“End of the Rainbow” at Curtain Call Theatre. It’s a sad but often funny story of the last months of Judy Garland’s life. There are many good reasons to attend the show, however, the performance of Jeannine Trimboli is the genuine reason not to miss the show which runs through September 24.
The actor renders an intense performance of a woman who is out of control with her life. It is absolutely brilliant work that should not be missed.
The time is 1969 and Garland is in London preparing for a five week run of shows that she thinks will result in yet another comeback, or at least, earn her the money to get her out of her enormous debt. With her is Mickey Deans, a young nightclub promoter who is acting as her manager. Deans will become Garland’s fifth husband and Garland will die of a drug overdose that same year.
The work neither paints Garland as a victim nor a misunderstood genius. “End of the Rainbow” is a play about the cost of addiction, the squandering of talent and a need to be loved. What makes Trimboli’s portrayal of Garland so successful is she captures the woman’s own awareness of her self-destructive tendencies. She is as addicted to performing and being a star as she is to drugs.
Indeed, there is wonderful scene in which Anthony, her gay accompanist and closest friend, proposes marriage and offers her a platonic life of peace, solitude and anonymity. Trimboli is wonderful as she listens, shares the dream and by body language expresses what she has already made clear to the audience – that life would likely kill her quicker than the destructive life she already lives.
Trimboli is equally as good with singing the songs associated with Garland. This is not a musical, but the nearly dozen songs, many just snippets, is an effective way for the audience to reconnect with the legendary singer’s career. Yes, of course it includes a show-stopping version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
The most memorable moment of the night is “The Man Who Got Away,” which closes the first act. This moment embodies the way Trimboli interprets Garland. Her voice is terrific, but her passion for lyrics is palpable. This is an imperious, indulged, vain woman whom it is difficult to like or admire. Yet, in song, she breaks your heart because of her insight to a person’s broken heart.
To be clear, Garland is not a dislikeable person throughout the show. Indeed, if the actress had a flaw on opening night it was trying so hard to be dominant yet likeable in the first few scenes. As Trimboli settled down she offered the insight to understand her – which is much more important than liking her. Another opening night issue was in trying to capture the cadences of Garland speech patterns she spoke too softly and even from the second row it was difficult to catch every word.
Because this is a work about Judy Garland the two leading male characters are true supporting roles and become shallow types rather than well-written supporting characters. Cameron Clarke Stevens is a refreshing presence in the dark story. An unflappable, sardonic, gay man who genuinely loves Garland he represents those in the world who loved the singer, understood her role as a fighter and forgave her flaws. Stevens does well in showing his love for Garland and his contempt of her lover Mickey Deans.
Since Deans is a composite of all those who exploited Garland, Kerry Kazmierowicz-Trimm has a difficult role. He does signal the opportunistic nature of the man but missing from his portrayal is the charm and energy that would make him attractive to Garland in the first place.
He is not helped by the shabby, non-hip era clothing provided by costume designer Beth Ruman. It’s rather odd that her terrific work for Trimboli to resemble Garland in her most memorable outfits is so good, that she would ignore the others.
Jack Golden’s set effectively incorporates a hotel suite and surrounding the stage light display that works for the concert moments of the production. Martin Benesh lights are dramatically perfect for director Phil Rice, to create some memorable scenes almost equal to “The Man That Got Away.”
However, Rice’s most important contribution is bringing the focus of the play to the penalty one pays for fame and what others will do to bask in that star light. You leave the theater discussing the life of Judy Garland and the performance of Jeannine Trimboli, but eventually you think about the wasted lives of so many non-famous people with the same addictions.
“End of the Rainbow” continues at Curtain Call Theatre Thursdays to Sundays until September 24. For schedule and ticket information go to curtaincalltheatre.com
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
