Luft Sings Mother Garland’s Songs at Savoy, 6 JulDate: 18 May 2004
As previously tipped (See The Goss, 21 May & 9 Mar 2004), Lorna Luft, the daughter of late screen and singing legend Judy Garland and half-sister of Liza Minnelli, will bring her own autobiographical one-woman show to the West End this summer. Songs My Mother Taught Me will open on 6 July 2004 (previews from 1 July) at the Savoy Theatre, replacing the planning programming for the short-lived Savoy Opera (See News, 7 May 2004).
In Songs My Mother Taught Me, Luft shares her story about growing up as the daughter of one of the world’s most famous entertainers, while celebrating her mother’s musical legacy. The show includes such Garland standards as “Come Rain or Shine”, “For Me and My Gal”, “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, “You Made Me Love You” and “The Trolley Song”.
On stage, Luft will be supported by a ten-piece orchestra, using Garland’s original arrangements, led by Luft’s husband Colin Freeman as musical director, as well as a video backdrop of rare Garland footage and family photo album memorabilia. Songs My Mother Taught Me is written by Mitzie and Ken Welch.
As a child, Luft shared the stage with her mother numerous times, including during a month-long engagement at Broadway’s Palace Theater. Her other US stage credits include Snoopy, Extremities, Grease, The Boy Friend, Carnival, They’re Playing Our Song, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors and Mame. Her screen credits include Grease 2.
In 1998, Luft published her autobiography Me and My Shadows: Living with the Legacy of Judy Garland, which was made into a multi award-winning US television mini-series.
In London, Songs My Mother Taught Me will be produced by Lee Menzies. Currently at the Savoy, the Savoy Opera launch productions of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro are due to finish on 19 June 2004, with the rest of the planned programme suspended (See News, 7 May 2004).
NOTE: Public booking for this event opens on Monday 25 May 2004.
- by Terri Paddock
Related Content
