Souvenir, with Kaye, Runs at Westport May 31-June 16

Westport Country Playhouse presents Judy Kaye re-creating her Tony Award-nominated Broadway role as the tone-deaf diva Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir, at Westport Country Playhouse, May 31 through June 16.  

"Souvenir is the funny and poignant story of the musical career of the 1930's Manhattan society eccentric Florence Foster Jenkins, told through the eyes of Ms. Jenkins' compassionate accompanist Cosme McMoon, played by Donald Corren, who originated his role in the Broadway production with Ms. Kaye," according to production notes.  "Florence Foster Jenkins believed herself an opera diva of the highest caliber, but she couldn't hit a single note on key. Her true story written by Stephen Temperley (The Pilgrim Papers) reveals a remarkable woman with a heart of gold and an ear of tin. Her love and passion for music – when paired with her conviction and drive - catapult her to fame and the realization of her dreams."

"You'll experience delicious delight and abandon in this highly theatrical production," said Tazewell Thompson, Playhouse artistic director.  "Ms. Jenkins' lack of talent is clearly at odds with her determination to change people's lives through music.  Yet her passion to fully express herself and to never face reality frees her as a person and miraculously transports us to a world where anything is possible where dreams abound."

Judy Kaye starred in Souvenir on Broadway for which she earned a Tony nomination, at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, in the original production off-Broadway at the York Theatre, receiving Lortel and Drama Desk nominations, and, most recently, in Los Angeles, Tucson and Phoenix.  Last year she appeared as the Old Lady in Candide with the New York City Opera, Hortense in the Reprise! production of Zorba in Los Angeles (LA Ovation nomination), and as Mrs. Lovett in the Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd, a role she has played three other times opposite both George Hearn and the original Sweeney, Len Cariou, in a performance at London's Royal Festival Hall. Her other Broadway credits include The Phantom of the Opera (Tony Award), Mamma Mia! (Tony and Drama Desk nomination), On the 20th Century (Theatre World Award and Drama Desk nomination), Ragtime, and Grease, among others. She has performed at regional theatres around the country, has starred in numerous concert performances of classic musicals and operettas, and has appeared in concert with symphony orchestras across the country and world, as well as on TV, studio recordings audio books and more.  

Kaye said of playing the role of Florence Foster Jenkins in Souvenir many times, "Every time you go back to a role, new light bulbs start coming on. Some roles you don't want to do again, or even remember. But I've had the opportunity to return to things over the years, and I find they just get better."

Donald Corren created the role of Cosme McMoon opposite Judy Kaye's Florence Foster Jenkins in the Berkshire Theatre Festival's production of Souvenir, which later moved to The Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. His other Broadway roles include Arnold Beckoff in the original Torch Song Trilogy, for which he received both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Drama Critics' Circle Awards while on tour.

Visit www.westportplayhouse.org for more information.

Photo of Donald Corren and Judy Kaye by Carol Rosegg