'Souvenir' serves note of respect for arts partron Jenkins

David Shipley as Cosme McMoon, accompanist to Florence Foster Jenkins (Jude Knight), reacts to her off-key singing in "Souvenir."

She was a world-renowned singer who was oblivious to the fact that she couldn't carry a note.

Yet in her way, Florence Foster Jenkins was extraordinary, particularly in that she was genuine.

It is that quality that Jude Knight has latched onto in crafting her portrayal of "Madame Flo" in the Theatre Memphis production of "Souvenir."

David Shipley as Cosme McMoon, accompanist to Florence Foster Jenkins (Jude Knight), reacts to her off-key singing in "Souvenir."

"She took pride in the fact that she thought she had perfect pitch," Knight says. "As the play opens, the first thing she says is 'What matters the most is what you hear in your head' -- and she believed she was singing music on pitch, in time and the way that Mr. Mozart would have wanted it sung. It's unfortunate that she was missing it."

Jenkins missed it all right, but the socialite was born into considerable wealth and made it her mission to bring beautiful music to the public even though everyone else -- the public, the critics, her accompanists -- cringed with bemusement.

"Souvenir" tells the story of "Madame Flo" and her accompanist, Cosme McMoon (played by veteran actor David Shipley), who was with her for about 12 years. "He starts out thinking she's some kind of a nut and he's going to use her for a meal ticket," Knight says, "but their relationship becomes a fast friendship."

Despite what must have been a temptation, Jenkins is not presented as a freak show. It is funny, but also poignant, Knight says. "She was probably the most resilient woman I've come across."

Knight says that director Bennett Wood insists that "we have to believe that she is a genuine person who just loved this music and because of her station in life could afford to do these things. Truthfully, she helped a lot of charities because a lot of her concert proceeds went to her favorite charities. She did a good thing and had fun along the way, I'm sure."

Knight has, as you might imagine, a special challenge. She is by nature a gifted singer.

"Gary Beard, who is the music director at Theatre Memphis, asked how I was going to do this. I said I need to hear the right pitch as played and then sing above or below it, and that's what I've done. It's almost as if I'm singing in a different key."

Knight says that at one rehearsal, Wood had to caution her: "You're singing too many right notes."

But it's not all off-key. "At the end of the show, I get to sing correctly: The last musical piece of the show is the way she thought she sounded to herself and it's my voice," Knight says.

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'Souvenir, A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins'

Theatre Memphis' Next Stage, 630 Perkins Ext. Runs through Dec. 20, 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $28, $15 for students, $10 for children under 12. Call 682-8323 or go to theatrememphis.org.

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