1st Night Photos: Judy Brought to Life by Bennett

Tracie Bennett took the stage of Trafalgar Studios 1 last night (22 November), reprising her performance as Judy Garland for the opening night (previews from 15 November 2010) of Peter Quilter's End of the Rainbow.

Directed by Terry Johnson, Bennett is joined in the cast by Hilton McRae as Garland's musical director and Stephen Hagan as fiancé-turned-fifth husband Mickey Deans.

The show, which was originally staged at Northampton's Royal and Derngate, includes some of Garland's best-known songs, including "Get Happy", "The Man That Got Away" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

TO SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF THE END OF THE RAINBOW’s 1st NIGHT PHOTOS,
JUST CLICK ON THE "NEXT >" LINKS BELOW THE FOLLOWING FRAME.
PHOTOS BY DAN WOOLLER FOR WHATSONSTAGE.COM.

End of the Rainbow had its world premiere in July 2005 at Sydney Opera House and proved a sell-out hit there and in Melbourne. That production was led by Australian Caroline O'Connor, who recently staged her one-woman show Showgirl at London's Garrick Theatre, reprising her performance for the show’s UK premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in August 2006.

Bennett isn’t a stranger to the role. She appeared in an earlier incarnation of Quilter’s play at London’s New End Theatre in 2001, when it ran under the title of The Last Song of the Nightingale and the American diva was unnamed though a thinly disguised version of Garland. Quilter’s other credits include the Boyband and Glorious!, both of which also had West End seasons.

The production is designed by William Dudley, with sound by Gareth Owen, lighting by Simon Corder and musical direction by Gareth Valentine. It’s presented in the West End by Lee Dean, Jenny Topper, Laurence Myers, Charles Diamond and Hilary Williams in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

- by Andrew Girvan

Related Content

Booking Tickets & Show Listings
	End of the Rainbow Listing Page

Internal Links
	Bennett Is Garland Again, End of the Rainbow Tours - 23rd Jun 2011 news
	Simon Callow Is Being Shakespeare at Trafalgar - 25th Apr 2011 news
	Donmar Announces Second Trafalgar Residency - 21st Apr 2011 news
	Only the Beginning for End of the Rainbow??? - 29th Mar 2011 gossip
	Bennett's Garland Shines Through Rainbow - 7th Jan 2011 blog
	End of the Rainbow - 23rd Nov 2010 reviews
	Review Round-up: Critics Find Gold at Rainbow - 23rd Nov 2010 roundup
	Past/Present/Future for ... Tracie Bennett - 16th Nov 2010 interviews
	Bennett Plays Garland in London Rainbow, 22 Nov - 1st Oct 2010 news