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REVIEWS
JUDY GARLAND— A NIGHT IN THE LIFE…
Actors Forum Theatre
Reviewed By Var Smith
In 1961, at the top of her game and enjoying her umpteenth triumphant comeback tour, Judy Garland walks into a little piano
bar and joins a "name the show tune" contest because she just happens to know the song is from an MGM musical. She is persuaded
by the engaging piano player to join the patrons to sing (and lift) a few. This simple premise is the beginning of a highly
entertaining evening, thanks to Julie's uncanny performance as Judy, as well as the artful direction of J.J. Griffin. Lorna
Luft may be singing the songs her mother taught her at a theatre in Beverly Hills, but Julie, who bears a remarkable resemblance
and has the vocal power and mannerisms of Judy, is also singing them all, "and we'll stay all night," in North Hollywood.
Julie aces Judy's signature songs—"Zing Went the Strings of My Heart," "Born in a Trunk," "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With
a Dixie Melody," and others—but it's the ballads and her banter with her talented co-star, Ron Snyder, "the piano man,"
that make us believe we're in the company of a genuine star. We feel the love, respect, and professional commitment they have
for each other, and they pull us willingly into their world. In one of the evening's best moments, Julie and Snyder sing Harold
Arlen's "The Man That Got Away" from "A Star Is Born." It appears they can identify with the lyrics. We can hear a pin drop
when Snyder plays Chopin's haunting "Fantasie Impromptu," the melody used for "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows." It's a subtle
salute to the other "rainbow song" Snyder has wisely chosen not to tackle. As Liza Minnelli said, "It's been sung." The intimacy
of the theatre, the warm set and atmospheric lighting by John Grant, add immeasurably to the evening. Judy may be gone, but
she will never be forgotten when she is in the loving and talented hands of Sheppard, accompanied by Snyder. To steal what
a critic said about Judy and Liza when he saw them at the London Palladium, "This was double pow!" "Judy Garland—A Night
in the Life…,"
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