(bright gentle music) - Pioneer Theater Company is presenting the hilarious and heartfelt production, "Souvenir, "A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins" this holiday season.

And here to tell us more is artistic director, Karen Azenberg.

Hi, Karen.

- Hi.

- Thanks for being here.

So it seems the perfect mood, feel-good mood for the holidays.

- I think it's a lovely, sweet, funny, but heartwarming story about, you know, a eccentric personality who had a streak of self-confidence that I think we could all use a little bit of.

- Oh, yeah, oh, yeah.

It's giving me courage to sing at a Christmas party.

- Yes, everybody could get a little courage.

- Yeah, yeah, so for people who might not know her, kind of tell the story of what she was doing.

- So she was a real person who was a socialite in the 30s and 40s in New York.

And she believed that she was a spectacular opera singer, and she wanted to share her gift, and it started with a small group of her friends, 3 to 400 at the Ritz Hotel, and then ultimately moved to Carnegie Hall and she became a cult favorite among the military.

So that's where her recordings come from.

This story is a fantasia, because some of the details are not really known.

And the playwright, fun fact, Stephen Temperley was at Pioneer Theater as an actor right before this show premiered in New York City.

- Oh, wow, wow.

And who's playing Florence?

- So Linda Mugleston is playing Florence Foster Jenkins, and Bob Walton is playing Cosme McMoon, her pianist.

Linda was here last season in "Christmas in Connecticut."

So they're both big veterans and wonderful people.

- Oh, I'm really looking forward to it, looking forward to that, and thank you so much for being here, for all the great theater you do.

Thank you.

- Thank you.

- And if you'd like to know more about Pioneer Theater's upcoming production of "Souvenir," how did I miss that?

December 6th through 21st in the Meldrum Theater, a more intimate space at the Einer Nielsen Field House, go to pioneertheater.org.

I'm Mary Dickson.

Thanks for watching "Contact."

(bright gentle music)