Cotuit Center for the Arts' SOUVENIR Set for Provincetown Theater, 8/5-14

Cotuit Center for the Arts' critically acclaimed production of "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins," a comedy by Stephen Temperley, will be presented at the Provincetown Theater for six performances only August 5 through 14.

"Souvenir" features Jo Brisbane as Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy, music-loving New York socialite, who rose to fame for her annual vocal recitals at the Ritz-Carlton, and David Kuehn, Executive Director of the Center, as Cosmé McMoon, her piano accompanist.

Crowds went wild as she sang some of the most difficult arias in opera, festooned in fabulous costumes during the 1930s and '40s. She recorded for RCA, and her career culminated in a solo concert at Carnegie Hall.

The only problem was she could not sing. "She was awful," said Mary Arnault, who is directing the play. "She was tone-deaf and her voice was atrocious, but she nevertheless attracted an audience of friends who found her wildly amusing. The play is about relationships, compassion and the human spirit, and it is also laugh-out-loud funny."

Cosmé McMoon looks back on Florence's life on the 20th anniversary of her death; the audience sees her through his eyes and watches their relationship develop. Initially dubious of her talents, Cosmé grew to appreciate her and to protect her. He is ultimately transformed by her and begins to question everything he knows about music.

"Florence derived great joy from music and she truly believed that it was what you heard in your head that counted," said Arnault, "that musical notes were merely signposts, just guides, not to be strictly adhered to. Over time, Cosmé began to think that maybe she was onto something. Who says you have to hit each tone exactly?"

"Jo Brisbane has a beautiful voice," said Arnault, "and she has worked hard to learn to sing these songs and arias well-so that she can more effectively sing them badly. Jo sings with a wonderful childlike look on her face, just totally clueless, and very, very joyful. It is so endearing."

Kuehn made his acting debut in "Souvenir" last March at CCftA. "David has impressed me so much," said Arnault. "As Cosmé, he narrates the story and appears with Florence in flashbacks. David is really in his element when he is talking directly to the audience, something that would be hard for most actors, but comes naturally to him, and, of course, when he is at the piano."

"I was familiar with the story of Florence Foster Jenkins and her delusions of grandeur that she was the greatest coloratura soprano of all time," said Kuehn. "When I was running the classical division of RCA, we reissued her recordings on CD. All those years later, her recordings charted on Billboard. When I worked at Tower Records in LA, we used to play her CDs in the store as a joke because they were so unbelievably bad, you couldn't believe it was actually recorded."

Jenkins actually did have musical talent. She was a child prodigy at the piano and performed throughout her home state of Pennsylvania, and even at the White House when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury to her arm and had to give up the piano. She turned to singing, which gave her great joy, despite what she sounded like to others.

"I've fallen so deeply in love with this story and the words of the playwright that I want to share it with as many people as possible," said Kuehn. "I am delighted that we have been invited to perform the show in Provincetown the first two weekends in August and in Nantucket so all of our snowbirds will be able to see it too."

Arnault has directed "I'll Eat You Last," "33 Variations," "Red," "39 Steps," "Quills," and "Dark of the Moon" for Cotuit Center for the Arts.

Costumes are by Alan Trugman, lighting design by Greg Hamm, and scenic design by Andrew Arnault. "Souvenir" opened on Broadway in 2005 and was nominated for several awards.

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