The tiny three-person cast of Glorious! at the Chemainus Theatre Festival deserve a huge standing ovation, and indeed they got one on opening night, for their stunning work in bringing the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the worst singer in the world, to the mural town stage.
It’s extremely funning, but also beautifully touching, conveying a message about the fragility of our individual lives and how we should take chances, pursue our dreams no matter what anyone says, and most of all, be happy, without being preachy or overbearing about it (this is, primarily, a comedy, after all).
I must make a confession: I enjoyed Glorious! more than last summer’s blockbuster Grease, excellent as the latter was.
There are no flashy production numbers here, and the singing is terrible, really terrible. Though, of course, that’s on purpose. But the cast, script and direction of Glorious! have come together to create something serendipitous that’s a must-see.
Beverley Elliott is simply perfect as Florence Foster Jenkins. She sings horribly, in a way that will leave you in stitches, but also portrays the character’s essential warmth, slight dottiness, and what a genuinely kind human being Foster Jenkins was. One has to master a skill before doing it that badly at such precise moments, and Elliott takes her pleasant singing voice to new out-of-tune heights.
From the smattering of physical comedy required by the role, to the almost slapstick nature of Foster Jenkins’s singing performances she hits all the right, and wrong notes. It’s truly impressive how Elliott manages to make it OK for us to laugh at the truly terrible singing, while still falling in love with the character and rooting for her “success”, through the masterful script by Peter Quilter, under the direction of Ian Farthing.
Foster Jenkins, in Elliott’s skillful hands, is a figure of ridiculousness (angel wings?), but also, somehow admirable. She is somebody you wish you had met. It’s no mean feat.
Then there’s Elliott Loran as Foster Jenkins’s accompanist and friend Cosme McMoon in a tour de force performance. It is through his eyes that we meet Foster Jenkins and get to spend a little time with her. Loran is wonderful in this role, journeying with the audience through being at first horrified and fascinated by Foster Jenkins, then smitten by her contagious love of music, and of living life. His talent shines on the piano, in his vocals, and his acting chops.
Loran is perfect in portraying Cosme as alternately cynical and surprised by the joy in life. There are many very funny moments involving the wink, wink, nudge, nudge of being homosexual in show business in New York in 1944 that add even more depth to the portrayal of the time and place that the script does so well.
Rounding out the cast is Kathryn Kerbes taking on three different roles as Dorothy, Foster Jenkins’s best friend, Maria, Foster Jenkins’s terrible maid, and Mrs. Verrinder-Gedge, a vocal critic of the singer’s public performances.
Kerbes is excellent wearing all three hats. The world’s worst maid, to the world’s worst singer, is comic gold. As Dorothy, on the other hand, she is warm and loyal, and manages in just a few short scenes to give the sense of a wistful sadness for the past. She also gives Cosme, and the audience, insight into why Foster Jenkins, in spite of being so very tonally challenged, manages to touch something in her audiences and us.
Most importantly, while this show will make you laugh out loud, continuously, it’s not just a light froth that you’ll forget half an hour after you leave. There’s a beautiful story here, brought to life by a beautiful script and a tremendous cast that will touch you and leave you thinking about your own life, and your own dreams.
If you don’t have tickets to see this one yet, get them quickly. Glorious! is only on for a short run, wrapping up on Oct. 6, and you won’t want to miss it.