Blues/rock singer Janis Joplin’s predilection for swigging Southern Comfort onstage, straight from the bottle, was part of her rough ‘n’ tumble legend.
In the concert musical A Night With Janis Joplin, at American Stage through Oct. 11, Laura Frye tops off Joplin’s boozy swagger with hits from an ever-present bottle of the very same whiskey liqueur.
This is singer/actress Frye’s second time portraying the talented but self-destructive legend in playwright Randy Johnson’s popular show.
What’s really in that bottle? “The first time we did it, it was warm water with four drops of brown food dye,” Frye laughs. “This time, they’ve allowed me warm tea with honey. And I’m always hoping that one day someone’s going to surprise me with actual Southern Comfort.”
The balance between art and artifice is especially important for a performer stepping into well-known shoes. It’s got to look right, sound right and feel right, but come across as more than a strict impersonation.
Frye, who hails from Woodstown, N.J., was a musical theater kid who discovered pop and rock singing almost as an afterthought. At Muhlenberg College, in Pennsylvania, “I was in an a cappella group, and that took me away from singing more classical musical theater, and more toward pop music. And I kind of just discovered that it came quite naturally to me. And I was getting a positive response from it.”
She began to tackle the harder stuff while sitting in with her uncle’s rock ‘n’ roll band, and found it really suited her voice.
Frye (whose resume of regional theater work includes The Rocky Horror Show, Waitress, The Perfect Mate, Aspects of Love and more) was brought in to assay the Joplin role after appearances at Sarasota’s Florida Studio Theatre earlier this year. She was the “alternate” Janis, who performed two nights a week. Francesca Ferrari, “regular” Janis, became a good friend and mentor (at American Stage, Ryan Joustra steps in as Joplin for Saturday matinees).
FST credentials – and the accompanying acclaim from fans and critics – brought Frye to the attention of American Stage. Celine Rosenthal is directing the St. Pete edition of A Night With Janis Joplin.
“Celine really encouraged me to bring more of myself to the role, rather than trying to just be an impersonator of Janis Joplin,” Frye explains. “And there’s a whole lot of monologues in the show, so that made me feel way more at ease. Like I can really just talk to the audience and be myself.
“Of course, I have a little bit of a Janis-esque Texas accent when I speak. I’ve watched so many Janis video interviews, and I feel it can come naturally to me. And I can blend myself and Janis Joplin pretty effortlessly now.”
Nobody, Frye enthuses, can duplicate the power and passion of Joplin’s full-tilt blues voice. “Janis had her voice and I have mine. And I don’t think people really want to sit and listen to a singer trying to emulate somebody that they’re not.
“I love singing Janis’ music. And hopefully that comes across, and everybody can feel it as much as I can.”
The star is quick to point out that there are other people making the A Night With Janis Joplin experience. Along with a full rock band, four singers – Syreeta S. Banks, Delores McKenzie, Canela Vasquez and Ariel Blue – appear as Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, Odetta, Aretha Franklin and others, singing (and helping to sing) some of the songs that inspired Joplin on her musical journey.
“This show,” Frye enthuses, “says it’s the Janis Joplin show. But really, at the heart of it, are the people that encouraged Janis to make music, and make it her own way. They gave her the freedom to take their music and make it her own.
“Whether the people that these girls represent were even alive at the same time or not, this show is a place where we all get to be onstage together, and make music together. Which is something really incredible.”
For all showtimes and tickets, visit this link.
