Three Obsessions In Three Minutes

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my obsession with Tim Curry—and of the profound influence he had on the creation of Josephine. In this video, I present highlights from my video chats with Tim, interwoven with a home recording of Josephine performing “Fanfare” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

A fascinating detail: the voice of Dr. Frank-N-Furter was inspired by a group of rather "posh" women Tim once encountered on a bus. He described their accents as caricatured. Josephine is my interpretation of how I imagine those women might have sounded. Their voices may well have been higher-pitched, but Josephine is an older woman who has unapologetically denied the aging process—with the help if plastic surgery. She is the million dollar woman!

I chose to sing in a lower register for two reasons:

1. I am an alto, and my upper range is limited.
2. I wanted to channel the rich, resonant depth associated with Bea Arthur to better reflect Josephine’s intended age and presence.

The video concludes with a special cameo from my cat, Tiptoe. I adore my character Josephine, I deeply admire Tim Curry, and I cherish my cats. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I enjoyed creating it.