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Janis and Tina rock out in Talent Kristen Calvin Tuesday Apr 17, 2018 at 7:17 PM Apr 17, 2018 at 7:18 PM By Jeffrey GillespieFor the Tidings Playing to a full house at the James Morrison Collier Theatre in Talent on Saturday night, Camelot’s production of “Spotlight On! ... Janis Joplin and Tina Turner” was a roaring success, a rollicking blast into 1960s feminist star power and the sexy stylings of two of the hottest performing artists of the 20th century, Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. Directed by Roy Von Rains Jr. and Shawn Ramagos, with music direction by Gwen Overland and a well-crafted and detailed script by emerging regional wordsmith Mig Windows, the show is a worthy entry into the company’s production run. As usual, the well-attended musical series with which Camelot populates its calendar in between their more detailed fully mounted productions was a huge hit with the assembled audience, thanks to strong musical talent from all sides, excellent production values, and an interesting historical perspective which for this production was provided with narration from the two performers but also with video projection of various interviews over the years with Tina and Janis. The two women only performed together once, but were admirers of one another from afar. These intimate insights into the lives of the two — as well as stellar performances from Kristen Calvin as Joplin and Jade A. Chavis as Turner — made for an evening that was well worth the price of admission. The show was split into two parts with Calvin and Chavis overlapping towards the end of Act One. The first half of the show was extremely well executed; Calvin, a staple on Rogue Valley stages, was at her poised and full-throated best as the seductive Joplin. With numerous hit songs including “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz” and “Ball and Chain,” Calvin owned the stage and wowed the audience with her excellent vocals and impassioned delivery. Her inflection and tone was as close to a perfect imitation of Joplin as I’ve ever seen. Calvin rocks around the stage with an unrelenting potency, outfitted in the ultimate crazy hippie ensemble, crowned with a wacky headpiece that is an obvious homage to Joplin’s weird millinery on the cover of “Pearl,” her second (and final) solo studio album from 1970. Calvin jumps and jives so much in her explosive performance that she loses pieces of her costume mid-melody; a necklace that is inadequate to the task lands on the floor during a particularly potent delivery. Calvin notices, stays focused and in character, while brightly booting the offending trinket to upstage right without losing her composure or flattening a note. She’s a hell of an entertainer, and this show solidifies her standing as a bona fide solo performer with chops to spare. As Turner, Jade Chavis is equally strong, dancing and singing her way into the hearts of the audience. Showing a lot of leg (as would Ms. Turner) and even more spunk, Chavis rockets her way through a series of old favorites from Turner, including “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Simply The Best” and, of course, “Proud Mary”, a hugely popular ballad originally written and performed by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. The song became Tina’s anthem in much the same way that Etta James owned “At Last,” or Aretha took the reins of “Natural Woman” away from Carole King. Tina’s background with Ike Turner, her abusive and controlling husband through 1978, is a significant theme of this section of the production. Where Janis was destroyed by heroin, Tina managed to escape her horrible marriage and go through a solo rebirth. Where Janis died of an overdose at the tender age of 27, Tina is still alive and well, pushing 80 and living in Switzerland. The show has been running since April 5 at Camelot at 101 Talent Ave. in Talent, and will continue to run through April 22. Based on the crowd I saw this past weekend, it’s pretty booked up, but if you’re a fan of either Joplin or Turner — each of whom were nicknamed “The Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” depending on which rock legends you choose to believe — and can find an extra seat, you should head to Camelot and decide for yourself who best deserves the crown. — Ashland resident Jeffrey Gillespie is a Tidings columnist, arts reviewer and freelance writer. Email him at [email protected].