This epic story recounts the struggle against adversity in 19th century France. Imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, petty thief Jean Valjean is released and becomes not only an honest man, but the mayor of a prosperous town, and a loving adoptive father. His past haunts him however in the form of the relentless Inspector Javert. Valjean eventually proves his mettle during a bloody student uprising, saving the life of a young man in love with his daughter.

Musical Highlights

“I Dreamed a Dream”; “Do You Hear the People Sing?”

Despite a slew of songs, Souvenir is not a musical, and although the characters and situation are based on fact, it is definitely not a dramatized history lesson. This show is precisely what it claims to be, a “fantasia” inspired by the real-life collaboration between pianist Cosme McMoon and soprano Florence Foster Jenkins. Jenkins was a socialite who gave a series of charity concerts in the 1930s and 40s that have become the stuff of legend, not because of their quality, but because the woman had a violently uncertain sense of pitch and key. Souvenir finds McMoon some two decades after Jenkins’ death, performing in a Greenwich Village piano bar and reminiscing about the dozen years he worked with “Madame Flo.” The play takes a humorous look at the true meaning of music and the art of performing. Is “exactitude” of technique the real goal, or is it the honest expression of the artist’s soul? Jenkins is depicted as blissfully incapable of hearing her own vocal inadequacies, and McMoon gradually moves from being an incredulous paid accompanist to standing by her as a faithful and supportive artistic partner. While audiences will come to Souvenir expecting to laugh (and goodness knows there is laughter aplenty here), they will also find themselves touched by a surprisingly appealing story of two people finding friendship.

The musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is based on a popular 1998 film by the same title. It’s about two fraudsters, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson, living on the French Riviera. Lawrence is a cultivated and suave gentleman who cons rich ladies out of their money. Freddy on the other hand is a small time American thief who cons women into giving him money by telling made up stories about his sick grandmother. One day they meet on the train and try to setup some work together, but soon find out that the small French town they live in isn’t big enough to support two scammers. So they setup a challenge, they agree that the first person to successfully steal $50,000 from a young heiress, Christine Colgate will get to stay in town, while the loser gets to leave. The battle between them then starts, with many twists and laughs along the way.