THE ALLEY THEATRE
www.alleytheatre.org
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Dean R. Gladden, Managing Director

PRESENTS
 

LOVE, JANIS

Conceived, Adapted and Directed by Randal Myler

Inspired by the Book "LOVE, JANIS" by Laura Joplin

Music Direction by Sam Andrew

January 11 through February 10, 2008 on the Alley Theatre’s Hubbard Stage



 

Alley Theatre Partners with The Women’s Home for Love, Janis Pay-What-You-Can on Saturday, January 12
-Donate Blank Books or Journals and Buy Tickets for as Little as $6-

HOUSTON, TX— Patrons who bring blank books or journals to the Alley Theatre between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2008 can purchase up to two tickets to the Alley Theatre’s 2:30 p.m. production of Love, Janis that day. The minimum price per ticket is $6, but patrons are encouraged to pay what they can. Patrons can drop off donations at the Alley Theatre (615 Texas Avenue) and each household can purchase up to two tickets for a minimum of $6. The blank books and journals will be used by The Women’s Home for creative writing and journal therapy.  The mission of The Women’s Home is to help women in crisis regain their self-esteem and dignity, empowering them to return to society as productive, self-sufficient individuals.

A musical about Janis Joplin, Port Arthur, Texas’ most famous daughter, Love, Janis goes behind the music of the legendary rock/blues singer. Following her life from 1966 until her death in 1970, Love, Janis features performances of many of her smash hits: “Piece of My Heart,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Mercedes Benz” and “Ball and Chain” resulting in a compelling portrait of an artist who wanted to be remembered for her music and her refusal to compromise. 

The greatest white female rock singer of the 1960s, JOPLIN was also a great blues singer.  First rising to stardom as front woman for San Francisco psychedelic band Big Brother and the Holding Company - and then as a solo artist, she created some of the most exciting performances of the era.  She also did much to redefine the role of women in rock with her assertive, sexually forthright persona and raunchy, electrifying onstage presence.  Joplin's warm, exuberant letters to her concerned family form the heart of the show, propelled by her extraordinary music.

Recommended for mature audiences.

 

Love, Janis is generously sponsored by Honorary Producers Connie and Roger Plank, Kim and Dan Tutcher, supporting sponsor KPMG LLP and Associate Producers Cathy and Jesse Marion. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2007-2008 season sponsor Continental Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.               
                                                                                        
 

ABOUT THE WOMEN’S HOME
The Women’s Home is a multi-ethnic, non-denominational, non-profit United Way agency. Founded in Houston in 1957, The Home’s reputation has grown alongside its facilities in both size and stature. Today, The Home’s residential buildings include a dormitory, four transitional homes, “A Room of Her Own” apartments and a non-denominational chapel, the heart and soul of the residential block. All are located with easy access to support services and transportation routes. In addition, two commercial buildings house admissions, administration, volunteer services, the Life Learning Center and the Cottage Thrift Shop. Within the Life Learning Center, The Home’s clients participate in comprehensive clinical, vocational and chemical dependency programs. They also receive job training in the on-campus Cottage Thrift Shop and administrative offices. Years of research, professional collaboration and evidence-based practice are enabling The Women’s Home to become a nationally recognized model of excellence in residential rehabilitation. For more information go to www.thewomenshome.org or call 713.521.3150

 

TICKET INFORMATION
The discount ticket offer is available for walk-up or drop off purchases only, with the donation of blank books or journals. Please note: tickets will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. Tickets are available for the Saturday, January 12 at 2:30 p.m. performance only.  Limit of two tickets per household, B-seating only. For more information please contact the Alley box office, located at 615 Texas Ave., by calling 713.220.5700 or visit www.alleytheare.org

 

 Love, Janis Pay-What-You-Can on Saturday, January 12, 2008 Matinee

When you order ticket, ask about our Special Audience Programs:

January 12, 2008    Matinee    Pay-What-You-Can will generate in-kind donations for The Women’s Home.

January 13, 2008    Open Captioning, ASL, Audio Described for the hearing and sight impaired patrons.

January 22, 2008    TalkBack with cast and artistic staff

January 23, 2008    Mix and Mingle for those who want to meet other theatre fans at the Hard Rock Café.

January 24, 2008 ActOUT partners with AssistHers.

CHEAP THRILLS

Every Sunday and Tuesday evening select seats $21.

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JANIS JOPLIN LIVES!!!

By Theresa Pisula
theresa@houstontheatre.com
January 16th, 2008

LOVE, JANIS opens up with black and white photos of Janis Joplin as a child growing up in Port Arthur, Texas with her family: Father’s Day 1949, lost front teeth.  They show pictures of a time that makes one nostalgic about this young hippie singer who unexpectedly becomes famous on her own right.  Then, you are treated to a concert, as loud as a rock ‘n roll concert could be.  It was of Janis Joplin and her psychedelic band Big Brother and the Holding Company’s rendition of  PIECE OF MY HEART:

 

PIECE OF MY HEART by Janis Joplin

Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man, yeah,
An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can?
Honey, you know I did!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I've just had enough,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.

