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Last night I had the pleasure of attending a preview performance of "Souvenir," a play based on the life of the singer Florence Foster Jenkins. What was her claim to fame? Her Wikipedia article sums it up best: Florence Foster Jenkins (July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American soprano who became famous for her complete lack of rhythm, pitch, tone, and overall singing ability.That assessment doesn't even begin to convey the sheer ear-bleeding awfulness of her voice. Have a cocktail and then listen to this sample . Really. You have to. I'll wait. That voice — that one! — packed 'em in for regular recitals at the Ritz-Carlton ballroom and other venues in Manhattan for thirty-two years. That voice inspired Cole Porter to compose a song for it (he never missed a recital). That voice counted Enrico Caruso among its admirers. That voice sold out Carnegie Hall in 1944; three thousand fans crowded in and left two thousand more fans outside. You listen to that voice, and you ponder those facts, and you're left with one question: WTF? There are two competing schools of thought: -Florence fooled the audience: Her career was an elaborate 32-year joke. "Lady Florence" (as she signed her autographs) was a trailblazing performance artist and the most dedicated comedian ever; Andy Kaufman was a dilettante by comparison. She was assisted in the shtick by her manager and alleged lover, the actor St. Clair Bayfield, and her accompanist, the improbably named Cosme McMoon. -The audience fooled Florence: She sailed through her entire career blissfully unaware of her own incompetence, protected from reality by fiercely loyal society friends, artistic collaborators who went along for the ride, fans who knew their good times would end if she ever caught them laughing, and her own indomitable cluelessness. I tend toward the latter school, and I have my own supporting theory about why everyone humored and protected Lady Florence for three decades: 2(a). The gays did it. It's never easy to determine sexual orientation in the fog of pre-Stonewall misdirection and euphemism, but I theorize the following: . Lady Florence and her society friends probably knew it, or at least knew she was safe with him. The two lived together for 36 years. Despite his claims to be her lover, would this proper matron truly have lived in sin for more than three decades? The glass-closeted gay "squire" was a common figure in New York society up to the time of Truman Capote. I say Bayfield made up the story of being her common-law husband so he could sue Florence's cousins for a share of her estate. -Cosme McMoon was extremely gay. He was an amateur bodybuilder at a time when bodybuilding was a convenient cover and a good way to meet guys. His bathhouse clerking job was kind of a giveaway too. -Lady Florence's fan base was gayer than a treeful of goddamn monkeys. Cole Porter, Gian Carlo Menotti, and proto-Gaga female drag queen Tallulah Bankhead were among her ardent admirers. Bayfield described Florence's audience as "lonely women and artistic men." Do you need a translation? Florence was an early camp hit.

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