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Gracie Lawrence, who currently portrays the late Connie Francis in Broadway’s Just in Time, is mourning the late singer who died at 87 years old.
Lawrence, 28, shared a throwback black-and-white photo of Francis to her Instagram Stories on Thursday, July 17, hours after the news of Francis’ death first broke. “Rip Connie Francis,” the theater actress captioned to the photo. “Thank you for your voice and your resilience, which as you hoped, will absolutely be your legacy 🤍”
Francis — the singer best known for songs like “Pretty Little Baby” and “Who’s Sorry Now?” — had announced that she was hospitalized in Florida on July 2 due to “extreme pain” she had experienced. Though she had written on Facebook on July 4 that she was “feeling much better after a good night,” Ron Roberts — her friend and president of the record label Concetta Records — confirmed Francis’ death via Facebook in the early hours of Thursday, July 17.
“It is with a heavy heart and extreme sadness that i inform you of the passing of my dear friend Connie Francis last night,” Roberts wrote. “I know that Connie would approve that her fans are among the first to learn of this sad news. More details will follow later.”
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
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As part of her tribute to Francis, Lawrence also shared a video on Instagram of herself singing the 1968 hit song “Who’s Sorry Now?” at a performance in New York City’s Bryant Park.
“I’ve been a fan forever but this process has introduced me to so much about her life that has just made me an even deeper fan,” Lawrence said onstage in the video.
She added, “Connie Francis said that to know her voice is to know her, so even though I’m going to sing a Connie Francis song, I would implore all of you to go and listen to the real thing after. You’ll hear resilience and character and personality and humor and tenderness and strength. You can hear all of that in her voice, which she knew.”
Francis’ hit “Who’s Sorry Now?” is featured in the jukebox musical Just in Time, which Lawrence has been performing in with Jonathan Groff since April. The musical covers the life story of singer and songwriter Bobby Darin, who started his career writing songs for Francis; at one point the pair were romantically entangled.
Lawrence told PEOPLE in June that she “might be the craziest Connie Francis fan ever” while speaking about her role in the Broadway show.
“But I didn’t know her life story, I didn’t know about her relationship with her father or her relationship with Bobby Darin,” the actress continued, referring to the character portrayed by Groff. “And it’s such an honor to be able to play her every night on stage and depict that romance between her and Bobby, which was so beautiful and special. I am just so happy to be in her shoes, even for a moment.”
