MUSIC In Joplin, singer finds a kindred spirit

Katrina Chester portrays the late rock singer on stage.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- James Brown said it's a man's world.
As far as singer Katrina Chester is concerned, the godfather of soul was right. However, she's found a kindred soul in the spirit of Janis Joplin, with whom she's developed an intimate relationship over the last few years.
Sure, Joplin died 35 years ago, but Chester is portraying the firecracker of rock and blues in the theater production of "Love Janis," which runs Nov. 17 through Jan. 15 in Playhouse Square Center's Hannah Theatre.
"So much of her life is really parallel to mine," said Chester, during a phone call to her New York City home. "But it's really hard [to be a rock singer], and it's hard for really stupid and ignorant reasons because we're women."
For six years, Chester was the lead singer of rock band Luxx, which toured incessantly, opening for the likes of Godsmack, 3 Doors Down and Fuel. She said the experience opened her eyes to the chauvinistic business, which would discount a great show by saying the audience was responding to her breasts.
"The world just has a problem, I guess, with females being equal to men in rock 'n' roll, and I believe that Janis broke through that barrier," Chester said. "And to this day, I don't know if it would have lasted because her career was so short. Unfortunately, she passed away. "
From Courtney Love and Pat Benatar to female-lead outfits Heart, The Cranberries and most recently Evanescence, Chester points to a variety of female-based rock artists and bands enjoying pockets of success followed by obscurity with only Janis having longevity, albeit from the grave.
Forced to audition
As for Chester's role in "Love Janis," a friend literally forced her to audition for the 2002 off-Broadway production. She got the part and more. With only nine days to learn the voluminous dialogue and Joplin catalog, Chester was scared but remained up to the challenge. Soon, she grew into the role and closer to a lost and lonely soul from Port Arthur, Texas, named Janis.
"I really, really started digging it and realized that Janis was so much more than 'Piece of My Heart' and 'Me and Bobby McGee,'" Chester said. "All of the people I had known who weren't huge Janis fans were coming to see the show and were completely blown away. The show is put together so wonderfully. Everything is real that you're seeing."
"Love Janis" is inspired by the best-selling book of the same title composed by the singer's sister Laura Joplin, who focused on the letters that Janis wrote home to her family. Literally, the entire production is told in Janis' own words from correspondence or press interviews.
The two-woman production features an offstage Janis (Morgan Hallett) dealing with the ebb and flow of celebrity and an on-stage Janis giving fans what they remember.
Chester is the latter, providing memorable electric blues results.
"I'm the alter ego," Chester said. "I'm the crazy, wild [persona]. That's why I think they cast a real front person in this because it's a lot more believable. Half the stuff I say as Janis I already have said at one point in my life in interviews and stuff. And I'm not impersonating Janis. So, if you want to see somebody who is living the life of Janis Joplin, minus killing myself on drugs, then you want to come see the show."