Vermont Stage Company Returns to Town Hall Theater with SOUVENNIR

"So bad, it's good." We've often heard it said about movies, TV shows, American Idol performances and countless other instances where the ambitions of the artists didn't quite match the experience of the audience.

Souvenir, presented by Vermont Stage Company at Town Hall Theater February 11-13, tells the story of one such artist: Florence Foster Jenkins, a singer of such overwhelming confidence and yet so utterly lacking in musical ability that she became an absolute sensation in New York City in the 1930s - for all the wrong reasons.

Souvenir, A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins is Stephen Temperley's fanciful portrait of a real-life society matron who made headlines and won a devoted following for her heartfelt but astonishingly off-key performances of popular opera arias. An intimate, warm-hearted comedy told through the eyes of her loyal accompanist, Cosme McMoon (yes, his real name), Souvenir is a joyous celebration of the passion and transcendence that inspire the life of an artist - actual talent notwithstanding.

"I was drawn to this play because it's a very funny comedy," says Vermont Stage Artistic Director Mark Nash. "What surprised me was how moving it is - the friendship that develops between Cosme and Madame Jenkins, his fierce protection of her, and her deep love of the music."

Souvenir traces Jenkins' unlikely rise to fame, from her wildly popular charity concerts in the 1930s and '40s to her sold-out recital at Carnegie Hall. The catch? She couldn't sing a note. Utterly, unbelievably tone-deaf, Jenkins was blissfully unaware that her devoted fans were stifling laughs, not cheers. McMoon, an aspiring musician himself, describes their journey with wit and tenderness, illuminating the deep passion that inspired Jenkins's unusual career.

Called "a beguiling comic jewel with a heart," by Variety and "...an unexpectedly gentle and affecting comedy," by the New York Times, Souvenir premiered at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in 2005 and enjoyed subsequent New York runs Off-Broadway at the York Theatre and on Broadway at the Lyceum.

Souvenir stars Carl Danielsen as McMoon, and Broadway veteran Nancy Johnston (The Secret Garden, The Music Man) as Florence Foster Jenkins. Sara Lampert Hoover, whose VSC credits include Three Days of Rain, I Am My Own Wife and The Syringa Tree, directs. Scenic design is by Jeff Modereger, costume design is by Rachel Kurland, and lighting design is by Jeffrey E. Salzberg.

Chittenden Bank sponsors Vermont Stage Company's performances of Souvenir at Town Hall Theater, as well as their May visit to THT with Dana Yeaton's play MyOhio.

Souvenir runs Thursday - Saturday, February 11 - 13, at 8:00 pm, with a matinee February 13 at 2:00pm. Tickets, $25, are available by calling 802-382-9222, online at www.townhalltheater.org, at the THT Box Office (Monday - Saturday, noon-5 pm), or at the door.

Photo caption: Broadway veteran Nancy Johnston as Florence Foster Jenkins in Vermont Stage Company's Souvenir, at Town Hall Theater February 11-13. Tickets: 802-382-9222; www.townhalltheater.org.

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