Nick, Tony, Richard, and I saw *The Book of Judy* on 11/4/18. The full title of the play is *The Book That I'm Going To Write, By Judy Garland.* It's written by Jason Powell and also stars him. Here are a couple of photos of the four of us at the show, pictured with Judy.
Nick, Tony, Richard, and I saw *The Book of Judy* on 11/4/18. The full title of the play is *The Book That I'm Going To Write, By Judy Garland.* It's written by Jason Powell and also stars him.
Irving "Swifty" Lazar convinced Garland to write a memoir and told her that making audio recordings of herself telling stories from her life would be a good way to do it. She made the audio recordings in the last few years of her life, and though (to my knowledge) the book hasn't been published, the program said the show was "a new play adapted from spoken word recordings." Hm, reading between the lines, I guess Powell HIMSELF could have made these spoken word recordings!
The play was very entertaining and insightful. Nick was impressed with his ability in memorizing and holding the stage with long stretches of monologue (he basically talks for an hour and a half). Nick thought it was an interesting choice to have the show entirely rooted in Garland's specific point of view, which is admittedly blurred (and slurred). There's no opportunity for her targets to respond (though who wants to see Sid Luft represented onstage). Richard didn't care for the fact that much of the audience was laughing at various things, when the subject matter is really rather sad. But Garland was a tough cookie, and you have to admire her fortitude.
The thing I found most moving about the show is that Powell was wearing a white blouse, black Capri pants, and black flats, but had a nothing special short hairstyle and was not wearing feminine makeup. He mimicked Garland's movements and her manner of speaking, but his performance was an embodiment of Garland rather than an impersonation. This gave the show greater authenticity, it seemed to tap into Powell's love of Garland.
Off topic, Powell is co-host of Lady Watch, "the only podcast dedicated to celebrating women over the age of 50." How could this have passed me by? Here's a sample episode summary, from episode #206, "There Is Nothing Like a Dame," 5/7/18:
On this week's LadyWatch agenda: Ryan and Jason unpack how Céline Dion ended up in a music video for 'Deadpool 2' and why she is the only Lady for the job, Also: LADIES SITTING AROUND TABLES! A clip from the upcoming documentary featuring Dames Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Eileen Atkins, and Ryan also recounts (for those of us who are not watching the Roseanne reboot) a scene that featured the Lady money shot of Laurie Metcalf, Estelle Parsons, Sandra Bernhardt, and the Lady campaign recipient herself, Natalie West. PLUS: Olivia de Havilland demands another day in court, Angela Davis appears on a $500 t-shirt, Sandra Bullock officially need not fear her stalker any more, Pamela Anderson's strange friendship and why she's the new WikiLeaks, the elder abuse of Elaine Brown results in astronomical compensatory damages, Molly Ringwald's father is saved aboard a Southwest flight, Jean Smart’s surprising genealogy lesson, and MUCH MUCH MORE...