A Night With Janis Joplin on Tour
Legendary blues belter Janis Joplin passed away in 1970 at the age of 27. A Night With Janis Joplin captures the singer's energy, heart and ability to wring the entire spectrum of human emotions out of a single wail. The musical is structured like a Joplin show from 1970 might be, though there are twists of magical-realism — singers who influenced her like Aretha Franklin and Bessie Smith show up onstage beside her, while her between-song banter gives audiences a hint of the wounded humanity behind her towering voice.
A Night With Janis Joplin Background
Janis Joplin's bellow was one of the defining voices of the 1960s. Solo and with her band Big Brother & the Holding Company, the Texas-born singer (who also went by Pearl) blazed a trail through rock, fusing blues and fuzz-covered guitars in a thrilling way as she dug down and sang of deeply felt pain. She rocketed to fame after a torrid appearance at 1967's storied Monterey Pop Festival, where Big Brother was on the bill alongside performers like Otis Redding, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Who. Joplin's innate knowledge of the blues and powerful voice made her one of the most singular figures of the ‘60s rock scene, and she eventually split from Big Brother in 1969. On October 4, 1970, Joplin died of a heroin overdose, and her final album Pearl came out in January of the following year. A Night With Janis Joplin, which premiered in 2013 at New York City's Lyceum Theatre, brings Joplin's artistry and songcraft to generations of listeners who were too young to experience her live. Written by director and playwright Randy Johnson, whose recent musical about rock pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe Shout Sister Shout! is currently touring the United States, A Night WIth Janis Joplin fuses her unforgettable songs with banter that's witty and ponderous in equal measures, showcasing the woman who made the music so unforgettable.
