It’s a musical that brings to life the essence of famed 1960s singer and songwriter Janis Joplin.
The Ensemble Theater Company production of A Night With Janis Joplin mixes two dozen of her songs with some of her stories.
"I'm a vessel. That's how I feel," said Mary Bridget Davies, who plays the female rock pioneer and feminist icon. "I'm this vessel for her to come through me for the people. When people are losing their minds in the crowd every night, it's for her. There is some magic element to it. It's not just me doing an impersonation."
Davies has a long relationship with Joplin’s music and story, earning a Tony nomination for her performance of the musical on Broadway.
She said the production is much more than a cover band playing the music legend’s greatest hits.
"I have a dear friend of mine (who) has a Janis Joplin cover band that crushes, but that's exactly what it is," said Davies. "They play bars or festivals. She comes out dressed as her, and they do a 60-minute set, and they're gone. This is a piece of theater, and what is so important about it is that in this show, it's more about who Janis became as an artist, and how she did it."
Davies is co-directing the play with Brian McDonald. He talked about the musical’s plot:
"The craziness...you know that part of her. The wild, crazy side, the rocker who died at the age of 27. Beyond that, I wanted to know who she was and how she became Janis Joplin. I think I've tried to shape the show to rediscover her. 'Story,' I feel, isn't really the right word. It feels like more of an experience."
He added that the first act explores how she became Janis, the performer. The second act shows what it was like when she became a huge success, and it's more of a concert.
According to McDonald, they don’t want the audience to feel like they're watching a show. The goal is to leave people feeling that they spent an evening with the icon.
"I really wanted it to feel like an intimate experience," said McDonald. "You're getting this time with Janis. To me, it feels like she's telling her story impulsively, through her music and monologue."
Davies said the musical goes well past the stereotype of the singer being a brilliant, but out-of-control, drug-addicted rock star.
"Every newspaper article, every magazine cover photo of her, she's a wailing banshee," said Davies. "Everyone talked about how she could party, how she knocked out Jim Morrison. And that was part of her public persona, but she was so much more than that. That's what we get to talk about in the show."
A Night With Janis Joplin previews Thursday and Friday nights, and premieres Saturday night (April 4) at Santa Barbara’s New Vic Theater. The Ensemble Theater Company Production runs through April 26.
