Stephen Temperley's Souvenir, starring Judy Kaye and Donald Corren, will end its run at the Lyceum Theatre on January 8. At the time it closes, it will have played 10 previews and 70 performances.
In Souvenir, Temperley imagines events surrounding the story of Florence Foster Jenkins played by Kaye, a wealthy society eccentric of the 1930s and 40s who suffered under the illusion that she was a great coloratura soprano – when in fact the opposite was true. Nevertheless, her annual charity recitals at the Ritz Carlton and performances at other venues brought her cult status, especially as news of her unfortunate singing spread, culminating in her legendary sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall.
The show, which played off-Broadway last season, opened at the Lyceum to mostly positive reviews on November 10. In his Broadway.com Review of the piece, William Stevenson wrote: "It isn't easy to play a bad singer convincingly. But Judy Kaye does it brilliantly in Stephen Temperley's comedy about the legendarily rotten singer Florence Foster Jenkins. Previously staged at the York Theatre Company in late 2004, Souvenir now has a grander set, fancier costumes and a more accomplished co-star, Donald Corren. Despite the improvements, the play isn't really the thing; it's Kaye's hilarious, delightfully pitch-imperfect performance... Thanks to Kaye's superb performance and Corren's invaluable support, the comedy seems right at home at the Lyceum Theatre."
Souvenir has struggled at the box office ever since it began on Broadway. For the week ending December 11 it took in just $88,863.