I said come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah.
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
You know you got it if it makes you feel good,
Oh yes indeed.
All right!

You're out on the street looking good, honey,
Deep down in your heart I said you know that it ain't right,
Never never never never never never hear me when I cry at night.
Honey, I cry all the time!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I can't stand the pain,
But when you hold me in your arms, I'll sing it once again.

I'll say come on, come on, come on, come on and take it!
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah,
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, yeah.
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good — hey!

Now all right!

Now come on, come on, come on, come on and take it,
Take another little piece of my heart now, baby.
Break another little bit of my heart, honey, yeah.
Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it if it makes you feel good.
Hey! Hey! Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
Break it, break it, break it, yeah.
Have another little piece of my heart now, baby,
You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good

 

It’s the kind of performance that was so electrifying that it reminded you that Janis Joplin was, is and always will be the Bomb!!!  She was the much needed jolt of our consciousness of that time and forever more.  The design team for LOVE, JANIS includes music direction Sam Andrew, founder and guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company, a group that still tours the world.  In addition, Andrew has performed in numerous plays, including Cyrano de Bergerac, Romeo and Juliet and Showboat. 

And as you watched the show, you are transported back in time that reminded you why people began to change their way of thinking.  It was the kind of concert that made one think of a time of when we used to be so innocent.  It was a period in time when people began to transform themselves through self-discovery.  It was a time when Janis Joplin encouraged everyone, no – PUSHED everyone to live each day like it was your last. 

 

“Don’t EVER compromise.  Cause that’s all you got!!!”

 

And when she sang, it was when you listened.  And you were mesmerized by the words of her song and the way she was singing.  And the guitar licks.  You were completely transformed.

So, from Port Arthur, Texas she traveled to San Francisco in June 1966, the land of the Golden Gate Bridge.  She talked about the time when she got paid 2 lone stars in Austin for her first professional gig.  She talked about how singin’ the Blues is like being a turtle - slow and long lasting, down low.  And this girl, this girl that played her, she sang just like her.  She moved just like Janis Joplin too. 

Katrina Chester and Mary Bridget Davies both alternate performances as the singing Janis Joplin.  Chester is the daughter of legendary session drummer Gary Chester.  And she began fronting bands at age 12.  Her former group Luxx opened for Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, Fuel, and Saliva.  In addition to three albums with Luxx, she appears on Godsmack’s Awake, as well as two recordings with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, touring with them as well.  In 2002, Katrina won the lead role in the off-Broadway production of LOVE, JANIS in her hometown of NYC.

Mary Bridget Davis made her Equity debut in LOVE, JANIS as the singing Janis Joplin at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square and continued on with the production in Aspen, San Francisco and Kansas City.  This past summer Davis made her Broadway debut in the Tony Award nominated musical It Ain’t Nothin’ but the Blues.

Then Janis talks about that real bad gig that burned in Chicago.  It was just a bad deal.  They had to drive through Nebraska and all the way back to San Francisco.  And this is where she wrote some of the letters.  “I feel so delinquent for not having written in so long,” she apologizes.  She thanks her parents for the $20 check although she wonders what it is for.  And she thanks them for the pictures they sent.  And then she begs them to WRITE!!!

She writes to them that she did a gig for the Hell’s Angels and a performance for a Zenefit.  That’s like a benefit for zen people.  And then she writes about her dog named George.  And she wrote often, as much as every month.  And then you feel nostalgically sad and dreary as her mother doles out her motherly advice, “remember to save your voice.”  And she responds in the way just like that smart-ass kid we always knew about her, “Yeah, just in case I end up living in Vegas,”

And then she talked about the rock n’ roll glamour that we normal people aren’t privy to.  Like when Paul McCartney came and visited her.  Like you know, the Beatle?  “If only it could’ve been George,” she says in disappointment.   And how you are constantly reminded that there is nothing like being a rock star.  Then, she tells her mother, “Don’t worry Mom” about the topless photo taken for a bill board size poster of her. 

And, as she was standing on stage, someone, one of her fans in the vast audience, yells out “JANIS JOPLIN LIVES!!!”  And she writes back in her letters her thoughts, “Well you can’t argue with that!”  And then she sings BALL AND CHAIN.

After intermission, she sings the song MERCEDES BENZ acappella.  A song, she says that is of great social significance and importance.  And she encourages everyone to sing along.  And of course everyone does, and they knew all the words. 

 

MERCEDES BENZ by Janis Joplin

Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz.
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz

Oh lord won't you buy me a color TV.
Dialing for dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until 3.
So oh lord won't you buy me a color TV.

Oh lord won't you buy me a night on the town.
I'm counting on you lord, please don't let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round.
Oh lord won't you buy me a night on the town.

Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz
My friends all drive porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends.
So oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz

 

The band, of course, was fantastic.  The musicians featured in LOVE, JANIS consist of music supervisor and bass player, Eric Massimino.  Massimino has played nationally and internationally with artists Five for Fighting, Big Brother and the Holding Company and Tommy James.  Massimino began his journey with LOVE, JANIS with a two-year run in the off-Broadway production in New York City.  In 2005 Massimino hit the road with LOVE, JANIS for its first U.S. tour, and in 2006 Eric played bass and sang in a four month run with the San Francisco Company of LOVE, JANIS.  Also featured is Jim Wall (percussionist), who has performed across the U.S. with rock, reggae, blues and jazz acts including Big Brother and the Holding Company, Robert Lockwood, Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers, Jorma Kaukonen, and many others.  On lead guitar is Ben Nieves who began his run with LOVE, JANIS in November of 2005 in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.  Since then, Ben has performed nationally with Big Brother and the Holding Company.  Rounding out the band are Stephan Badreau (rhythm guitar); Duane Massey (keyboards); Steven Brown (trumpet); and Sylvester LeBlanc (saxophone).  You see?  Not only will you be treated to a Janis Joplin stage show, she is accompanied by a soulful seven piece rock and blues band which includes a horn section.

And then, you see Janis, in all her fur coat and matching fur hat reveling in all her rock n’ roll royalty and extravagant glory.  She is desperately searching for a proper vein in her arm that should be outstanding enough to be injected with that most poisonous of all substances, shooting up her beloved heroin. 

 

Aaahhh…to be as high as a rock star in the sky.

 

She was reported to have been found with a mixture of heroin and morphine.  Quite clearly, she enjoyed the high life.  In time, she continues to write her letters.  She thanks her parents for articles they sent on Aretha Franklin.  And then she warns them, “You might not hear from me for another year.”  She talks about the time she went to Broadway and saw Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey.  And then she sings TRY JUST A LITTLE BIT HARDER

Hey you gotta work all night
Hey little girl, gotta push on
You gotta need
Work a little more, hey, try a little more,
Need a little more
Yeah, work on, push on, move on, move on,
You gotta work for it, you gotta work on it
Push on, need on, move on,
Move on, hey hey hey.

And then she is on the Dick Cavett Show singin’ YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LOVE SOMEBODY. 

You don't know, you don't know what it's like,
No, you don't, no, no, no, you don't know,
Honey, you don't know what it's like
Oh, to love anybody.
Oh honey, I said I wanna talk about holding you now
The way I love you, babe,
And I've been loving you, babe.

And then we are reminded of how much we worship Janis Joplin.  Is that such a crime?  That’s not even the point.  The point is that she is such enormous talent that people loved to listen to her.  People loved to write for her.  Well, not just anybody, Kris Kristofferson to be exact.  He wrote ME AND BOBBY MCGEE for Janis Joplin…and she sang it with such conviction, such passion, maybe only as much as Joss Stone could muster on a good night.  And the girl onstage, she swings her hips like Janis Joplin did, like Janis Joplin used to swing her hips.  Almost exactly the way Janis Joplin moved, back then, when she sang her songs.  She sang just like Janis Joplin.  She is Janis Joplin alive!!! 

 

JANIS JOPLIN LIVES!!!

 

The point is…watching the show from the Alley Theatre in Houston, 2008 was like being in a time capsule.  Scenic design by Norm Schwab (Alley debut, scenic, projection and lighting design for Love, Janis at the Marines Memorial in San Francisco); costume design by Lorraine Venberg (Alley debut, Actors Theatre of Louisville’s The Tempest, Hedwig and the Angy Inch); lighting design by Don Darnutzer (Alley debut, sound design at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and Arizona Theatre Company); projections design by Jeffrey Cady (Alley debut, Unicorn Theatre’s The Pillowman, Rabbit Hole, and I Am My Own Wife).  All these people transported you back in time, although not like the way Napoleon Dynamite did. 

It was as if that period of time before Janis Joplin came into the scene was such an innocent and naive time for all of us.  And then when Janis came, it was as if someone dropped a bomb.  The explosion of the bomb charred and burned into our creative consciousness.  People started forming opinions of not to just simply take and digest what the government feeds them or what the government wanted them to think.  And her influence on the times was so powerful that it reverberated through the years. 

And then, it disappeared.  Just as suddenly as she appeared.  Her presence merely existed for the period of time that it was needed.  But her talent, with its vast, enormous and powerful influence will live forever more.  The speaking role of Janis is performed by Marisa Ryan, making her Alley debut, Ryan performed the role of Janis Joplin in LOVE, JANIS at Marine Memorial Theatre in San Francisco and Arizona Theatre Company.  Theatre credits include Another Part of the Forest and The Little Foxes (Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Cleveland Play House) and Fast Tracks Live (Upright Citizens Brigade).  Alley Company Actor Paul Hope is the interviewer.

It is not to be missed.  I guarantee it will change your life.  Directed by Randal Myler, LOVE, JANIS runs through February 10, 2008 on the Alley Theatre’s Hubbard Stage.  It is a compelling portrait of an artist who wanted to be remembered for her music and her refusal to compromise.  Recommended for mature audiences.  You must not miss this special performance event.