I’m sure other people have written about this, but what’s with the dueling Florence Foster Jenkins plays?
Souvenir, by Stephen Temperley, is on Broadway, and
Glorious, starring the divine Maureen Lipman, is at London’s Duchess Theatre. Now, I yield to no one in my admiration of Maureen Lipman, but unlike Judy Kaye, the star of
Souvenir, as far as I know, she has no particular gift for singing. Well, neither did FFJ, true, but having seen Judy Kaye on
Theater Talk, I now think you have to be able to sing well in order to sing badly.
My love of Lipman will no doubt take me to the Duchess when we’re in London next month, so now I can’t decide whether I should see
Souvenir before it closes this weekend to provide a comparison. We’re going to the theater on Saturday (following
Webloge’s advice and seeing
Christine Jorgensen Reveals), so chances are laziness will overcome curiosity and Maureen Lipman will be my one and only Florence Foster Jenkins. But I think one is probably enough for me.
Labels: florence foster jenkins, theater
