She's back to wear the Garland

There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to convey what a masterpiece End of the Rainbow is. The script, the direction, the set and most of all the stars, in particular the great Caroline O’Connor – the entire production is sublime. As for Ms O’Connor, it should be illegal for one woman to have so much talent. Thankfully it isn’t and we can all enjoy the supreme professionalism of the gifted singer, dancer and actress, who is admired in equal measure by her peers and her fans.

End of the Rainbow is the tragic tale of Judy Garland’s last months before her death from a drug overdose in 1969. When we encounter Judy she has just met her fifth husband, Mickey Deans. They are in London at The Talk of the Town, which is ironic, given her infamous off-stage antics. Antics which included her addiction to every drug known to mankind (and some that weren’t) and a love life to rival Elizabeth Taylor’s. Judy’s biggest addiction was men or, rather, love. She wanted to be loved and the men she chose wanted either Judy the money-making singer or to help Judy the addict get straight. But Judy was a puzzle that could never be solved by the men in her life. She was high maintenance in every way and it either drove men away or made them complicit in her self-destruction.

This was playwright Peter Quilter’s first Australian production; and what a script. It’s wickedly funny, heartfelt and relentlessly entertaining, with songs from Garland’s many films sprinkled liberally throughout. End of the Rainbow is such an intimate piece, it’s almost voyeuristic. It is a very neat and tidy production, simply staged, to devastating effect. There are just three characters – Judy Garland (Caroline O’Connor), Micky Deans (Myles Pollard) and Judy’s pianist, Anthony Chapman (Paul Goddard). Everything you need to know about Garland can be gleaned from how these three interact.

Judy’s name is yet again up in lights for this production. Scattered across the stage are giant letters spelling out Judy’s name. Outlined with light bulbs, they reflect whatever is projected onto them. In one scene it’s a blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. In another it’s a black and white montage of people’s faces. The ‘D’ features a ledge, onto which Judy climbs in one scene. The ‘Y’ lies down on a slant, offering her a stage upon which to strut her stuff when she singing.

The scene is the same throughout. It’s the lounge room in Judy’s hotel suite, featuring furniture in a style that would suit Versailles. A white baby grand piano takes pride of place stage right, the perfect prop for Judy and her pianist.

Paul Goddard’s performance as the gay pianist Anthony is wonderfully dry, with sarcastic and biting humour. He has some great one-liners that bring the house down.

Myles Pollard, who is probably most well known for his role as Nick in Channel 9’s McLeod’s Daughters, plays the larger than life Mickey D with a swagger and sneer. Pollard plays Mickey D as a tough nut with a soft centre. He’s strong but not strong enough to withstand Garland’s neuroticism and manipulations.

O’Connor’s Garland is a little bit Liza Minnelli (more irony, as Liza was Garland’s daughter), a little Mae West, with a dash of Ethel Merman (who sheh was apparently romantically linked with at one stage). But when O’Connor sings, she’s all Judy. O’Connor’s Judy Garland is simply stunning. O’Connor’s energy is totally electric. The script calls for almost psychotic mood swings, which mean Garland goes from screamingly funny to just plain screaming then, from casually offhand to achingly poignant, quicker than you can say ‘hand me the Ritalin’.

Whether the two male characters are true to their real life counterparts is probably irrelevant. More importantly they are probably true to type. They represent the two kinds of personalities Garland attracted, and was attracted to, throughout her life. Anthony represents the people who genuinely wanted to help Judy, but weren’t allowed to, either by Judy or the people she surrounded herself with. Then there were people like Mickey, who had the best intentions when it came to helping Judy, but who, for whatever reason, ended up becoming part of the problem.

Whether Judy was just another victim crunched up and spat out by the Hollywood machine or whether she was predisposed to being self-destructive, we’ll never really know. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Nevertheless Garland’s entertainment legacy is how her fans remember her. They remember how, when the spotlight was on her and the microphone in her hand, she was incandescent, even though the light insider her had been switched off years before.

Whether you are a fan of Judy Garland or not, you will enjoy this show. It’s non-stop entertainment of the highest calibre. One of the must see theatre events of the year.

Philippa Wherrett

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End of the Rainbow (encore season)

Company: Ensemble Theatre
Venues: Theatre Royal, King St, Sydney
Dates: 2 - 28 May 2006