THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Written and directed by Randy Johnson
Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HT, until 28 September
www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/a-night-with-janis-joplin
The timbers of the Peacock Theatre reverberated and rocked fiercely with the opening of A Night with Janis Joplin. Homage was paid to the Texan girl whose distinguished voice ranks high in music legend and stands firmly in rock and roll history. If you are a devotee of Janis Joplin, do not miss this show. You will indeed feel the spirit of Pearl brought to life convincingly by the talented Mary Bridget Davies, who received a 2014 Tony nomination for its run on Broadway. (Sharon Sexton shares the role on some dates.)
To my chagrin, the show does not unpack the rise and fall of a rock star, it goes in another direction. Writer and Director Randy Johnson chose not to include drunken bar scenes or seedy hotel drug use, which makes the show less rock and roll and more of a timeline of Janis’ movements from Texan teen to blues clubs then into the limelight. There is emphasis on her early family years being introduced to music by her mother as she and her siblings cleaned the house on a Saturday listening to records. Johnson highlights that Janis was a unicorn artist. Her premature death at the age of 27 adds to her quixotic, enigmatic myth, and separating this from her life story is an odd decision.
The show is delivered through song with intermittent narration and is less storytelling and more of a soulful ensemble concert. There is reverence given to Joplin’s predecessors with a powerhouse of songbirds playing Etta James, Odetta and Bessie Smith, the talented women whose shoulders Janis stood upon, appearing at peculiar intervals and interrupting the flow of the ‘Janis jams’. All the talent is on the stage, it is just presented awkwardly. Big props however to the outstanding band, in particular the lead guitar player accompanying Davies’ harrowing and moving version of ‘Summertime’.
At the opening night curtain call the audience was treated to an appearance by Michael and Laura Joplin, Janis’ siblings. Davies performance as their sister was mesmerizing and can only be described as a freaky reincarnation, the Joplin hits were sung – ‘Cry Baby’, ‘Me And Bobby McGee’, ‘Piece Of My Heart – and the audience lapped it up. But what if the car didn’t fly in the musical of Back to the Future or if snow didn’t rain down on the audience during a performance of Frozen? The audience would leave unsatisfied. The punter wants what the punter wants, and here they’re missing the story.
