As a child, Mary Bridget Davies’s father owned a video store. Among his selection was Janis: The Way She Was, a 1974 documentary that explored the life and music of iconic singer Janis Joplin.
“My mom would be like, ‘Sing to this’ — literally into the hairbrush in our living room,” Davies says with a laugh. She was about 14 at the time.
That initial admiration would later solidify into a career. Speaking via phone from her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio — where she currently lives — Davies says her role in A Night With Janis Joplin is one she accidentally prepped for her whole life.
The show comes to Cincinnati tonight (Oct. 1). The performance in the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall begins at 7:30 p.m.
She took over the role of Joplin in the production in 2012, where she performed both on Off-Broadway and Broadway, landing her a Tony nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Musical in 2014. But her time embodying the soulful singer goes beyond one show. Prior, she was the lead actress in Love, Janis and even toured Europe with Joplin’s original band, Big Brother and Holding Company.
With this year marking Woodstock’s 50th anniversary, Joplin — one of the music festival’s most legendary performers who died the following year at age 27 — is as relevant as ever.
“People are seeking us out for that express reason,” Davies says of Woodstock’s anniversary. “That 50th-anniversary concert never happened, so people are coming to see us on the road and telling us their stories about Yasgur’s farm, breaking down on the side of the road, hitchhiking — all the things you’re not supposed to do but could magically get away with in 1969 and be alive to tell about it 50 years later.”
Guttural and raspy yet dynamic and versatile, Joplin’s voice is a unique force to capture, but Davies does so uncannily. Because she was only “queen of Rock & Roll-famous” for about two-and-a-half years, Davies notes that “so many people never got the chance to see her.”
For those who were able to see Joplin, Davies is able to watch them relive that moment from their youth. And for those who never got the opportunity, A Night With Janis Joplin gives them that chance to experience her music live.
Davies says, “I had a girl who came up to me (after a show) and said, ‘I’m a Janis Joplin fan and I hate everything’ — and I was like ‘Off to a good start,’ in my head — and she was probably 20 and said, ‘but I honestly feel like I finally got to see her and there were just times that when you disappeared and she appeared.’”
That’s a process — letting her own self go and Joplin emerge — that Davies has had to grow comfortable with. Beyond knowing the intricacies of her music and onstage persona, she has performed with Joplin’s original band and even knows her siblings. As Davies puts it, she has “cosmically” been in her shoes.
Written and directed by Randy Johnson, the production also explores Joplin’s influences, including Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith. Supporting cast members include Amma Osei, Francesca Ferrari, Ashley Támar Davis, Tawny Dolley and Jennifer Leigh Warren.
Audiences can expect to hear both Joplin classics, like “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby” and “Me and Bobby McGee,” alongside deep cuts. Davies says “Ball and Chain” is one of her favorites to perform.
“You can put yourself into it and your emotions and process what you’re going through because it’s just up-the-gut Blues — just raw, loud, soulful… you’re crying and wailing in the song,” she says. “It’s two-thirds of the way through the show and by that time, I’m vocally wide open… That’s my favorite because the adrenaline really starts kicking in at that point and you feel invincible.”
For tickets and more info visit you cincinnatiarts.org. For additional tour dates, visit anightwithjanisjoplin.com
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 2, 2019.
