REVIEW
What: End of the Rainbow.
Where: SkyCity Theatre.
Reviewer: Paul Simei-Barton.
The end-of-year show of the Auckland Theatre Company anatomises the final year of Judy Garland's tumultuous life as she plants herself in the London Ritz and strains to pull off yet another comeback with a punishing cabaret season.
The trajectory of her drug-fuelled meltdown takes her through territory familiar to present-day celebrities.
Playwright Peter Quilter finds a rich vein of humour in the wreckage of Garland's life and the dialogue is peppered with brilliantly witty aphorisms and acerbic observations.
In the lead role, Ellie Smith shows wonderful comic timing in her delivery of these bons mots and brings us as close as we are likely to get to the magic of the diva's legendary concerts.
The backstage drama places Garland at the apex of a love triangle with her fifth husband and manager Mickey Deans in one corner while the other is claimed by her pianist, who is a composite character representing the devotion of Garland's gay fan base.
Paul Barrett in the role gives a nuanced performance that avoids clichéd gay mannerisms and movingly evokes the humiliation of a character who offers Garland the obsessive, unconditional loyalty of a true fan.
Edwin Wright's Mickey Deans provides a striking contrast with his whatever-it-takes approach to handling the whirlwind of Garland's emotional and financial crisis.
The production design features a seamless collaboration between John Parker and Tony Rabbit that sees the creamy elegance of Parker's set juiced up with the bold colours and lively shadow play of Rabbit's lighting.
In the finale performance of Over the Rainbow, Garland is launched into the audience on a moving bridge while blue footlights project her shadow on the cavernous walls of the auditorium.
The image beautifully reinforces the intense yearning of the melody that lets Garland rise above the chaos of her private life and find a kind of radiance in her remarkable ability to connect with the audience.
