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Souvenir (play)
Encyclopedia
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, with incidental music, by Stephen Temperley.
Set in a Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
supper club in 1964, it flashes back to the musical career of Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins
Florence Foster Jenkins was an American amateur operatic soprano who was known, and ridiculed, for her lack of rhythm, pitch, tone, and overall singing ability.-Early years:...
, a wealthy socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
with a famously uncertain sense of pitch and key. In 1932, she met mediocre pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
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, and culminated in a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in 1944.
The play was showcased by the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
York Theatre Company in 2004. After fourteen previews, the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production, directed by Vivian Matalon
Vivian Matalon
Vivian Matalon is a British theatre director.Born in Manchester, England, 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, Broadway, and regional theater productions.Matalon's West End credits include Bus...
(who originally suggested the subject matter to Temperley), opened on November 10, 2005 at the Lyceum Theatre, where it ran for 68 performances. Judy Kaye
Judy Kaye
Judy Kaye 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 and Mamma Mia!-Biography:...
and Donald Corren
Donald Corren
Donald Corren is an American actor.-Biography:Corren received his education at Juilliard. He created the role of Cosme McMoon opposite Judy Kaye's Florence Foster Jenkins in the 2005 Broadway production of Souvenir. He also starred on Broadway in Torch Song Trilogy, for which he received awards...
comprised the cast. Kaye was nominated for both the Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for her performance.
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston staged Souvenir in early 2007 - their production featured direction by Spiro Veloudous, and starred Leigh Barret as Jenkins, with Will McGarrahan as Cosme. http://www.lyricstage.com/ The San Jose Repertory Theater staged the West-Coast premiere of Souvenir in their 2007-2008 season; with Mark Anders playing Cosme McMoon and Patti Cohenour playing Florence Foster Jenkins. http://www.sjrep.com/plays/archive/http://www.sjrep.com/plays/2008/souvenir/cast.php