End of the Rainbow

End of the Rainbow, at Broadway's Belasco Theatre
Gratuitous Violins rating: ** out of ****

I'm old enough to remember when The Wizard of Oz was a highly anticipated television event. Before VCRs, that was the way to see it and it only happened once a year. (Those flying monkeys still freak me out.)

As an adult, I saw Judy Garland in a couple of other movies. I knew the basics: her many marriages, her children, how she'd become hooked on drugs and alcohol and died too young. But the image planted in my brain was Dorothy Gale - a teenager in pigtails with a cute little dog, dreaming of a life beyond her Kansas farm.

So watching British actress Tracie Bennett portray Garland at the end of her life in End of the Rainbow was devastating. Bennett is delivering an amazing performance as a vulnerable, difficult woman in the throes of addiction. Unfortunately the play, by Peter Quilter, is not as good as she is. She and Garland deserve better.

End of the Rainbow takes place mainly in a room at the Ritz Hotel in London in 1968. Garland, accompanied by her fiance Mickey Deans, played by Tom Pelphrey, is poised to give a series of concerts in hopes of making another comeback. Michael Cumpsty is Anthony, a pianist who's helping her prepare and who also represents Garland's legion of gay fans.

The interaction between the three of them is wrenching. Bennett's Garland is demanding and impulsive and stubborn. Pelphrey's Deans grows more and more frustrated as he tries to ensure she's in good enough shape to sing because they desperately need the money. Cumpsty's Anthony is protective of Garland and wary of Deans' motives.

Bennett is riveting but some of the things that Quilter has her do in the play seemed over the top. We know Garland is a mess. We know she's self-destructive, that she needs alcohol and pills to help her get through a concert. Unfortunately, there's a point at which all of this becomes so degrading that it felt exploitative.

I wish the play had offered more insight into Garland's life, how she reached this point. There are a few hints in the dialogue. She mentions the pills that she and other young performers were given at MGM to help them get through a grueling filming schedule. I wanted more details like that and less dwelling on the train wreck, no matter how well Bennett portrays it.

Cumpsty is appealing as Anthony, who truly cares about her and watches what's going on with dismay. At one point Deans accuses Garland's gay fans of showering her with more adulation the  more pathetic she grows, as if they were were responsible for her decline. Maybe it was the character and not the playwright speaking but that was unfair.

The way Bennett's Garland manages to pull herself together during the concert scenes was a highlight for me. You got a glimmer of what a captivating performer she'd been, her is evident. Listening to her sing "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis, her youthful voice now raspy, was heartbreaking.

Judy Garland was defined by her early film roles - and perhaps trapped by them, too. I'll admit I was teary hearing "Over the Rainbow." I know there have been other child actors whose lives have ended sadly but maybe because The Wizard of Oz was part of my childhood, this one felt saddest of all.

Rachel and Kurt, Barbra and Judy

I really enjoyed the duets on Glee last night, especially Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) singing "Happy Days Are Here Again" and "Get Happy." It was so beautiful. You can watch their performance here.

But clueless me, I had no idea they were paying tribute to an iconic duet by Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, from Garland's short-lived TV show.

The program was taped on Oct. 4, 1963, and CBS executives were so impressed they edited it quickly and broadcast it two days later. Streisand ended up receiving an Emmy nomination.

In 1991, she recalled:

"Extraordinary talent went into the making of this show. The director was Norman Jewison, the musical director was Mort Lindsey and Mel Torme did special musical material. There's also a brief visit by the wonderful Ethel Merman — but most of all there was Judy Garland. Miraculous ... soulful ... divine ... Singing these duets with her was sheer bliss. I was 21 years old."

Stepping into Judy Garland's slippers

Last week I wrote about how I'd love to see Anne Hathaway in a musical - and now it looks like I'll get that chance. The Oscar nominee is going to play Judy Garland in movie and stage versions of the biography Get Happy, by Gerald Clarke.

The rights have been scooped up by The Weinstein Company, and Harvey Weinstein told Variety that Hathaway "will be a true class act in this challenging role." He said Clarke's biography "is particularly outstanding because of its exclusive details from her [Garland's] own writings."

I'm not quite sure how it will work. Will they make the movie first and release it simultaneously with a stage version? The only thing remotely resembling this is when Kevin Spacey did a concert tour singing Bobby Darin songs to promote his biopic Beyond the Sea.

I'm assuming Weinstein is planning a full stage production, which isn't a bad idea. You'll get twice the buzz. People who like Hathaway as Judy Garland in a movie will probably want to see her on stage as Garland. Didn't the movie of Chicago gave the Broadway show a boost?

Now, I think Anne Hathaway can do just about anything. Supposedly, she's always wanted to make a musical and this is her dream role. But one possible roadblock: according to the Hollywood Reporter, she has about eight inches on Garland, who was barely 5 feet tall.

Of course, Philip Seymour Hoffman was a lot taller than Truman Capote, too. And he did fine in the movie Capote, winning an Oscar for his performance. Although it's easier to mask that height difference in a movie than it is on stage.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Has Judy Garland ever looked lovelier than she does in Meet Me in St. Louis? And does my completely unbiased opinion have anything to do with the fact she plays a character whose first name is Esther? Please, I'm not that shallow. Or maybe I am.

