ST. PETERSBURG — In some ways, Souvenir is misbilled by its subtitle: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins. Sure, Jenkins, the Park Avenue matron who mistakenly — farcically, dementedly — thought she was a great coloratura soprano, is the subject of Stephen Temperley's play. But it is actually just as much about Jenkins' long-suffering pianist, Cosme McMoon, who sacrificed his artistic ambitions for a steady paycheck.
Jenkins seems like the Dame Edna of her day, except she was for real, a deluded diva whose dreadful singing was documented by an unintentionally hilarious recording that has never left the RCA catalog in more than 50 years. She gave annual recitals at the Ritz that drew a fashionable crowd. The play chronicles her relationship with McMoon as they prepare for a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert in 1944.
Thankfully, the play rations Jenkins in snippets of the Queen of the Night aria and other taxing works instead of the painful full-length renditions. Still, a little of her caterwauling — like the yelping of a dog — goes a long way, even in the performance of such an excellent interpreter as Neva Rae Powers. It is not easy to sing so badly, and she provides a pitch-imperfect portrait of an obsessive musical fussbudget, her hands held just so during a crazed version of "Caro Nome'' from Rigoletto. It's a wonder that McMoon's glass of sherry on the piano doesn't shatter.
McMoon is played by James Valcq, and his stunned double take on first hearing Jenkins is priceless. However, because Valcq is primarily a musician, his performance doesn't capture the range of the role. He dispatches the extensive piano playing with appealing glibness, but his singing and acting are underpowered and unconvincing next to the force of nature that is Powers' Jenkins.
Souvenir, directed by Steven Flaa, is fine as light summer entertainment, and the opening-night audience howled at the over-the-top singing and outlandish costumes (by Adrin Erra Puente). But at no point doesit really come close to answering a question McMoon poses: "People used to say to me: Why does she do it? I always thought the better question was: Why did I?''
Instead, the play tends to belabor the joke that Jenkins is such a godawful singer, and there's a sentimentality to the characterization of McMoon that seems too convenient. The darker, more ambiguous aspects of this curious episode in American cultural history are only suggested.
John Fleming can be reached at fleming@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8716.
Review
Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins by Stephen Temperley runs through Aug. 17 at American Stage, 211 Third St. S, St. Petersburg. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Run time: two hours, five minutes, including intermission. $22-$35; student rush $10, 30 minutes before curtain. Pay what you can today and July 29. (727) 823-7529; www. americanstage.org.
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