Location
On October 25, 1944, wealthy (and tone-deaf) soprano Florence Foster Jenkins and her accompanist Cosme McMoon performed a recital at Carnegie Hall. Tickets sold out weeks in advance; an estimated 2,000 people were turned away at the door. The world of music has never quite recovered. Come share the hilarious and touching tale of this unlikely pair in the musical “Souvenir” at Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre March 16th through the 26th.
Opera impresario Ira Siff, who dubbed her "the anti-Callas", has said, "Jenkins was exquisitely bad, so bad that it added up to quite a good evening of theater ... There was no end to the horribleness ... They say Cole Porter had to bang his cane into his foot in order not to laugh out loud when she sang. She was that bad." The historian Stephen Pile ranked her as "the world's worst opera singer". "No one, before or since," he wrote, "has succeeded in liberating themselves quite so completely from the shackles of musical notation."
Appearing in the cast of this co-production between Bridge Street Theatre and Fort Salem Theater (who will present the production in Salem, NY this July) are soprano Alison Davy as Florence Foster Jenkins and pianist Jay Kerr as Cosme McMoon. The musical production is directed by Flo Hayle.
“Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins” will be presented on the Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage for 8 performances only – Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pmfrom March 16-26. The Thursday March 16 preview and the Sunday March 19 matinee are “Pay-What-You-Can” performances. Advance tickets are available for $22, $10 for Students age 21 and under, at BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a space available basis) for $25, $10 for Students age 21 and under. However, a Season Subscription is also available at a substantial discount – only $100 for Bridge Street Theatre’s entire 5-play Theatre Series, of which “Souvenir” is the first. To purchase a Season Subscription, visit BrownPaperTickets.com or give them a call at 800-838-3006. The theatre is located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY.
Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County Legislature through the Cultural Fund administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts.
For more information, visit the theatre online at BridgeSt.org.
Performance Calendar:
Bridge Street Theatre and Fort Salem Theater present
Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins
by Stephen Temperley
with Alison Davy as Florence Foster Jenkins and Jay Kerr as Cosme McMoon
Directed by Flo Hayle
with Costumes by Caitlyn Day, Sets and Lights by John Sowle, and Sound by Carmen Borgia
Production Manager: Caedmon Holland
Thursday March 16 @ 7:30pm (“Pay What You Can” preview)
Friday March 17 @ 7:30pm (Opening Night)
Saturday March 18 @ 7:30pm
Sunday March 19 @ 2:00pm (“Pay What You Can” performance)
Thursday March 23 @ 7:30pm
Friday March 24 @ 7:30pm
Saturday March 25 @ 7:30pm
Sunday March 26 @ 2:00pm
Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage
44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY
Tickets:
Advance tickets available at BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006
General Admission $22, $10 for Students age 21 and under
A Season Subscription to Bridge Street Theatre’s entire 5-play Theatre Series is also available for for only $100 from BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006
Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a space available basis) for $25, $10 for Students age 21 and under.
