (1903 ...

- Outstanding Actress in a Musical. The San Jose Repertory Theater staged the West-Coast premiere of ''Souvenir'' in March and April 2008, with Mark Anders playing Cosmé McMoon and

Patti Cohenour Patti Cohenour (born October 17, 1952 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.) is an American actress and singer. She last performed as the standby for Elizabeth Arden in the Broadway musical '' War Paint'', a position she also held in the pre Broadway ...

as Florence Foster Jenkins. San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater staged the play in early 2009, with

and Donald Corren reprising their Broadway roles as

and

, and

again directing. The Flat Rock Playhouse, Flat Rock, North Carolina staged ''Souvenir'' in their 2013 season. Carl Danielsen played Cosmé McMoon and Linda Edwards played Florence Foster Jenkins."Official Site".
flatrockplayhouse.org The Fortune Theare, Dunedin, New Zealand; 2014, The NZ Premiere of the play directed by Lara MacGregor, with Angela Johnson as Florence, and Michael Lee Porter as Cosme. A German translation was shown in 2013 at the Komödie im Bayerischen Hof in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

with Désirée Nick as Foster Jenkins. The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre staged a production of ''Souvenir'' for their 2017-2018 season in their Stackner Caberet. Marguerite Willbanks played Florence Foster Jenkins and Jack Forbes Wilson played Cosmé McMoon. Rep Stage in Columbia, Maryland, staged a production of ''Souvenir'' for its 2019-2020 season. It starred Actors' Equity Association members Grace Bauer as Jenkins and Alan Naylor as McMoon. Joseph W. Ritsch directed.

References

https://www.repstage.org/season/2019-20/souvenir.html

External links

Internet Broadway Database listing

''Souvenir'' at Dramatists Play Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souvenir 2005 plays American plays Broadway plays Plays set in the United States Plays set in the 1930s Plays set in the 1960s Biographical plays about musicians Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of pop musicians Cultural depictions of classical musicians Cultural depictions of American women