19,651 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on May 4, 2016 16:48:25 GMT
"Set primarily during the filming of The Judy Garland Show in 1963, Through the Mill chronicles the production difficulties behind the scenes, intercut with the young Judy Garland’s rise to fame through MGM in the 1930s, and her triumphant sell-out concert engagement at the Palace Theatre in the early 1950s. Illustrating why Judy Garland was, and continues to be, one of the great legends of show business history, Through the Mill goes beyond the rainbow, and explores the life of a woman destined for greatness; as loved today as she was when she first made her way along the yellow brick road. For both audiences new to Garland’s extensive back catalogue in the world of film and music, as well as the true Judy aficionado, here is an honest, entertaining and moving portrait of a legend; as courageous, determined, sincere and funny as she was memorably tragic. The show features a hit list of Judy Garland favourites, including The Trolley Song,The Man That Got Away and Over the Rainbow, with a sixteen strong company of actor musicians, and a cast headed by three actresses playing the legend herself. The three actresses from the original run will reprise their roles at Southwark Playhouse. Helen Sheals (Downton Abbey) plays CBS Judy, native Australian Belinda Wollaston plays Palace Judy, and newcomer Lucy Penrose plays Young Judy." southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/through-the-mill/ |
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19,651 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 8, 2016 17:14:16 GMT
Opens next month. Surprised that none of our "friends of Dorothy" are going..... I might pop down for a matinee  After Lisa in Over The Rainbow I need more Judy!  |
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3,057 posts
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Post by ali973 on Jun 8, 2016 17:29:01 GMT
How many Judy Gardland plays do we need?
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571 posts
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Post by westendwendy on Jun 9, 2016 15:32:52 GMT
How many Judy Gardland plays do we need? Obviously for the queens, showgirls and west end Wendy's not enough!!! |
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134 posts
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Post by spendleb on Jun 9, 2016 15:40:13 GMT
and it's the Southwark, my fave venue!!
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631 posts
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Post by ncbears on Jul 10, 2016 8:43:19 GMT
What seating recommendations. It is in the three sided layout and upper rows are sold for monday
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6 posts
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Post by kentwilliam on Jul 10, 2016 8:53:41 GMT
Sat in B17 yesterday. Seats excellent. The show was fantastic, especially for £20. Theatre not very full though - hopefully attendance will improve following positive reviews and word of mouth.
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1,475 posts
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Post by Steve on Jul 10, 2016 23:11:04 GMT
Saw the Saturday matinee of this, and enjoyed it loads. Loved Young Judy!
Some spoilers follow. . .
Anyone who saw "End of the Rainbow," with Tracie Bennett, will know that it felt like that WAS Judy Garland! The drama of her final days, interspersed with her astonishing singing, was incredibly moving.
So this Judy Garland show had a LOT to live up to, for me. I worried that by offering three Judys for the price of one, it might be too diluted a show to really hit my emotional spot, and that the memory of Bennett's terrific performance would diminish my enjoyment of this.
To a degree, my fears hit home, as indeed, the renditions here of mid-career-Judy (Belinda Wollaston) and end-career-Judy (Helen Sheals) do not hit home as hard as Bennett's Judy hit me, as the former is underwritten, and the latter hasn't quite got Bennett's pipes.
But oh-my-goodness, Lucy Penrose's Young Judy hits every spot and then some. She is graced with the hardest hitting story of the three, in that her godawful mother is something out of "Mommie Dearest," and not only is she persecuted horrendously by this tyrant, she is sold into slavery to Louis B. Mayer at MGM, only be to called a "hunchback" by him, and threatened that he'll replace her with the prettier Shirley Temple. By the time she brands herself a "fat freckled ugly hunchback," I was so taken with the melodrama that I wanted to jump on stage and punch the producer! Penrose performs Young Judy with astounding authenticity, those elastic stick arms bouncing up and down with all the jubilation of the original, the vibrato in her voice as buoyant as her arms and legs.
Young Judy's story is also enhanced by the tender performance of Tom Elliot Reade as Roger Edens, Judy's protector, and by the fierce performance of Amanda Bailey, as her monstrous mother, Ethel Gumm.
The only thing I could have asked for more would have been a full performance of my joint favourite Garland song, "I Don't Care," which unfortunately is consigned to a medley late in the show. Still, this story of Young Judy, and her tensions with her studio and parents, makes the price of admission worth it, in and of itself.
Yet, there is much also to enjoy in the two other tales of Judy, that are intercut with it:
Belinda Wollaston, as Mid Career Judy, whose story of fighting and falling for pills and Sid Luft is a bit thin, is nonetheless a terrific singer, and has a serious belt that the other two Judys lack.
And Helen Sheals, as Older Judy, is a terrific actor, offering a subtle nuanced performance of the woman whose need, for the approval of absolutely everyone, never went away to her dying day. Older Judy also has a good story, which deals with her year headlining a TV show, "The Judy Garland Show," in which she is warned that her neediness and her tactile nature, are coming across on telly, and putting off audiences, the one thing she fears most.
While the diffuse nature of the show, constantly cutting between three different stories, means that overall the show is less punchy than it might be, it is nonetheless excellent value, for it's look at the incredible Judy Garland's full career span, for the songs, for the drama, but most of all for bringing Lucy Penrose's vibrant Young Judy into the vivid now.
4 stars 
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