Original language English First performance August 2005 Setting London | Date premiered 2005 Genre Drama / Musical Orchestrator Chris Egan | |
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Musicals Nice Work If You Can Get It, Mrs Henderson Presents, Leap of Faith, On a Clear Day You Can See, Lysistrata Jones | ||
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 Sydney premiere in 2005, the show has played on the West End in London and a Broadway production opened in 2012.
Contents
Opening night end of the rainbow
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
The show premièred in August 2005 at the Sydney Opera House in Australia starring Caroline O’Connor as Garland. It ran at the Theatre Royal, Sydney in May 2006, again with O'Connor. It also played at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. O'Connor won three Best Actress awards for her performance.
It 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. End of the Rainbow ran in the West End from 16 November 2010 to 21 May 2011 at Trafalgar Studios, starring Tracie Bennett. 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. .
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. 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. 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 premiered in Brazil, November 11, at the Teatro Fashion Mall with Cláudia Netto as Judy and Igor Rickli as Mickey Deans.
The show also had its Portuguese première in January 2012 at the Teatro Politeama in Lisbon. The cast was led by Vanessa as Judy Garland, with Carlos Quintas and Hugo Rendas.
There have also been successful productions of the show in Brisbane, Melbourne, Auckland, Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Krakow, Prague, Sofia, Rotterdam and Helsinki. New productions played in the 2013-14 season in Christchurch, Rome, Klagenfurt, Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Milwaukee.
The 2014 Milwaukee Repertory Theatre production of End of the Rainbow starred Hollis Resnik as Garland.
Kathy St. George played Garland in the 2014 Actors' Playhouse production of End of the Rainbow at the Miracle Theatre in Miami.
End of the Rainbow (Al final del arcoíris) premiered in Buenos Aires, Argentina February the 5th, 2014 starring Karina K as Garland, Antonio Grimau and Federico Amador as Mickey Deans.
Anna Gangai appeared as Garland in End of the Rainbow at the Cellar Theatre at San Antonio's The Playhouse in 2014.
Jeannie Shubitz played Garland in a production of End of the Rainbow that opened at the Phoenix Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona in May, 2015.
The show had its Canadian premiere in April 2015 at the Compagnie Jean Duceppe Theatre in Montreal. In the same year, the show had a 2nd run in Los Angeles, playing at the International City Theatre.
End of the Rainbow (El final del arcoíris) premiered in Mexico City on May 29th, 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.
Leisa Way portrayed Garland in a summer stock production of End of the Rainbow in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada in July, 2015.
Eileen Bowman portrayed Garland in End of the Rainbow in San Diego in November of 2015.
Natasha Drena played Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow in January, 2016 at the Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo, NY. Drena previously performed the role in Atlanta in 2014, winning a Best Actress award at that city's local theatre awards ceremony.
Carolyn Johnson plays Garland in End of the Rainbow in March/April, 2016 at Stages Repertory Theatre in Houston, Texas.
In April, 2016, Janelle Lutz plays Garland in the Uptown Players' production of End of The Rainbow in Dallas, Texas.
End of the Rainbow toured the UK in 2016, with Lisa Maxwell in the role of Judy Garland.
In the 2015-16 season, the show is scheduled to premiere in South Africa, Israel, Sweden and Japan. There will also be several new productions in North America.
In November 2016, Porchlight Music Theatre presented the Chicago premiere of the production with Angela Ingersoll as Judy Garland.
Musical numbers
Recording
A cast recording of the London production was released on January 31, 2011 by Angel Studios featuring Tracie Bennett's renditions of both the play's songs and other Garland numbers.
Track listing
All tracks performed by Tracie Bennett, unless noted.