Writer: Emma Dears
Musical Director: Francis Goodhand
Life wasn’t all that great for Judy Garland. Child star, serial marrier, drug addict. Behind the wide- eyed Hollywood starlet was a mixed-up woman putting on a showbiz smile. Perhaps because women in the industry were just a bit more savvy by the time her career kicked off, Liza Minelli had it a bit easier than her mom, although things didn’t go completely to plan.
Judy & Liza sets out to tell Judy and Liza’s often sad story through the songs they sang throughout their stellar careers, and while there’s lots of glam and sparkle, Charlie Chaplin’s lyrics Light up your face with gladness, hide every trace of sadness couldn’t be more pertinent. Both Emma Dears, who wrote the show and plays Liza, and Helen Sheals as Judy, deliver entertaining and convincing vocal tributes. They both have the ability to belt out classics like James V Monaco’s You Made Me Love You, Ralph Blane’s The Trolley Song (from Meet Me In St Louis), John Kander’s Cabaret, and, of course, Harold Arlen’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow and some lesser known songs that help move the narrative along.
It’s classic juke-box musical format, and there seems to be plenty of examples of life imitating art to be had here, but Judy & Liza relies far too heavily on the, albeit entertaining and convincing, vocal and physical performances of Dears and Sheals as Minelli and Garland and struggles to be much more. The story they attempt to weave through is little more than a series of dreary biographical facts, lacking any real drama and often awkwardly placed. A screen at the back of the stage showing photos of Garland and Minelli and other key players only adds to the feeling of an educational lecture, and with this in mind the scrappy set (a high stool, a redundant table, a travel trunk “full of memories” that promises much and delivers little) seems out of place.
There is much to enjoy here as a highly entertaining tribute concert. Helen Sheals has played Judy Garland in the musical Judy! in the West End and it’s easy to see why with her wonderfully rich, throaty delivery. Emma Dears not only has the perfectly powerful vocal delivery for Liza, she also skilfully inhabits her physically. Her rendition of Cabaret, complete with iconic Sally Bowles Mein Herr costume, is the highlight of the show. You could happily listen to songs like this all night. The rest is at best superfluous, at worst clunky.
Runs until 2nd June 2024
