Glorious! is off-key and hilarious
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Updated: July 12, 2009 10:52 AM
They say you have to know the rules in order to break them.
If that’s the case, Susan Jacobsen Frith must surely know all the rules of singing backwards and forwards — rules she breaks with gleeful abandon in her role of Florence Jenkins in Bard To Broadway’s production of Glorious.
The play, helmed by first-time director David Graham, tells the tale of Florence Foster Jenkins, the hilariously off-key opera singer known as the first lady of the sliding scale.
As in the case with the famed original, this faux Foster Jenkins has the ability to make serious music lovers’ ears bleed.
In fact, Jacobsen Frith can sing, and gloriously, but you wouldn’t know it from her opening night performance, when her arias leapt all over the musical map. Truly, it takes a rare talent to sing this badly, and Jacobsen Frith does it well. The night belongs to her.
Her title character is not alone in her excellence however. There isn’t a weak link in the cast, as every member of the supporting cast, Alex Brennan as pianist Cosme McMoon, Jack Alouf as friend and failed actor St. Clair and Kathy Harper as friend Dorothy shone brightly when the spotlight turned their way.
It should be noted that assistant stage manager Karen Wheeler, came into the role of Maria shortly before opening night and only had one rehearsal. You wouldn’t know it, as she played the hot-tempered Mexican servant to perfection.
Mention should also be made of the costume crew, whose angel wings provided one of the many comic highlights of the evening.
And the audience? They loved it, some doubling over, some laughing uncontrollably at her soaring, swooping, wildly meandering tones.
Glorious is a comic triumph and will likely stand as one of the top comedies in the B2B repertoire. It is a must-see for anyone who needs a good, deep belly laugh on a Parksville summer evening. Bravo!
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