The Real Florence Foster Jenkins
Whether or not you have had the chance to view the immensely popular 2016 biographical film on the life and career of Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944), you should thoroughly enjoy this program. We will examine her career via documentary footage, including interviews with her contemporaries and photographs of her famous Carnegie Hall concert given in 1944 when 2,000 people were turned away at the door. We will have an opportunity to speculate on how a severely untalented vocalist could become a cult figure, with fans that included the likes of Enrico Caruso and Cole Porter. Warning: excerpts from her recordings and photographs of her elaborate costumes will definitely be included during the presentation. Finally, we will be viewing an interview with the three stars of the film (Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, and Simon Helberg) who will discuss the challenges and joys of bringing Florence’s story to life. As she was famously quoted many times over the years, “People may say I can’t sing, but no one can ever say I didn’t sing.”
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