'End of the Rainbow' presents Judy Garland, warts and all

Tracie Bennett reprises her Tony-nominated portrayal at Ahmanson Theatre.



Tracie Bennett in “End of the Rainbow,” written by Peter Quilter and directed by Terry Johnson. “End of the Rainbow” is at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre through April 21.

'End of the Rainbow'



Length: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Suitability: Mature themes and language

How much: $20-$110

Tickets: 213-628-2772

Online: centertheatregroup.org

Any actor who tackles the gargantuan role of Judy Garland must walk a devilishly tricky tightrope.

For Garland's fans – and almost a half century after her death they're still legion – she's an icon of Hollywood's Golden Age, the girl who defined sweet-faced innocence in "The Wizard of Oz" and many other films.

But Garland became just as famous for her shortcomings: public meltdowns, a lifelong struggle with various addictions, and a talent that faded tragically before her untimely death at 47 of a drug overdose.

In "End of the Rainbow," playwright Peter Quilter tries to give us both parts of Garland's complex equation, and he's not always successful. His play, which opened Wednesday at the Ahmanson Theatre, dips too frequently into excess and emotional Grand Guignol. Quilter's lingering attention to Garland's unsavory qualities borders on voyeurism, and it isn't helped by Terry Johnson's direction, which fetishizes her over-the-top moments.

The script's shortcomings are made forgivable, if not insignificant, by the woman who has played Garland since the play's London debut in 2010. British performer Tracie Bennett takes a go-for-broke approach that is the only way to pay tribute to a talent as immense as Garland's and make her sins seem like the inevitable result of others' exploitation, not the excesses of a spoiled star.

Bennett doesn't try for slavish imitation, though she captures the essence of Garland's performance style. With her overly exuberant vibrato and her edge-of-hysteria climaxes, Garland could be as harrowing as she was entertaining, and Bennett nails that manic, misfiring energy perfectly.

But Bennett also goes deeper, especially in the quiet moments. Quilter's script implies that Garland knew she was doomed and wanted to change, but decades of self-abuse and bad choices had made it impossible. You can see that sad knowledge in Bennett's eyes in moments when Judy takes silent stock of her situation.

"End of the Rainbow" is set a few months before Garland's death. She has just arrived in London with her much younger fiancé, musician and club owner Mickey Deans (Erik Heger, suitably blustery), to begin a five-week engagement at the Talk of the Town nightclub.

Garland needs the gig badly. Personally and financially, her life is a shambles.

But adversity hasn't dampened the star's ebullience or her withering and often profane sense of humor. When she is reminded that Deans will be her fifth husband, not her fourth as she thought, Garland pauses. "Who'd I miss? Grumpy, Dopey, Sleepy..."

Garland knows she's damaged, and why. She talks bitterly about her days as a hard-working child actor and the pills her handlers gave her to pep her up or slow her down. Reflecting on problems that she, Mickey Rooney and other child actors encountered as adults, Garland remarks, "We all turned out very peculiar."

At first, Deans is determined to make his wife-to-be and meal ticket walk the straight and narrow. She whines for something to take off her antsy edge. He refuses. "No booze, no pills. Nothing!"

Garland and Deans aren't a good match. He's dictatorial and tries to shout her down. She enjoys goading Deans and ordering him around. At one point she demands a British meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. When he asks where he is supposed to find it at that hour, she responds, "Just drive around until you smell gravy."

Fortunately, Garland's pianist and music director, Anthony (talented Michael Cumpsty, disappearing as always into his role), acts as a quiet and calming counterweight to Deans. He's an introspective Scottish homosexual with a warm and all-forgiving admiration for her. At first, the role seems like a convenient way for Quilter to explore the gay world's fascination with Garland. But as the play progresses their bond deepens and the relationship turns poignant. "Come away with me," he tells her. "Let me look after you. Let me love you."

It's an impossible dream, of course, and Garland's off-handed rejection of Anthony's offer is the play's cruelest moment. Also the most tragic: We know, as Anthony does, that's it's the last chance for the spiraling singer to save her career and her life.

The action on William Dudley's richly detailed set toggles between a swank suite at London's Ritz Hotel and the club, where Garland's performances in front of a crackerjack band become increasingly erratic.

This metamorphosis is the core of Bennett's brilliant performance. At first, Garland can brush away the cobwebs as the old showbiz instincts take over in "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Just in Time." But as Mickey turns from policeman into enabler in a desperate bid to get the fading Garland back onstage, the fog of drugs and booze descends and her huge gifts become increasingly undermined. Bennett's portrayal of the star's public breakdown is painful to watch, especially for those who adore Garland. As theater, though, Bennett's work is completely mesmerizing.

"End of the Rainbow" isn't for everyone. Garland's fans might be offended, and some will find Quilter's play as subtle and tolerable as a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving. But if you love the transformative power of an actor who goes deep in search of truth, Bennett's Tony-nominated performance shouldn't be missed.



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