Q&A: Studio Theatre's Serge Seiden

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FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS was a woman ahead of her time. The notoriously — famously — ear-splittingly awful diva who ruled East Coast stages and high society in the 1930s would have fit right in this age of irony, post-irony and ironic post-irony.

Born rich, susceptible to rotten men, convinced of her own talent and serenely self-confident, Jenkins is the subject of Stephen Temperley's affectionate comedy "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins," which Serge Seiden, associate artistic director at Studio Theatre, is directing. It stars Nancy Robinette, at left, as the formidable soprano and J. Fred Schiffman as her loyal, put-upon accompanist.

» EXPRESS: How much did you know about Florence Foster Jenkins?
» SEIDEN: I knew very little, I had a friend who was a supernumerary at the Washington Opera. And I remember back then that these tapes would get passed around of these horrifying opera singers — or people who thought they were opera singers — and these would produce gales, howls of laughter.

So that was my first introduction to her. But the sound designer who's working on the show, he has a collection of all her records. Which, by the way, have never gone out of print.

» EXPRESS: Is there a way to approach her character satirically but with respect?
» SEIDEN: I think the way to approach any comedy is to build from a realistic situation. The fun part is working with the actors to delve into these characters and try to bring them to life and make them vivid for the audience.

» EXPRESS: Is it sheer self-delusion that kept her going?
» SEIDEN: I think that she was a person who was fundamentally turned on by risk. She wanted to scale the heights of the soprano repertoire. She wanted to be a leader; she wanted to be in high society; she wanted to make money. And I think she was constrained by the rules of society, to a certain extent. But as an eccentric — as a rich, rich eccentric person — she could do what she wanted, and she had her niche.

» EXPRESS: So here's the big question: Did Florence Foster Jenkins know?
» SEIDEN: As to whether she knew, it's a mystery, but I don't think it's something we need to know. I think that even her accompanist didn't know for sure. Throughout the play, you see him sort of confounded.

But even so, he leaves open the possibility that she was a shrewd person, and she loved where she was and loved the celebrity of it.

» EXPRESS: And she had no reason to give it up.
» SEIDEN: She was huge. I mean, she had major followers — the most famous musical celebrities of the day were her admirers. There's Cole Porter and Tallulah Bankhead and real characters of the time who were her devotees.

» Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW; through July 1, $39-$55; 202-332-3300. (U St.-Cardozo)