End of the Rainbow

Last updated
Playbill for End of the Rainbow on Broadway Playbill for End of the Rainbow on Broadway.jpg
Playbill for End of the Rainbow on Broadway
End of the Rainbow
Written by Peter Quilter
Characters Judy Garland
Anthony
Mickey Deans
Concierge
Stage Manager
BBC Announcer
Date premiered2005
Place premiered Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Australia
Original languageEnglish
SubjectThe last months of Judy Garland's life
GenreDrama / Musical
SettingLondon, December 1968

End of the Rainbow is a musical drama by Peter Quilter, which focuses on Judy Garland in the months leading up to her death in 1969. After a premiere in Sydney, Australia in 2005, the show has played on the West End in London and a Broadway production opened at the Belasco Theatre in 2012. The award-winning 2019 film Judy starring Renée Zellweger is a screen adaptation of the play for which Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Garland.

Contents

Synopsis

Judy Garland is staying in London, along with young new fiancé Mickey Deans and loyal friend and pianist Anthony, preparing for her five-week run of shows at The Talk of the Town. Garland hopes that her act will help her maintain her star profile, especially considering a recent string of bad press against her. However, she still struggles with both her drug addictions and her strained relationships with the men around her.

Production history

End of the Rainbow evolved from an earlier Peter Quilter play entitled Last Song of the Nightingale which had starred Tracie Bennett as a fictitious past-her-prime diva: premièring as a London fringe production in the spring of 2001, Last Song... had encored (with Bennett) in 2003 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and also Off West End. Although Quilter would state the play's protagonist was a gender-switch on an alcoholic male cruise ship performer of the playwright's acquaintance, [1] Last Song... would be viewed by theater-goers and critics - and its star Tracie Bennett - as a theatrical Judy Garland roman à clef: [1] [2] [3] Quilter eventually decided to revise his original play to overtly focus on Garland, with the resultant End of the Rainbow premièring in August 2005 at the Sydney Opera House in Australia with Caroline O’Connor as Garland, [4] a role O'Connor reprised first in a May 2006 production at the Theatre Royal, Sydney [5] and then at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival engagement of End of the Rainbow in August 2006. [6] O'Connor won three Best Actress awards for her performances.

End of the Rainbow was then performed from February 5–20, 2010 at Northampton's Royal & Derngate Theatre. This production was directed by Terry Johnson and starred Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland, with Hilton McRae as Anthony and Stephen Hagan as Mickey Deans. [7] End of the Rainbow ran in the West End from 16 November 2010 to 21 May 2011 at Trafalgar Studios, starring Tracie Bennett. [8] [9] The West End production received nominations for four Olivier Awards, including Best Actress for Bennett, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for McRae and Best New Play. The show then toured in the UK from 25 August and ending in December 2011 at Richmond Theatre. . [6]

End of the Rainbow had its American premiere at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, running from January 28 to March 11, 2012. Directed by Terry Johnson, Tracie Bennett repeated her role as Garland. [10] The play opened on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre on March 19, 2012 in previews and officially on April 2. In addition to Bennett, the cast featured Michael Cumpsty as Anthony, Tom Pelphrey as Mickey Deans, and Jay Russell. [9] [11] Bennett and Cumpsty received Tony Award nominations for their performances. Bennett also received the Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. The show ran 176 performances on Broadway and subsequently played a critically acclaimed season at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

End of the Rainbow (Al final del arcoíris) premiered in Madrid, January 2011, at the Teatro Marquina with Natalia Dicenta as Judy Garland, Miguel Rellán as Anthony and Javier Mora as Mickey Deans.

End of the Rainbow (El final del arcoíris) was premièred in Mexico City on 29 May 2015, at the Foro Cultural Coyoacanense Hugo Argüelles, with Alejandra Desiderio starring as Judy Garland, José Antonio López Tercero as Anthony and Mario Sepúlveda as Mickey Deans directed by Rosa Alicia Delain and is a production of Re-Crea Teatro under the supervision of Alis Ortega and Fernanda Prado. There was a revival at Foro Shakespeare in 2016 and another revival at Teatro Rafael Solana in 2018.

