Glorious
Devonshire Park Theatre
Until Saturday 21st February
Thomas Hopkins
Craig Haffner & Sherry Wright
A Hope Mill Theatre production
“People may say I can’t sing, but no one can ever say I didn’t sing”
What determines whether someone deserves celebrity status? Is it raw talent, sporting prowess, media attention, birthright, or—given today’s culture—the sheer number of followers one possesses? Occasionally, however, individuals achieve fame by being exceptionally poor at something. Such was the case with Florence Foster Jenkins, a ‘singer’ in the 1930s and 40s, who was utterly tone deaf and sang consistently out of tune. Her unwavering self-belief and determination attracted a huge following, culminating in a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall.
Glorious, currently showing at the Devonshire Park Theatre, is a warm depiction of the last years of her career penned by Peter Quilter and directed by Kirk Jameson. The comedy delivers a delightful blend of humour and heart.
When the flamboyant and joyful Florence (Wendi Peters ) hires a new pianist, Cosme McMoon (Mattthew James Morrison), he is astonished by what he hears. However, needing the money, he decides to accept the job. He soon discovers that Florence is untrainable, but gradually warms to her character and resilience, as does the audience. As an audience, we are never quite sure whether she is unaware of her lack of talent, or simply does not care. There is beauty in this ambiguity, as we empathise with her character while she makes the world a better place.
The effervescent Florence Foster Jenkins is portrayed by Wendi Peters , who brings genuine warmth and energy to the stage. Her manner is shrill, and her singing is truly hilarious – which, I am sure, is a very difficult feat to accomplish. She is joined on stage for most of the play by Mattthew James Morrison playing Cosme, he is wonderfully supportive and there seems to be a genuine warmth between the characters.
Supporting characters are played by Sioned Jones playing Florence’s supportive (possibly equally delusional) friend Dorothy and Caroline Gruber as an ill tempered Italian maid and also Mrs Verrinder Gedge, who tries to stop Florence singing.
The writing is very funny but unfortunately there are moments where the comedic timing falters and the jokes occasionally miss their mark, but generally, the overall production remains thoroughly entertaining, thanks to strong performances and an engaging storyline.
Reviewer: Sammi O’Neill
Cast
Wendi Peters as Florence Foster Jenkins
Mattthew James Morrison as Cosme McMoon
Sioned Jones as Dorothy
Caroline Gruber as Maria/ Mrs Verrinder Gedge