If one were to say Metuchen native Jody Joseph has multiple personalities, they would mean it in the best way possible.
One side of the award-winning singer, songwriter and teacher takes on the persona of the iconic Janis Joplin — the Texas tornado who so briefly and decisively tore across the musical landscape of the late 1960s, schooling the peace-and-love generation in the meaning of the blues.
On the opposite end of the stylistic spectrum, she becomes Stevie Nicks — the California curiosity-shop coquette with an elf-queen persona.
Ask Joseph what these rock doyennes have in common, and she’ll tell you “absolutely nothing.”
On closer investigation, however, the long-gone Joplin and the still-touring Nicks share a very real bond — one that goes by the name of Jody Joseph.
Joseph’s musical pedigree is notable. Her family tree includes cousins Jon Bon Jovi and the American tenor Mario Lanza.
In addition, she was honored as the “Living Legend 2009” from the Asbury Music Awards.
On the evening of April 27, Joseph and her band — Jon “Huey” Tatlow, B. Jay Willis, Robert Kipp, Jon Rotman, Johnna Orrico and Liz Pesche — are set to take the stage of another Shore-area venue, the Strand Center for the Arts, for a special concert presentation entitled “One Diva- One Legend-One Woman.”
A newly revised edition of a show that was first seen at Asbury Park’s Paramount Theatre in 2009, the performance is a threepart concert that presents the versatile vocalist in character as Nicks in the first act and Joplin in the third.
In the center of the program — and at the heart of this labor of love — stands Jody Joseph herself, with her own original songs.
“I’ve done Janis songs and Stevie songs for years, but I never thought of doing a whole show around either one,” Joseph said, adding that she “didn’t want to spend a whole night being other people” without a chance to show how those artists have influenced her own work.
“My biggest fear is that when I’m wearing the Stevie boots, I’ll spin right off the edge of the stage into the VIP seats,” she said.
“One Diva-One Legend-One Woman” is set for April 27 at 8 p.m. at the Strand Center for the Arts, 400 Clifton Ave., Lakewood. Regular tickets are $20, and $40 provides a VIP experience, including a buffet dinner at the Strand Gallery Ballroom.
Contact the Strand’s box office for information and tickets at strand.org, or call 732-730-5925.