Musicals—29

OK, ready to talk about a musical that few people saw? It’s called Florence Foster Jenkins [2016] by Nicholas Martin. The movie, like the main character’s singing voice, is an acquired taste. The movie got a bit of a lackluster approval from most critics and an OK from most viewers… it was nominated for a few awards and won a few… but still, it’s not one of those movies that I’d say to a friend, “You’ve got to go see it.”

Why is that? Well, it’s a combination of the subject matter itself and the campiness with which it was treated.

Imagine that you’re a wealthy woman—you could have anything you want (translation, you can buy anything you want). So, you figure, why can’t you buy talent? And that’s what the main character does, she hires singing coaches to bring her voice up to performance level. And in her mind, it looks like it’s working—after all, at the soirees she holds in her house where she sings, everyone is effusive in their praise…from opera venue mangers to professional singers alike. Everyone loves her.

But, of course, she’s absolutely terrible. Take a peek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rRVCNffvKk

One of the interesting choices in the trailer, was to never have Jenkins sing—I expect the reasoning was that people would have to go to the movie to hear how bad she was. Yes, this is based on a true story.

And she’s not just bad, she’s just dreadful. Her voice is SO bad that I could hardly sit through the film. And the actress playing Jenkins, Meryl Streep, is quite a good singer, so I am sure she was directed to be this bad. Which certainly makes the story’s point—this woman can’t sing—despite the fact that she’s surrounded by friends and sycophants who praise her singing to high heaven.

Why would they do that? Why would everyone tell her she’s wonderful when she’s not? One reason—money. Jenkins is a big donor to the opera and no one wants to tell her she’s lousy, so they come to her soirees in her home and smile and clap and heap praise upon her. And it works for a while—she gets to sing, they get her money for their companies and theatres.

Complication? Since everyone praises her talent, why shouldn’t she sing on the stage? She hires a coach to help her with her voice and starts preparing her debut.

Those around her are caught between a rock and a hard place—do you tell her she’s so awful and spare her from doing this performance? That would be kind, but it would also break her heart. And your opera company would be no richer if you were the one to break the bad news.

How she does the performance and the consequences of it are fun to watch. If you can just get past that screeching voice! This was one of the few musicals I can remember where I wanted LESS music!!

But… I include it because of its unique qualities… perhaps worth a watch so that you can come up with your own unique takes on situations.

Copyright © Diane Lake

09Feb20

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com