Leading actresses

There have been productions of the show in Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Kraków, Prague, Sofia, Rotterdam and Helsinki. New productions played in the 2013–14 season in Christchurch, Rome, Klagenfurt, Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Milwaukee.

Musical numbers

Recording

End of the Rainbow
End of the Rainbow album.jpg
Studio album by
Tracie Bennett
ReleasedJanuary 31, 2011
Genre Showtunes

A cast recording of the London production was released on January 31, 2011 by Angel Recording Studios featuring Tracie Bennett's renditions of both the play's songs and other Garland numbers. [13]

Track listing

All tracks performed by Tracie Bennett, unless noted.

No.TitleLength
1."I Can't Give You Anything but Love / Just in Time" (Medley) 
2."I Could Go On Singing" 
3."Smile" 
4."The Bells Are Ringing for Me and My Girl / You Made Me Love You / The Trolley Song" (Medley) 
5."Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" 
6."The Man That Got Away" 
7."Come Rain or Come Shine" 
8."When You're Smiling" 
9."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 
10."San Francisco" 
11."When the Sun Comes Out" 
12."Get Happy / By Myself" (Medley) 
13."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (Piano solo by Simon Lee) 

Awards and nominations

4 Olivier Award nominations in London's West End in 2011 - Best New Play, Best Actress, Best Sound, and Best Supporting Actor. [14]

Original Broadway production

YearAward ceremonyCategoryNomineeResult
2012 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Tracie Bennett Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Michael Cumpsty Nominated
Best Sound Design of a Play Gareth Owen Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Play Tracie BennettWon
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a PlayWon

Related Research Articles

Judy Garland American actress and singer (1922–1969)

Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. She is widely known for playing the role of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). With a career spanning 45 years, she attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received an Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award. Garland was the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, which she won for her 1961 live recording titled Judy at Carnegie Hall.

<i>Company</i> (musical) 1970 musical comedy

Company is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth. The original 1970 production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, winning six. Company lacks a linear plot, depicting instead a story occurring in the mind of the central character, a concept musical composed of short vignettes, presented in no particular chronological order, linked by a 35th birthday.

Renée Zellweger American actress

Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. She was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007.

<i>Mame</i> (musical)

Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and a 1956 Broadway play, by Lawrence and Lee. A period piece set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.

<i>A Chorus Line</i> Musical by Marvin Hamlisch

A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante.

<i>The Judy Garland Show</i> American television series

The Judy Garland Show is an American musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963–1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found success with several television specials featuring the star. Garland, who for years had been reluctant to commit to a weekly series, saw the show as her best chance to pull herself out of severe financial difficulties. Despite it being cancelled relatively early on, it is now revered and considered an important piece of television history.

<i>The Boy from Oz</i> Australian 1998 musical about Peter Allen

The Boy from Oz is a jukebox musical based on the life of singer and songwriter Peter Allen, featuring songs written by him. The book commissioned for the musical is by Nick Enright, based on Stephen MacLean's 1996 biography of Allen. Premiering in Australia in 1998 starring Todd McKenney, a revised version of the musical, written by Martin Sherman, opened on Broadway in 2003, with Hugh Jackman in the title role.

Judy Kuhn American actress and singer

Judy Kuhn is an American actress and singer, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

<i>Babes on Broadway</i> 1941 film by Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley

Babes on Broadway is a 1941 American musical film starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and directed by Busby Berkeley, with Vincente Minnelli directing Garland's big solo numbers. The film, which features Fay Bainter and Virginia Weidler, was the third in the "Backyard Musical" series about kids who put on their own show, following Babes in Arms (1939) and Strike Up the Band (1940). Songs in the film include "Babes on Broadway" by Burton Lane (music) and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg (lyrics), and "How About You?" by Lane with lyrics by Ralph Freed, the brother of producer Arthur Freed. The movie ends with a minstrel show performed by the main cast in blackface.

Nicole Parker American actress and singer, born 1978

Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress, comedian, writer, podcaster, and singer. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.

Judy Kaye is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime, Mamma Mia!, and Nice Work If You Can Get It.

Tracie Bennett is an English stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in Coronation Street from 1982 to 1984, returning to the role in 1999 and again in 2021.

