Three months after Janis Joplin died from a heroin overdose, the biggest album of her career was released. Pearl, which includes Joplin's version of "Me and Bobby McGee," topped the album chart in 1971, and has sold nearly 8 million copies in the years since.
Evening Standard/Getty ImagesNEW YORK — The raw, emotional energy that characterized the legendary late ’60s Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll will blaze again when A Night With Janis Joplin plays Broadway in the fall.
Written and directed by Randy Johnson, the concert-style tribute show stars Mary Bridget Davies as the iconic rocker, whose hits included “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby,” “Mercedes Benz” and “Me and Bobby McGee.” In addition to Davies, the show features an eight-piece band and a trio of backup singers.
Since premiering in 2011 at Portland Center Stage, the production has played hit engagements in Cleveland, D.C., Pasadena and Milwaukee.
Praising Davies’ uncanny evocation of Joplin’s vocals and stage persona, the Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks wrote, “It’s a portrait, more than anything else, of a romance: a singer in love with the cleansing embrace of the crowd.”
The show begins previews at the Lyceum Theatre on Sept. 20, with official opening set for Oct. 10.
Producers on the Broadway run are Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich, in association with The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeffrey Jampol for JAM, Inc.
