My friend CeCe (Thomas) arrived last night. He’s passing through on his way back to Georgia for Christmas. We jumped on a bus late and headed down to the Upper East Side. We got off the bus and started walking back uptown checking out different restaurants, bars, and pubs. We settled on a small hole-in-the-wall BBQ place and enjoyed catching up.
Today Elizabeth, CeCe and I took in the Broadway play, Souvenir. We had amazing seats on the second row of the Mezzanine. I saw the show a couple months ago and loved it. I was pretty sure that Elizabeth and CeCe would like it. They LOVED it.
The show is based on the life of New York socialite, Ms. Florence Foster Jenkins. She became somewhat of a celebrity in the 30’s and 40’s. She had an incredible passion for singing though she was probably completely tone deaf. Her performances for her friends at small recitals became huge draws in New York City. She even ended up selling out the famous venue, Carnegie Hall. She believed that music is what the singer hears in his or her head - that was what was most important to her. She sang completely with her heart and never heard the laughter. People would weep as they laughed, stuffing handkerchiefs into their mouths as she butchered pieces by Mozart and Brahms, among others – but she only saw people being moved by the music. Horrifically recorded albums sold briskly, she was impersonated at parties and she died never knowing that her voice was the city’s biggest joke.
I really love the play and I’m so glad I got to see it again – this time with friends. It was especially a lot of fun seeing it with Elizabeth. I glanced over and several times saw her mouth hanging opened and her sitting there in shock as Ms. Foster Jenkins proclaimed that she was blessed with Perfect Pitch and would then turn around and sing a song with great (off-key) passion.
Visit: www.souvenironbroadway.com
