"This is a night that will rock your world!" - Los Angeles Times
Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock & roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with southern comfort, made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock.
Now, you're invited to share an evening with the woman and her influences in the new Broadway musical, A Night with Janis Joplin.
Fueled by such unforgettable songs as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Piece of My Heart," "Mercedes Benz","Cry Baby," and "Summertime" a remarkable cast, and breakout performance by Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin, written and directed by Randy Johnson, is a once in a lifetime musical experience that brings the music - and the woman - to life like never before.
The one hundred and ten year history of Broadway's Lyceum Theatre has seen nine musicals, a couple of plays with music and a few concert evenings grace its stage. But I doubt if the walls of the classic Beaux-Arts showplace have ever felt any vibrations like the powerful full-throated wails of soulful orgasmic psychodelia emoted from Mary Bridget Davies in the title role of A Night With Janis Joplin...Writer/director Randy Johnson's concert-style musical is not to be lumped in the same category with that trio of Beatles imitation concerts that have played Times Square or other such shows that rely solely on mimicry. The ambition is a little higher here, and while A Night With Janis Joplin has its flaws as drama, as a raucous, hyper-energized tribute to one of American music's great icons, it's a joyful explosion.
It's a shame, then, that this musical doesn't give Davies much to work with other than her phenomenal voice. Written and directed by Randy Johnson, Night focuses on Joplin's musical icons - Bessie Smith (Taprena Michelle Augustine), Nina Simone (de'Adre Aziza), Etta James (Nikki Kimbrough), and Aretha Franklin (Allison Blackwell) - without revealing much about their influence beyond the fact that sheplayed that record until she wore it out, man. There's no trace of Joplin's juicy life - no gossip about what happened backstage at Woodstock or the Monterey Pop Festival, nothing about the night she allegedly broke a beer bottle over Jim Morrison's head, or her romance with Leonard Cohen, who later memorialized their relationship in the ballad 'Chelsea Hotel.' Instead, Johnson strings together broad clichés from her childhood memories, with Joplin's character insisting that women feel the blues more acutely than men, and that fans love blues singers more after they're dead. During one night of previews, an audience member audibly gasped 'Aww!' after the latter line, apparently unaware that Joplin died of a heroin overdose in 1970.
2013 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2016 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
2017 | US Tour |
2017 US Tour US Tour |
West End |
West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Mary Bridget Davies |
2014 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Mary Bridget Davies |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Mary Bridget Davies |
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