Preview-Glorious!-Sweet & Sour Productions
23-4-13
HKELD had the chance to sit down for a chat and preview of Glorious! Sweet and Sour's biopic of the "world's worst singer" opens next week.
"What has been the most exciting for me so far is being in the ensemble. We're having so much fun. Even though we've gone over the same scene over and over... I find I'm still wetting myself with laughter"- Kath O'Connor
By: Meaghan McGurgan
Audience members can look forward to having a Glorious! May in Honkers next month. Peter Quilters' hilarious biopic has been chosen as the next project for local director, Candice Moore. Although she's become known in town as the lady who is the master of dark and gritty material, Moore loves a good comedy. "There was too much grit. I thought I should sugar coat it this time around!"
It's based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins the gregarious soprano who in the early 1940s became the must-see artist in New York. Spinning from charity recitals before groups of devoted friends to extravagant balls, Florence's enthusiasm and joy more than made up for her imperfect pitch. Paying little attention to her critics, 'the first lady of the sliding scale' resolutely restricted her professional performances to an annual recital, yet her unconventional career culminated in a triumphant sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall, New York, shortly before her death.
Candice was drawn to the script because she was looking at another biopic script by Quilter about Judy Garland. She read the script and started reading up about Jenkins and found her to be pretty interesting. "It wasn't all glitter and tinsel... Underneath that is a woman who is desperate for attention and desperate to love. It's really quite an interesting script and has a dark side."
The cast is full of seasoned HK professionals, Jacqueline Gourlay Grant as Florence Foster Jenkins to Barry O'Rourke as St Clair. Andrew Swift will be taking on the role of Cosme McMoon which requires him to play the piano live on stage in his role as Florence's friend and accompanist. Get ready to hear him play the keys - he's quite impressive! Nicola Rae, Kath O’Connor and Wendy Herbert round out the cast as a myriad of colorful characters in 1940s New York. Grant loves the character she's playing but admits it's been challenging and fun to force herself to sing so badly.
Florence Foster Jenkins is a really fascinating woman who was an amateur soprano born to rich parents. Once she inherited her parents' money she spent her days living in fancy hotel rooms, raising money for charity, and being a patron of the arts, even the famous Verdi Club. "She was infamously known as the lady of sliding scale. She could not pitch notes...She had no sense of rhythm but she obviously had something special about her personality and a lot of money..." says Grant. You can find out more about Jenkins at the Wikipedia page dedicated to her.
When asked why audience members will like Glorious!, Gourley Grant quips: "It's full of quips and quavers!"
We had a chance to watch a ten minute snippet of the play and agree that it's a very funny script. After all, it's a play about the worst singer in the world who still manages to rise to fame. Hmmm.... Does that remind you of anyone? (*cough cough* Kardashian *cough cough*) Audience members are sure to have a bit of a debate over the idea of celebrity and how much talent is truly required. Andrew Swift explains, "It wasn't the car crash fame that we're used to now... People grew to love her and enjoy what she did even though it was aesthetically awful." "She obviously had charisma!" adds Barry.
For audience members wanting to get a further taste of what the show is like, Sweet and Sour has made a short YouTube trailer. Please enjoy!
Tickets for Glorious! are sure to sell out as their May 2nd show already has. You can purchase tickets through your nearest URBTIX box office. Tickets are 225hkd with additional discounts for students/seniors and HK Rep members. With matinees over the weekend, we think this might be a perfect show to bring teens to as it's a very funny story with snappy dialog and very family friendly. Feel free to bring the boyfriends and husbands along, as the cast believes people of both genders will appreciate hearing about Jenkins' story. It's Noel Coward meets the first round of American Idol auditions - fun for all generations!
It's best to end this article with a quote from Jenkins' favorite song:
If thou canst not dream, then do not sing!
Dream and hear Florence sing (terribly) next week. You're sure to have a good laugh and learn about a really fascinating lady,
For more information about Glorious!, please click here. You may also enter the giveaway for 2 free tickets to Sunday matinee of Glorious! here.
Comments
Mona
Break a leg!
23 April 2013