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The Failure of a Great Singer

August 19th, 2012 - by Robby Slaughter

Lori Ecker’s performance during the first three-fourths of her IndyFringe play “Souvenir” is absolutely horrible. However, that’s kind of the point, since this musical is about hearing the inner beauty of artistic expression—which may sound like screeching to anyone else.

When the performance opens, Cosme McMoon (John Philips) is an aging lounge pianist, lamenting with the audience about the twenty year anniversary of the death of his most unusual client. The woman of his somber memories is Florence Foster Jenkins (Lori Ecker). She is a society member in the bustling, inter-war world of New York City. Jenkins lives in a high class hotel room, and the audience is brought back to the memory of her first solicitation of Cosme as her accompanist.

Failure and Success with Lori Ecker
Photo © Lori Ecker. Used with permission.

The problem with this arrangement, however, is that Florence Foster Jenkins is an embarrassingly horrific singer who has no idea of her complete lack of talent. With unbelievable gusto, Ecker fills the room with off-key screaming that nearly sends the audience running. Cosme McMoon—who needs the money—decides to play the fool and keep on playing the piano.

As the plot unfolds, we are repeatedly subjected to the unbearable noise matched against superb piano work. Occasionally Cosme sings a few bars or offers an vocal aside to the audience, as if to remind us that some people actually can carry a tune. It’s not until the postscript that we hear Lori Ecker’s true voice. She renders a passage from Ava Maria that reverberates with such genuine reverence for music that we nearly forget the awful cacophony from minutes before.

Failure is the secret to success. Had the audience succumbed to their frustration and departed the theater early, none would have known of Ecker’s tremendous talent. And the message for Florence Foster Jenkins is clear: the only music that really matters is that which we hear in our own hearts.

See more plays at IndyFringe or at Footlite Musicals.

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