I was initially apprehensive about seeing Glorious! as I found the 2016 movie Florence Foster Jenkins staring Sterile Creep (Meryl Streep) and Huge Grant (Hugh Grant) to be a very sad and disturbing portrayal of the life of the rich and flamboyant socialite Florence Foster Jenkins. Nevertheless, she filled Carnegie Hall two months before her death with an audience eager to hear her Operettas despite her lack of talent and a tendency to slide around the notes.

 

The movie had painted Florence as a rich, gullible and difficult drama queen who was secretly mocked by all, whilst being fooled into believing she was a diva. In reality, there were those that loved her flamboyance and her lavish charity functions until she became a cult-figure amongst the celebrities of 1940s New York with devotees including Cole Porter and Enrico Caruso. The historian Stephen Pile ranked her "the world's worst opera singer". "No one, before or since," he wrote, "has succeeded in liberating themselves quite so completely from the shackles of musical notation!”

 

Fortunately Glorious! written by Peter Quilter, was a joyous and bewitching testament to the First Lady of the sliding scale. Florence was expertly played by Diana McClean, best known for her roles in Neighbours and Young Doctors.

 

Diana portrayed Florence as a bubbly and flamboyant, but loveable character who pursued her dream to sing, despite the small obstacle of having no talent. Diana wooed the audience with Florence’s delusions of talent and terrible, but fortunately not intolerable caterwauling. Only a few times did the audience need to put their fingers in their ears during her recital of Mozart’s Laughing song.

 

The talented pianist, Cosme McMoon (Mitchell Roberts) was her reserved musical accompanist.  Mitchell played the perfect straight man who, although horrified by Florence’s lack of talent, supported and sustained her by feeding her delusions of talent and her desperation to be adored. Cosme also realised Florence’s exuberant warbling was his only ticket to fame when she was invited to sing at Carnegie Hall. Felicity Soper played the other three disparate characters well, with the insolent Mexican housekeeper, Maria being the audience favourite.

Glorious! is a thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting well-written comedy which leaves you feeling fuzzy inside.

 

By Dr Gemma Regan