Rainbow’s end isn’t pretty, but the music is thrilling
Within a few minutes of “End of the Rainbow,” Judy Garland has dropped the F-bomb and nearly been caught performing a sex act on her future husband No. 5.
So, yeah, we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Peter Quilter’s play with music, which became a hit film, made a splash on Broadway in 2012 thanks to the performance of Tracie Bennett as Ms. Garland, who became the world’s sweetheart in “The Wizard of Oz” and died of a drug overdose in 1969. “End of the Rainbow” takes place a few months before her death as she struggles through a multiweek concert engagement at the Talk of the Town nightclub in London.
Quilter doesn’t dig deep or tell you anything you didn’t already know about Judy; in fact, at times it appears he’s writing a comedy with the diva shooting zinger after zinger at her fiancé/manager Mickey and pianist Anthony.
Director Rob Ward goes for a naturalistic style with his actors — except for Melissa Minyard as Judy, who famously was always “on.” The naturalism of Brian Zealand as Mickey and Julian Bond as Anthony contrasts well both with Minyard’s performance and the theatrical elements of the production itself, such as “Wizard of Oz” musical snippets between scenes that add poignancy.
Ward could have gone a little more theatrical in some pivotal moments — when Mickey gives up on keeping Judy from her pills (“adult candy” she quips) or
when Anthony reveals the depth of his devotion to the singer — but there’s really no way to truly make up for the deficiencies in Quilter’s script.
The best part of “End of the Rainbow” is the music. Minyard gets to belt such Garland standards as “The Man That Got Away,” “For Me and My Gal” and “The Trolley Song.” She beautifully captures the way Garland would wrap her voice around a sustained note as if she were pulling the sound out of her soul.
Truth be told, Minyard undoubtedly sounds better than Garland did in her final performances. Her “Come Rain or Come Shine” is blistering. And she captures the frantic energy and bewilderment of a woman who sees and yet doesn’t quite understand her self-destruction.
Bond gives Anthony an almost naive sweetness — and is a master on the keys. Also serving as musical director, Bond leads a snappy three-piece combo, which as typical with Theater West End, sounds perfect for the size of the space.
Zealand oozes palpable frustration, though he’s at the mercy of a playwright who doesn’t fully explore Mickey’s abrupt about-face on the pills and who doesn’t seem to have decided if Mickey actually loved Judy or not.
The show’s depiction
of a life cut short is especially poignant after the loss of costumer designer and performer AJ Garcia, who died last week at age 47 (coincidentally the same age as Garland at the time of her death). Garcia costumed Theater West End’s production of “Driving Miss Daisy,” which just closed two weeks ago.
The theater has dedicated this production to Garcia, noting in the playbill that “We are forever grateful for his love, care, humor and talents he lent us. … His light continues to shine through his wonderful creations.”
‘End of the Rainbow’
Length: 2:10, including intermission
COVID-19 precautions: temperature checks, distanced seating with plastic shields between parties, mandatory masks for audience and actors, who wear see-through face shields
Where: Theater West End, 115 W. 1st St. in Sanford When: Through March 14 Cost: From $48 for a table for two
Info: theaterwestend.com
LONDON — Church bells rang out and a World War II-era plane flew Saturday over the funeral service of Captain Tom Moore in honor of the veteran who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain’s health workers by walking laps in his backyard.
Soldiers performed ceremonial duties at the service for the 100-yearold Moore, whose charity walk inspired the nation and raised almost 33 million pounds, or about $46 million, for Britain’s National Health Service last year. Captain Tom, as he became known, died Feb. 2 in the hospital after testing positive for COVID19.
The private service was small, attended by just eight members of the veteran’s immediate family. But soldiers carried his coffin, draped in the Union flag, from the hearse to a crematorium and formed a ceremonial guard. Others performed a gun salute, before a C-47 Dakota military transport plane flew past.
“Daddy, you always told us ‘Best foot forward’ and true to your word, that’s what you did last year,” Moore’s daughter Lucy Teixeira said at the service.
A church in Bedfordshire, where the family is based, rang its bell 100 times in Moore’s honor.
Moore, who served in India, Burma and Sumatra during World War II, set out to raise 1,000 pounds for Britain’s NHS by walking 100 laps of his backyard by his 100th birthday last year. But donations poured in from across Britain and beyond as his quest went viral.
His positive attitude — “Please remember, tomorrow will be a good day” became his trademark phrase — inspired the nation at a time of crisis.