[NEohioPAL]Berko review: 'LOVE, JANIS' (Hanna Theatre)

[Roy Berko]

Love Rock and Roll?  ‘Love, Janis’ is your thing!

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	


"Some people live, some survive. I'm a survivor. I
plan to be around for a long time."  Those were the
words of legendary rock singer Janis Joplin, whose
life story, ‘LOVE, JANIS’ is now on stage at the Hanna
Theatre.

As it turned out, Joplin was wrong.  She died before
her twenty-eighth birthday of an overdose of morphine
and heroin.

Noted for her wailing blues sound, Janis Joplin broke
the mold of traditionally pretty band singers, so
prevalent during the 50s and early 60s, to become one
of the icons of rock music.   But in spite of her
fame, she couldn’t overcome her self-destructive
instincts

Born Janis Lyn Joplin on January 19, 1943 in Port
Arthur, Texas, a small Southern petroleum industry
town, she proved early in life to be a rebel.  She
broke with local social traditions during the tense
days of racial integration, standing up for the rights
of African Americans whose segregated status in her
hometown conflicted with Janis’s youthful ideals. 
She, along with fellow beatnik-leaning high school
friends, pursued the non-traditional via arts and
literature, especially music.  She found her voice and
was soon playing in coffee houses in the small towns
of Texas.  After a short stint in college her big
break came.  Chet Helms, a Lone Star state friend who
was living in San Francisco, called to offer her a
singing audition with an up-and-coming local group. 
Janis accepted, went to California and became the lead
singer for "Big Brother and the Holding Company.” 
And, as the saying goes, “the rest is history.”

‘LOVE, JANIS’ was created by Joplin’s sister, Laura,
whose goal was to show a side of the legendary singer
that her fans may not have known.   Through the use of
pictures, letters that Janis wrote to her parents, and
her songs, we learn of the star’s life.  Or, at least
the life her sister wants us to see. 

The performance piece has an interesting premise. 
There are two Janises.  One, the performer who puts on
a face and a voice for the world, and the private
Janis who wrote letters which indicated her successes
and self doubts.  Both Janises appear on stage,
sometimes solely, sometimes together.  This is
accomplished by having two actresses portray the
single person.  One sings, the other speaks.

The present Cleveland production (in 1999 the
Cleveland Play House mounted a very successful
version) has two casts.  I saw the duo of Katrina
Chester as the singing Janis and Helen Coxe as the
speaking Janis.  

Chester has a big voice.  She sings with gusto and
lets loose with ease.  I, at points, found her voice
shrill and the song interpretations to be words rather
than meanings, stressing the emotion rather than the
meanings.  A woman who shared my table at the
performance, and who is a Janis fanatic, indicated
that Chester, though good, didn’t have the
audience-commanding presence of the original star.  

I found Helen Coxe, who played the speaking role,
unimpressive.  She was constantly fiddling with her
hair, seemed uncertain on stage and failed to develop
a textured character.   She simply didn’t display the
emotional core of the character.  She was missing the
inner fire of a woman in chaos.

Local Cleveland favorite, Paul Floriano, is the
off-stage voice who questions Janis and makes
transitional comments. 

On the way into the theatre the usher handed me a pair
of ear plugs.   She said, “Believe me, honey, you’ll
need these.”  She was right.  Sitting in the first
row, immediately in front of a huge speaker, my chair
actually vibrated from the base notes.  After a while
the sound so overshadowed the singing, that I was
hearing “boom, boom, boom,” not words.   I wish that
bands would realize they are playing backup to the
singer and if we can’t hear the lyrics, there is no
sense in having a singer.  

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   If you love rock and roll, if you
are a Janis Joplin fan, you’ll like the concert
segments of ‘LOVE, JANIS.’  If you have sensitive ears
and aren’t into rock, there are probably shows around
town that will be more to your liking.

For tickets to  ‘LOVE, JANIS,’ which is in an open
ended run at the Hanna Theatre, 2067 East 14th Street,
call 216-241-6000, 800-766-6048 or go on-line to
www.playhousesquare.com. 




Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


		
__________________________________ 
Yahoo! Music Unlimited 
Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. 
http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/