It was kind of a cool experience to watch a movie in which my name is featured so prominently. And I don't think I'd ever seen this classic 1944 musical before, other than a brief clip of the "The Trolley Song." It was a revelation - I loved it but it was more serious than I imagined.

On Turner Classic Movies, host Robert Osborne described Meet Me in St. Louis as a holiday film. While it does partly take place during Christmas, I don't know whether I'd really call it a Christmas movie. Some of the scenes and plot twists were a bit dark.

For some reason, I was expecting all lightness and fluff with lots of holiday cheer. I thought it would be more like a Midwestern version of Life with Father: the patriarch who rules the roost with a stern but loving hand and is usually clueless about what's going on, a wise and all-knowing mother, a gaggle of kids and a few quirky, colorful supporting characters. Okay, there's some of that.

Garland plays Esther Smith, one of five high-spirited children - four girls and a boy - in an affluent St. Louis family at the turn of the 20th century. As the movie opens, it's summer and everyone (well almost) is traipsing around singing "Meet Me in St. Louis" as they eagerly anticipate the 1904 World's Fair that will open the next spring.

When their lawyer father, Alonzo, played by Leon Ames, announces that the firm is transferring him to New York and they'll be leaving St. Louis after Christmas - everyone in the family is crushed. They'll leave behind sweethearts and friends and familiar places and most of all - they'll miss the World's Fair.

Garland's character has fallen for the boy who's just moved in next door, John Truett, played by a very sweet and affable Tom Drake. And when I say fall, I mean, she practically throws herself at him. They have a scene together where she asks his help to extinguish the (gas?) lamps in the house that's wow, kind of sexy in a 1940s censorship kind of way.

According to Osborne's introduction, Garland rebelled against MGM's decision to cast her in the movie. At age 22, she didn't want to play another teenage role. But director Vincente Minnelli, who was soon to be Garland's second husband, convinced her that if they did the movie right it would be a big hit for her - and it was.

The first thing that struck me was how absolutely gorgeous this movie looks - even on my 24-inch tv watching a musical shot in glorious Technicolor is amazing. Everything is so lush and the deeply saturated colors jump out at you - from the red and green of the evening gowns worn by Garland and her sister Rose, played by Lucille Bremer, to Garland's voluminous, shiny auburn hair. It just looks so different than most movies you see today.

I really enjoyed the musical numbers - especially the lively way Minnelli films two dance scenes - one at the beginning of the movie during a goodbye party for the girls' brother, who's heading off to Princeton, and one at the end, during the big Christmas ball. And it's a delight to watch Garland sing "The Trolley Song" as she moves among all the other passengers on the car.

I have to admit, though, my 21st-century sensibilities made me cringe at a couple of things. An absolutely adorable 7-year-old Margaret O'Brien plays Tootie, the youngest member of the family, and when we first see her, she's riding around the neighborhood with the ice delivery man. Did that bother anyone else?

And then there's a pretty scary Halloween scene, where Tootie, out trick-or-treating, has to knock on some stranger's door and throw flour in his face when he answers. The night ends with her coming home bloodied and sobbing that John Truett attacked her. (When in reality, he was trying to save her after a dangerous prank.) Maybe it just seems more ominous today, but a 7-year-old knocking on a stranger's door? Falsely accusing someone of attacking you? Whoa.

One of the most famous songs from the movie, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," is sung by Garland to O'Brien and it's very bittersweet, almost mournful. From what I've read, composer Hugh Martin modified the lyrics to make the tune a little more upbeat. But it's hard to feel lighthearted when you watch Esther sing it to her little sister, thinking that this will be their last Christmas in St. Louis.

Still, Meet Me in St. Louis is a Hollywood movie so in the back of my mind, I knew that there was always a chance for one of those happy Hollywood endings.

Meet Me in St. Louis is December's Musical of the Month at the Film Experience Blog, hosted by Nathaniel. So head on over for some different perspectives, or to join the discussion.

Judy and Me

When I had the pleasure of meeting Gabriel from Modern Fabulousity, he mentioned in passing Nathaniel, a freelance writer who blogs at The Film Experience.

So I've been checking out his blog and I'm just in time for Musicals Month! Everyone watches the same movie and writes something about it on their blog. Nathaniel will publish his post on Saturday and link to everyone else. Sounds like fun, huh?! I'm all for blogothons.

This month's musical is 1944's Meet Me in St. Louis, starring Judy Garland as a turn-of-the century Midwestern girl, and directed by her soon-to-be husband, Vincente Minnelli.

I've never seen the movie, but I just checked it out on the Internet Movie Database, and Garland plays a character whose first name is Esther! How often does that happen in a musical? Not too often, I bet.

According to Nathaniel, Meet me in St. Louis will air on Turner Classic Movies Friday at 8 p.m. So I'll set the DVR and hopefully I can think of something reasonably intelligent to add to the discussion!