Marat Magnificent at NCRT

This past weekend Humboldt Light Opera concluded its brief run of Souvenir, a two-hander about Florence Foster Jenkins, a self-financed singer notable for being terrible — the William Hung of her time, though her concert and recording career lasted 32 years. As staged by Jean Bazemore, the play hits some fascinating notes, about the relationship of inner and outer beauty, and the vulnerability of artists with something to express but unsure of whether they are any good at expressing it. With shades of black and tan, and a glow around silhouetted skyscrapers outside the window, Gerald Beck’s set easily evoked 1940s New York. Kevin Richards was charming and convincing as the accompanist Cosme McMoon, and Carol Ryder was luminously “bad” as Mrs. Foster Jenkins, who did in fact sing at Carnegie Hall and died a few days later. “Toscanini sent flowers,” McMoon tells us, and though the play goes on for another five minutes that said it all for me.

Coming Up: A busy weekend … This Saturday, Redwood Curtain presents Zounds!, a staged radio event √† laA Prairie Home Companion (at 8 p.m.), along with drinks and dinner (at 5:30 p.m.) at the Wharfinger Building. Clink Rebik and James Floss are co-directors. You can also hear it, oddly enough, on the radio — KHUM, to be exact. Check RedwoodCurtain.com for details. Dell’Arte is presenting a one-weekend reprise of Golden State, their Californicated version of Moliere’s The Miser starring Joan Schirle, before it goes to L.A. for a month. It’s in the Carlo Theatre Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.

North Coast Prep’s Young Actors Guild begins a two-weekend run of The Crucibleand Twelfth Night at Gist Hall Theatre on Thursday (northcoastprep.org), and Ferndale Rep begins 12 Angry Men with a preview on Thursday and opening night on Friday. More here next week, and always at StageMatters.blogspot.com.

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