Michael Cumpsty is a British actor. He has been acting since childhood. He has worked extensively performing Shakespeare, as well as both musicals and dramas on Broadway. He also performs in films and on television.

<i>Babes in Arms</i> (film) 1939 film by Busby Berkeley

Babes in Arms is the 1939 American film version of the 1937 coming-of-age Broadway musical of the same title. Directed by Busby Berkeley, it stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and features Charles Winninger, Guy Kibbee, June Preisser, Grace Hayes, and Betty Jaynes. The film concerns a group of youngsters trying to put on a show to prove their vaudevillian parents wrong and make it to Broadway. The original Broadway script was significantly revamped, restructured, and rewritten to accommodate Hollywood's needs. Almost all of the Rodgers and Hart songs from the Broadway musical were discarded.

Liliane Montevecchi French-Italian actress and entertainer

Liliane Montevecchi was a French-Italian actress, dancer, and singer.

Peter Quilter English playwright

Peter Quilter is a West End and Broadway playwright whose plays have been translated into 30 languages and performed in over 40 countries. He is best known for his Broadway play End of the Rainbow, which was adapted for the Oscar-winning film Judy (2019), starring Renée Zellweger. He is also author of the West End comedy "Glorious!" about the amateur opera singer Florence Foster Jenkins. Peter has twice been nominated for the Olivier Award and his Broadway debut was nominated for 3 Tony Awards.

Caroline OConnor (actress) Australian actress and singer (born 1962)

Caroline Ann O'Connor is a Helpmann Award-winning, Olivier Award-nominated Anglo-Australian singer, dancer and actress. For her theatre work she has won three Helpmann Awards: Best Female Actor in a Play for Edith Piaf in Piaf in 2001 and the same category for Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in 2006, and Best Female Actor in a Musical for Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes in 2015.

<i>Judy</i> (film) 2019 film by Rupert Goold

Judy is a 2019 biographical drama film based on the life of American actress Judy Garland. Directed by Rupert Goold, it is an adaptation of the Olivier- and Tony-nominated West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter. The film stars Renée Zellweger as Garland, with Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon in supporting roles.

Darci Louise Shaw is an English actress.

References

  1. 1 2 "Playwright Peter Quilter finds the pot of gold at the end of Garland's gay rainbow".
  2. "Review: End of the Rainbow - Mid Sussex Times". www.midsussextimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-07-22.
  3. "Tracie Bennett: Interviewed September 2003".
  4. Hallett, Bruce." 'End of the Rainbow', Ensemble Theatre, Opera House, August 4; Garland's last days come alive" smh.com.au, August 6, 2005
  5. Doran, Siobhán."'End of The Rainbow' " Archived 2006-08-25 at the Wayback Machine SydneyStage.com.au, 8 May 2006
  6. 1 2 Girvan, Andrew.Bennett Is Garland Again, End of the Rainbow Tours" Archived 2011-06-27 at the Wayback Machine whatsonstage.com, 23 June 2011
  7. "Judy Garland drama shows her battle with drugs" BBC.com, February 10, 2010
  8. Staff. " 'End of the Rainbow' Starring Olivier Winner Tracie Bennett Extends West End Run" Broadway.com, January 7, 2011
  9. 1 2 Healy, Patrick. End of the Rainbow' Producers Aim for Broadway" The New York Times , artsbeat.blogs, April 19, 2011
  10. "Guthrie Theater Announces 2011-2012 Season" Archived 2011-07-03 at the Wayback Machine GuthrieTheater.org, accessed March 19, 2012
  11. Hetrick, Adam."Stormy Weather": End of the Rainbow Begins Broadway Run March 19 at the Belasco Theatre" Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine Playbill.com, March 19, 2012
  12. Garland Archived 2012-01-21 at the Wayback Machine filipelaferia.pt, accessed March 19, 2012 (in Portuguese)
  13. "'End Of The Rainbow': Tracie Bennett Sings Judy CD" cduniverse.com, accessed March 20, 2012
  14. Shenton, Mark. Legally Blonde, Into the Woods, Clybourne Park, After the Dance Among Olivier Award Winners in London Archived October 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, March 13, 2011