End of the Rainbow Review – Judy Garland’s Jinkx Monsoon could be the talk of the town | Section

DRag Race fans already know that the “queen of all queens” Jinkx Monsoon means that Judy Garland loves her. difficult account for three are Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Peter Quilter’s 2005 revival of the play places Monsoon’s Garland in a love triangle instead, caught between the steady, gay pianist Anthony (Adam Filipe) and the lucky, soon-to-be fifth husband, Mickey (Jacob Dudman).

It plays out in 1960s London as a decade, and Garland’s life ends. Quilter divides the play between the ordinary and the public, moving from the actor’s hotel to the Talk of the Town, haunted by a drinking and drug addiction that began when he starred in The Wizard of Oz.

We’re no longer in Kansas — or Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where Garland grew up as Frances Ethel Gumm. But unlike the 2019 film Judy, which heavily interspersed Quilter’s drama with past memories, including a tragic 16th birthday party, you understand how she was molested and controlled as a child. Although it’s no longer powerful, the script is more straightforward and funnier than the visuals, with easy quips and throwing shade at nothing (at least for actress Agatha Christie!) Garland sings Just in Time as an ode to Mickey, pretending to be her 11th-hour savior, and then revisits that relationship in You Made Me Love You.

It is beautifully designed by Jasmine Swan who pulls white curtains, with a black grand piano in the middle. Swan maintains the same black and white palette in the costumes to the theater that mimics the famous transition to Technicolor Oz as the team excels under Nick Barstow’s musical direction and the vivid colors of Prema Mehta’s lighting.

Monsoon is a hoot as a woman who has lost her husband’s number, she goes literally weak in the knees as she kisses her new beau and melts down like the Wicked Witch of the West. (There are lots of Oz Easter eggs.) Elsewhere she walks around in high heels while singing a song. His voice is amazing, constantly rising and falling in conversations that go from confrontational to caustic but especially in music. The extra drag stretches out some sounds like the suction of a cigarette that feels like warming up the sound. It is more than imitation, especially in concert, when Monsoon introduces each song in Garland’s pain and has the ability to show, in one number, the golden quality of his voice, triumphant and dirty. They also offer deep emotions, in which Garland transports a person for an hour or two at night.

It’s a brilliant performance that also honors Garland’s role as an eccentric figure, underscored in the lyrics by Anthony’s sincere appreciation and Mickey’s scorn. Although Filipe is emotional, both of them are still very active, only adding to his reputation, and the scenes in the hotels grow repetitive and annoying, even though they are real places people are used to. Although it opened with Monsoon in the middle of the hall, singing With You as if you gave yourself to us, Rupert Hands’ production does not use the idea, clearly in Rupert Goold’s film, that Garland’s eternal relationship is with the audience. As the inevitable end of Over the Rainbow approaches, and its lighting music matches the old beauty of this beautiful hall, built and decaying, you are left with a nagging thought of what Monsoon can offer in its place.