By Nate Brown
If you’ve been to the Black Box Theater at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo lately, then you know that getting to the hilarious performance of Glorious! can be a challenge. Dirt, gravel, and roadway drop-offs lurk around every corner. Fortunately, all these challenges will put you in the perfect mood to sit back, relax, and chuckle.
Glorious! is the enchanting tale of Florence Foster Jenkins, an opera singer whose warbling, screeching vocals never stand in the way of her dreams of giving recitals to New York’s elite music set – performing in venues from the Ritz Carlton to Carnegie Hall. It may surprise you to discover that Florence Foster Jenkins was a real person and the events of the play are based on actual events in Jenkins’ life.
Jennifer Mustoe portrays Florence Foster Jenkins with a soft, human touch. As Mustoe moves across the stage and channels Jenkins with both love and ear-splitting tones, she shows Jenkins as a diva who just wants to share her gift with the world. It is tempting to focus on Mustoe as the scenes play out, but the genius of this play is the importance of the relationships Jenkins builds with the other characters.
One of the first characters we meet is Cosme McMoon (Skyler Bluemel), a budding piano player who comes to accompany a diva he has never met nor heard. Bluemel is a consummate everyman in his performance, empathizing with the audience throughout and frequently expressing our own emotions as we watch the scenes unfold. Well-timed punchlines are frequent and funny, and Bluemel never seems to lose touch with the growing range of emotions the audience feels for Jenkins. I should also mention that Bluemel does all his own piano playing, and so well that you forget that he is technically an actor in this show, not an accompanist.
Dorothy (Kelly Beck) and St. Clair (Richard Beach) are the heart and soul of the production, and serve to answer the ever-present underlying question – why do people continue to go along with this? For her part, Beck plays Dorothy larger than life, a brilliant burning presence on the stage. Beach channels his inner James Bond for this role, and while many questions seem to remain unanswered regarding his internal motivations, his devotion to Jenkins is only rarely called into question.
Felesha Cairo (Maria) has the most challenging role in the show, and she delivers her performance spectacularly. Nearly every word Cairo speaks is in Spanish, but rather than handicap Cairo, she uses these phrases – though barely intelligible to many in the audience – to build a character capable of love, disgust, courage, and having a cool head under pressure.
Finally, Chealsea Mortensen brings an intensity of energy to the character of Mrs. Verrinder-Gedge that rages on the stage. She speaks only the words that each audience member has been thinking throughout the show, but expressing them seems so villainous that we are tempted to boo.
Lynne D. Bronson’s direction makes good use of the intimate space of the Black Box Theater, as do the lighting design by Pam Cluff and the sound design by Robert Seely. Stage Management by Paige Whitaker tackles the elaborate sets with an efficiency that allows the audience to only experience a few minutes delay between scenes. Costumes by Ashley Magoffin enhance the 1940s vibe.
Glorious! at the Black Box Theater in the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo is poorly sung in all the best of ways, and appropriate for all ages, though it may not keep the attention of tweens and younger. Leave the earplugs at home and come to laugh with a soul full of love.
Full Disclosure: Jennifer Mustoe, Skyler Bluemel, and Chealsea Mortensen are employees of Front Row Reviewers.
Covey Center for the Arts presents Glorious!, written by Peter Quilter.
Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W Center St, Provo, UT 84601
May 2 – 25, 2019 7:30 PM M, Th-Sat
Tickets: $14 – $16
Contact: 801-852-7007
Covey Center for the Arts Facebook Page
Glorious! Facebook Event
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