JULIE
SHEPPARD as JUDY GARLAND
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 Sheppard'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 Sheppard, 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, Sheppard
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…," prod:
Pink Sky Productions and The Actors Forum Theatre.
