THE SHOW THAT SMELLS, OR THE LAST TEMPTATION OF JIMMIE RODGERS, by Gemma James-Smith and Gil Garratt, adapted from the novella by Derek McCormack (Clawhammer). At Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson). Opens May 13 and runs to May 31, Wednesday-Saturday 7:30 pm, matinees Saturday and Sunday 2 pm. $28.25, stu $24.85, matinees pwyc. 416-504-7529, artsboxoffice.ca.
What do you get when you mix country music, high fashion and puppets?
The Show That Smells, Or The Last Temptation Of Jimmie Rodgers, a production thats guaranteed to colour outside the lines.
Created, designed and performed by Clawhammers Gemma James-Smith and Gil Garratt, the show takes its inspiration from a short work by Derek McCormack in which 1930s American country sensation Jimmie Rodgers, a yodeler suffering from tuberculosis, is offered a deal by the Devil to spare his life and make him an even greater success.
(This Jimmie Smith isnt to be confused with the similarly named 50s pop singer whose biggest hits were Honeycomb and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.)
His tempter, no ordinary hell-spirit, arrives in the person of couturier designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Her equally bizarre servant is actor Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, best known for silent-film versions of The Phantom Of The Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The theme of infernal temptation is one McCormack used in Haunted Hillbilly, adapted as a musical several years ago and later staged at SummerWorks.
The Show That Smells is playful and fun, which is what attracted us to it along with its outrageousness, says Garratt, artistic director at the Blyth Festival. At first we resisted staging it with puppets, but after thinking about other means of presenting the story we decided that puppets were the best way to capture the tales qualities.
What we realized, continues James-Smith, was that puppets allowed us to deal with lots of characters and also bring out the narratives campy element. Puppets can represent a character without having the audience focus on the actor the viewers imagination is caught up in a different way when the figures onstage arent live.
The pair manipulate all the characters, who include another designer, Coco Chanel, as Schiaparellis opponent, the protector of Rodgers soul. The two human characters, the singer and his wife, are marionettes, while the supernatural figures are puppets worked by rods and other means. The latter are made even more unusual by the addition of taxidermy eyes: Schiaparelli has those of a snake, while Chaneys are a frogs.
You dont need a history of the central characters to find the story compelling, though it adds richness to the material.
The tubercular Rodgers, one of the giants of country music, used to put designer French perfumes think Chanel No. 5 in his nose to take away the stench coming from his lungs.
Schiaparelli, notes Garratt, may not be a household name today but she loomed large in the early 20th centurys fashion industry. She designed crazy things like necklaces made of insects or hats that were shoes worn upside down on the head. Elsa also devised a gorgeous, subtle, A-line white dress with a giant lobster by Salvador Dali printed on it. Her work combined whimsy and a sense of danger.
Despite the surreal storyline’s absurdity, theres a serious note beneath the surface.
The play looks at the deal performers make with the Devil in order to go onstage, notes Garratt. In some way, the real-life Jimmy bargained with his illness so that he could continue singing.
When artists are out there creating and performing, there are so many possible elements of disaster its like playing with a black art, bargaining that everything will turn out successfully.
Theres also the element of stage fright, what it takes to get up in front of people night after night, adds James-Smith. What does it cost to expose your soul, to be metaphorically naked in front of an audience?
And it’s no surprise theres music in the show.
Weve drawn on a lot of Jimmys music, played live on guitar, banjo, accordion and a bucket for percussion, smiles Garratt.
Dont forget the yodelling, his partner reminds him. We have our own technique, something we call Gemma and Gils yodel mash-up.
