Cheryl Willis and Jake Endres Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

Such was the case, however, of Florence Foster Jenkins (Cheryl Willis), a wannabe diva whose coloratura soprano was so off-key and so lacking in rhythm that she became a sensation, prompting gales of laughter while she believed that she was actually singing beautifully. Her career, based in New York City from 1912 until her death in 1944, is featured in the play Souvenir by Stephen Temperley, being staged by Gremlin Theatre and directed by Angela Timberman, who gives the play a champagne sparkle. However, Souvenir is not a bioplay about Mrs. Foster Jenkins. The heart of the play is the relationship between the guilelessly horrid singer and her loyal pianist, Cosmé McMoon (Jake Endres), and while Souvenir is unquestionably a comedy, the tenderness in that relationship makes the play not only laugh-out-loud funny, but emotionally rich.

Mrs. Foster Jenkins–or Lady Florence, as she liked to be called, or Lady Flo as Cosmé refers to her–was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania in 1868 and moved to New York City in 1900, living in comfort off trust funds set up by her father, a successful businessman. In 1912, at the age of 44, she gave her first vocal recital. Almost all of her performances–all but a final gala at Carnegie Hall–were for relatively small audiences of up to 400, friends and members of the numerous social societies she belonged to and, in a couple of cases, founded. Because these were friends–among them, celebrities from the worlds of popular and classical entertainment–audiences made every effort to stifle their laughter, covering their mouths with handkerchiefs, and shedding tears which the diva took as affirming the effect of her musical prowess. Well, it was, but not in the way she thought.

We meet Cosmé first, introducing himself between verses of the melancholy "One for My Baby" and then the giddy "Crazy Rhythm," a song that recurs throughout the play. Cosmé explains that it is twenty years since he worked for Lady Flo and that they had been together for 12 years–which tells us that he is deep into middle age, looking back with the perspective of one who has come to grips with the place a particular segment of his life has within the whole. The choice of songs suggest that he is an aging, failed composer prone to melancholy, who brightens up when recalling the one shining, albeit bizarre, chapter of his life.

Cosmé McMoon moved from his hometown of San Antonio to New York in 1920, a 19-year-old intent on having a large life as a successful songwriter. He took gigs as a piano accompanist while awaiting the success that never came. At some point he responded to an ad placed by Foster Jenkins who had fired her previous accompanist after he let slip that he thought her performance was less than sublime. This is where Souvenir introduces us to them.

Cosmé is reluctant to accept the job, but badly needs money, so he agrees, thinking it would be for just six weeks to prepare for one recital. However, Mrs. Foster Jenkins believes that the two have complete musical simpatico, and insists that he stay on. He hesitates again, not wanting to be professionally linked to this travesty, but he has not yet sold any songs and has rent to pay. Eventually, Cosmé develops a protective feeling toward his employer, and even an admiration for her determination, the purity of her intentions, and her ability to create a world in which she lives free of harsh reality. He also comes to accept the aching disappointment that being the accompanist to Lady Flo might be the only claim to fame he will ever have.

Cosmé continues in the role of narrator, setting the stage for each vignette in which he and Foster-Jenkins lock horns–with the pianist being as diplomatic as possible, while imperious Lady Florence holds back nothing in discharging her opinions. Playwright Temperley beautifully employs the genteel speech of properly education people from the first decades of the twentieth century. For example, Cosmé tells us early on that he is down, but not suicidal, saying "I'll be right as rain tomorrow," such a precious phrase. Later, on one of the numerous occasions Lady Flo sings hopelessly off key, she attributes this to the accompanist by telling Cosmé, "I am hearing a certain want of accuracy in the notes," gracefully delivering brutal (and completely undeserved) feedback.

To deliver these delicious exchanges we have the pleasure of watching two terrific actors. Jake Endres is wonderful as Cosmé McMoon, with droll delivery of the witty dialogue Temperley has provided for him, while always persuading us of Cosmé's sincerity and of the true affection he develops for this unlikely prima dona. Endres is quite a skilled piano player, while his singing is just pleasant enough. His is not the voice of a first-rate crooner, but good enough to demonstrate that someone can be a less than wonderful singer but still present a song in a pleasing manner, in contrast to Lady Florence.

Willis is fantastic as Florence Foster Jenkins, hopefully deluded about her musical abilities, yet so confident, and possessing such a regal bearing, that she is an indomitable force. She delivers every line with complete sincerity in a Brahman mid-Atlantic accent, prompting continuous laughter. Her attempts at singing are suitably awful, and, in spite of ourselves, we laugh with abandon as audiences laughed (though more discretely) at Lady Florence. I do fear what the strain could do to Ms. Willis' voice, and trust she has good strategies to keep from losing it altogether. Not only is her line delivery and horrible singing exquisite, but her physical bearing is pitch perfect throughout.

Garishly elaborate costumes for her recitals were also Foster-Jenkins hallmarks, as well as the overly fussy wardrobe she wore in everyday life. Willis brazenly shows off the fabulous costumes designed by Rawl Blackett for a 2024 production of Souvenir at Acadia Repertory Theatre in Maine in which Willis also appeared. The costumes are recreated with additional design by Sarah Bauer for this production.

Carl Schoenborn's simple set, dominated by a grand piano with a floral-patterned throw draped across it, framed by scarlet drapes hanging at the rear of the stage, manages to suggest the dignity of a tony New York apartment, with moods and focus drawn forth by Schoenborn's lighting. C. Andrew Mayer's sound design allows us to clearly hear every word and every note.

While Lady Flo is formally known as Mrs. Foster Jenkins, the playwright tells us nothing about Mr. Jenkins. A little snooping reveals that he was a physician sixteen years her senior who married Florence when she was a few days shy of fifteen. The legal age or marriage in Pennsylvania at that time was ten. After a year, Florence contracted syphilis from her husband and abandoned the marriage, though there no legal documentation of a divorce exists. It has been suggested that the syphilis caused neurological damage that affected her ability to hear herself, which could have explained why she never realized how atrocious her performances were. She only heard the notes she meant to be singing. Perhaps.

Whatever the cause, Florence Foster Jenkins was a real person, with extant recordings of her singing (she actually has some success with record sales). Her story is one of those eccentric tales that are part of the American tapestry. The focus of Souvenir on the relationship between the singer and the pianist, a friendship in spite of Lady Florence's rigid adherence to their class differences, makes what could have been simply an extended believe-it-or-not anecdote into a richly satisfying play.

Souvenir runs through November 30, 2025, at Gremlin Theatre, 550 Vandalia Street, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please visit gremlintheatre.org or call 1-888-71 TICKETS.

Playwright: Stephen Temperley; Director: Angela Timberman; Scenic and Light Designer: Carl Schoenborn; Original Costume Design and Wardrobe: Rawl Blackett; Additional Costume Design and Wardrobe: Sarah Bauer; Sound Design: C. Andrew Mayer; Technical Director: Carl Schoenborn; Stage Manager: Maren Findlay; Assistant Stage Manager: AJ Jerome; Producing Artistic Director: Peter Christian Hansen.

Cast: Jake Endres (Cosmé McMoon), Cheryl Willis (Florence Foster Jenkins).