Sign up for email newsletters
Sign up for email newsletters Fall Felt Garland
LATHAM, N.Y. — The biggest trend in Broadway musicals has been what is called the jukebox musical.
The most famous is “Jersey Boys,” a show which adds a dramatic story to the songs of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Next week Curtain Call Theatre in Latham opens “End of the Rainbow.” It’s a tale about Judy Garland. The title is a play on words concerning her most famous song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” It’s a song strongly identified with her from her performance in the 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.”
Directing “End of the Rainbow” is Philip Rice, who is emphatic that the show is NOT a juke box musical. In fact, he describes the show in the opposite extreme. “It’s pretty intense,” he says. Rather than use specific examples of the intensity he says, “Let’s just say, on an emotional level it’s not for the faint of heart.”
“End of the Rainbow” focuses on the last year of Garland’s life. She died in London in 1969. She was only 47 years old. The cause of death was “self-overdosage of barbiturates.” The conclusion was her death was not self-intended, but caused by a long history of dependency.
Rice says the play, which runs about two hours with an intermission, is an honest look at the legendary singer-actress. “People will see a different Judy Garland than they are used to.” He adds the show does not try to portray her a victim, nor as a misunderstood woman. “It’s honest,” he says, “maybe brutally so.”
“End of the Rainbow” reveals Garland’s problems and personality through two men in her life. One is her last husband Mickey Deans. He is a much younger man and his relationship with Garland is both protective and suspicious. His role is meant to permit the audience to understand the issues Garland had with her four other husbands and numerous lovers.
The other major male character is Anthony. He is her pianist and confidant. Garland had a history of marrying gay men and throughout her career was idolized by the Gay community. Anthony serves as a personal perspective as to the mutually loving relationship with that specific group of individuals. There is a third male actor who plays a variety of roles.
However, Rice insists the work totally depends on the work of the actor portraying Judy Garland. Indeed, in 2019 it was adapted into a film, “Judy,” starring Renee Zellweger who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal. At Curtain Call Garland is played by Jeannine Trimboli.
Last season, Rice performed as George Burns in a one man show at Curtain Call. He says based on that experience he told Trimboli he was not expecting or encouraging her to do an impersonation of Judy Garland. As with his approach to George Burns, he understood it is better to find the person rather than characteristics of the person.
“I told her she had total freedom as an actor to find the character. Here we are about to open and somehow, she has created this heart-breaking, funny, talented woman who eerily resembles the actual Judy Garland. She will take your breath away. She is that good.”
Which brings us full circle to the juke box musical description. Since the show does include about a dozen of Garland’s best-known songs, he didn’t ague too strongly about thinking of the work as a play with music.
Indeed, he says the musical interludes are not only beautiful and exciting to hear, they are important to understanding the character.
It’s his opinion that one of the singer’s greatest strengths was her way with lyrics. “She brought a powerful sense of passion to everything she did. You cannot hear one of her songs and not be moved by it.”
As a bonus the music brings a needed texture to the show about the final years of a woman’s sad life.
Christmas Tree Bows “End of the Rainbow” plays at Curtain Call Theatre at 1 Jeanne Jugan Lane in Latham from Sept. 7-24. Schedule and tickets theatre.curtaincall@gmail.com or call (518) 877-7529.