Chautauqua Festival 2024 – Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot – performed by Karen Vuranch

HISTORY ALIVE 2024 – Through the Looking Glass  – Image or Truth? Hear their stories in their own words.

When you consider the difference between image and truth, the urban legend of Cass Elliot’s death from choking on a ham sandwich is not only false, but reinforces negative connotations.  Yes, she was overweight, but she possessed one of the most influential voices of the 1960’s.  As Lexi Pandell, author of a podcast episode, “Make Me Over: Fat Shaming in Rock and Pop”, states: “She stood out because of her charisma, her powerful and unique voice…. As a fat woman in an image obsessed industry, she paved the way for a new kind of celebrity and broke barriers despite how she looked. Then she became famous for it.” Her weight plagued her all her life and kept her from immediate acceptance into The Mamas and The Papas as John Phillips didn’t want her because of her looks.  Even after she was a “Mama”, Phillips never stopped insulting her both in the studio and on stage.  Ultimately, she redefined the concept of beauty and built a career on her phenomenal stage presence and powerful voice and paved the way for artists to come such as Adele and hip-hop artist Lizzo.

Karen Vuranch weaves together a love of history, a passion for stories and a sense of community.  Karen has toured throughout the US with her traditional storytelling and living history performances. She has toured Wales and England with Coal Camp Memories, a play she wrote from oral history collected in the West Virginia coalfields.  She also toured China in a storytelling exchange.  Karen brings history to life with historical interpretations of women from America’s past and her characters include Pearl Buck, Mother Jones, Belle Starr, Louella Parsons, and Julia Child.  She graduated from Ashland University with majors in Sociology and Theater and earned a Masters degree in humanities from Marshall University.  Karen recently retired as a faculty member and Theater Department director from Concord University.

Complete details at the Greenville Chautauqua website.