JOPLIN ROARS

A legendary rock singer comes roaring back to life in A Night with Janis Joplin at Sonoma Arts Live.

Libby Oberlin

With elegant direction by Carl Jordan (also responsible for the psychedelic set), Libby Oberlin embraces the essence of Janis in Randy Johnson’s expertly-researched script, a stage version of what the film industry calls a “biopic.” It’s a biography as much as it is a rock concert. Big Brother & the Holding Company, Joplin’s San Francisco band, comes to life as well, with several ace musicians backing Oberlin at the front of the stage in Andrews Hall.

The Joplinaires

The show’s onstage musicians are an amalgam of Big Brother, the Kosmic Blues Band, and the Full Tilt Boogie Band, Joplin’s ensembles after she left Big Brother. They include a great three-piece horn section, with four powerful female singers (Aja Gianola, Jeffrie Givens, Safira McGrew, and Skylaer Palacios) adding substantially to the affair. These performers take the roles of singers who influenced Joplin as she grew up in Port Arthur, Texas: Nina Simone, Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and the Chantelles, among others. Every impression is dead-on and riveting.

Libby Oberlin and the Joplinaires

But it’s Oberlin’s embodiment of the title character that really hits home. In a huge tousled and extremely realistic wig by Roxie Johnson, Oberlin drinks, dances, and tells Janis’s story in an authentic whisky-tinged South Texas accent, segueing into many hits including “Ball and Chain,” “Down on Me,”  “Piece of My Heart,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” and “Summertime.” The stage band’s compellingly off-tempo and slightly off-key rendition of the Gershwin classic is a great approximation of the original Big Brother version that graced their best-selling late-‘60s album Cheap Thrills. Lead guitarist Jonathan Bretan is phenomenally good. He sounds and looks authentic to the era. Amazingly, Gianola doubles as the show’s music director.

Libby Oberlin and Jonathan Bretan

A combination lightshow and photo collage runs on a screen above the stage, beautifully rendered by projection designer Nick Wass. Many images of Janis are candid, unposed black-and-white photos. Seatmate Bernie Kepke, a former professional photographer and one-time manager of Country Joe & the Fish, commented that the photos reveal the era’s appealing innocence. So much about current pop culture is riddled with cynicism and irony, a recurring problem for stage and film directors trying to put an authentic spin on a bygone but beautiful era.

Libby Oberlin

A Night with Janis Joplin is a high-energy ride from the opening note to Joplin’s heartfelt adieu. Costume designer Kate Leland reports that the show is almost entirely sold out. Grab your tickets while you still can.

photos by Miller Oberlin

A Night with Janis Joplin
Sonoma Arts Live
Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 East Napa St. in Sonoma
Thurs-Sat at 7:30; Sun at 2
ends on September 21, 2025
for tickets ($25-$42), call 707.484.4874 or visit Sonoma Arts

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Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle.