Florence Foster Jenkins was a tone-deaf American, unmarried and wealthy eccentric who dreamt of becoming a famous opera soprano her entire life. She achieved fame for her pitchy and off-key singing which resulted in sold out concerts with a laughing audience. Through her pianist, the talented musician Cosme McMoon, an entertaining and moving story is told about their friendship and career from the early days to the sold out concert in Carnegie Hall and after. The play offers wonderful roles for two actors and a unique chance for the actress to sing brutally off key!
Produced on Broadway with enormous success! “A beguiling comic jewel with a heart.” - Variety / “Life holds up a funhouse mirror to art in SOUVENIR, Stephen Temperley’s wildly funny and surprisingly touching portrait of real-life musical laughingstock Florence Foster Jenkins…a memorable illustration of the real limits of self-perception, and of the purely theatrical magic that can turn the tinniest ear to gold.” - Time Out / “Tone-deaf but utterly pitch-perfect. What is extraordinary about SOUVENIR is that Temperley has made Jenkins, for all her foolishness, a remarkably sympathetic woman. You never doubt that Jenkins has tremendous dedication to the composers whose work she massacres. Kaye makes her devotion to Art incredibly moving. To have made Jenkins a tender, poignant human being is breathtaking…A kind of loony triumph.” - NY Daily News / “[…] And laugh you will. Till you cry. SOUVENIR is downright hilarious […] ” - Boston Globe. “[…] an unexpectedly gentle and affecting comedy.” - NY Times.
