Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland, and the Golden Age of Hollywood

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I met Melanie Gall seven years ago when she presented The Sparrow and the Mouse at Fringe. This year, she returned to bring the heavenly singing of Deanna Durbin to Fringe audiences. The play began with the premise that a reporter wanted to interview Deanna because of her association with Judy Garland. She talked about how the two young actresses became friends, because they were about the same age, and also part of the MGM Hollywood Studio System that controlled every aspect of their lives and schooling.

Judy was surprisingly unsure of her singing abilities, but Deanna was certain of her golden operatic voice. In the 1930s, Deanna was a far greater star. A favorite of
Roosevelt, Churchill, even Mussolini, her first kiss made front page
news in the New York Times. The two women were friends and rivals for the duration of their careers, having two very different and distinct singing styles. While Louis B. Mayer was away on a trip, he instructed his people at MGM to
“drop the fat one.” They misunderstood and mistakenly let Deanna go. Soon after Deanna was released by MGM, Universal Studios gave her a
contract on the 13th of June and cast her in the September production of
Three Smart Girls, which became a major smash hit.

One film would skyrocket Judy into American culture and that was The Wizard of Oz. The studio first wanted Shirley Temple, but Darryl Zanuck would not lend her out to MGM. A Hollywood executive wanted to offer the part to Deanna. She was hesitant, since Judy was under contract and also her friend. She turned the role down because the executive disparaged her friend. He asked her to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just to try it on for size. Melanie sang the song with such clarity and sincerity that it was a slice of heaven.

Judy abused drugs and Deanna eventually left the studio system at the age of 27 to try and live a normal life in Europe. Deanna stayed on through the war years since she felt it gave the boys on the front hope. In the final scene, Deanna sang a song she and Judy used to play together when they were wide-eyed and young, being fresh to the Hollywood studio system. She held up a photo of Judy and she at the piano. It was a warm and fitting tribute. If you love the warmth and romance of the Hollywood classics, then this is the show for you.



Tickets are $12 plus the $10 Fringe Button.

Remaining show times are:

5:45 PM

2:00 PM

Weekend Top 6 Orlando Fringe Picks.

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Saturday May 23, 2015

A $10 Fringe Button is needed for entrance to all shows. Available at the Shakes box office. (good for entire 14-Day Festival.). Anyone can Fringe. I will be at Fringe from 10am to 4pm all weekend doing a Fringe Sketch Tour. If you spot me, be sure to say hi.

11:45pm to 12:45pm $11 + service charge. Moonlight After Midnight. Green Venue (Rep Black Box). 60 minutes. Rated 7+ years old. “A beautiful woman meets a mysterious man in a midnight hotel room.
Starring Martin Dockery & Vanessa Quesnelle”. I have seen Martin Dockery tell stories on the Fringe stages for the past several years and I am always spellbound.

2pm to 2:55pm $11 + service charge. Tales Too Tall for Trailers. Brown Venue (Shakes inside former Philharmonic rehearsal space). 55 minutes. All ages. “Comedian / Storyteller Paul Strickland  and Erika Kate MacDonald  join forces in this off-kilter musical family
comedy! Funny songs, strange southern stories, shadow puppetry, a pet
named “Peeve” and more. The final installment in Paul’s trailer park trilogy.” I saw this show and was delighted with it’s humor, innocent and clever use of shadow puppetry and wit.

4:30pm to 5pm $5 + service charge. Judy Garland. Orange Venue (Shakes Margison Theater). 30 minutes. Rated 18+. “That Judy Garland show from last year that sold out four times and
wasn’t even listed in the program is back in a bigger venue with cheaper
tickets.” This show had me laughing out loud last year, and I have to see it again.

Sunday May 24, 2015

12:30pm to 1:30pm  $11 + service charge. Hoodies. Silver Venue (Large Rep Theater). 60 minutes. Rated 13+. “The third piece in our Beth Marshall Presents: The Trayvon Martin
Project year – long exploration of racism, profiling, gun control and
the tragic loss of too many black teens. A raw and powerful
socio-political play delving deeply into the core of race relations
between blacks and whites today with the purpose of greater
communication, healing and celebration of diversity.” Theater at it’s best. That opens a raw and much needed discussion of race in America.

3:15pm to 4:15pm $11 + service charge. Autobahn. Red Venue (Shakes back courtyard and then upstairs) 60 minutes. Rated 18+.  “From the playwright of reasons to be pretty, Neil LaBute’s Autobahn is a
provocative, darkly comic portrait of America – “from a make-out
session gone awry to a kidnapping thinly disguised as a road trip” – set
within the confines of the front seat of a car, a gritty fable about
the words we leave unsaid.” Incredibly compelling theater. One of my favorite shows this year.

4:20pm to 5:20pm $11 + service charge. Janis Joplin, Little Girl Blue. Gold Venue (In the Orlando Museum of Art theater). 60 minutes. Rated 18+.  “Kaleigh Baker and an all-star band of Orlando’s finest musicians,
including director Andy Matchett, present an in-depth and passionate
look at the life, music and untimely death of one of Music’s greatest
icons: Janis Joplin. Baker swells in volume as she moves from a solo
rendition of “What Good Can Drinkin Do?” to an explosive 8 piece band
backing her on hits like Peace of My Heart and Get It While You Can.” Kaleigh is the one singer who can truly capture the spirit of Janice when she sings. At the rehearsal I was transported back in time.  If you also see Autobahn the same day, you will literally have to run across the parking lot to catch this show but it is worth the effort.

Judy Garland: Is it Just Me or is it Just Me?

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At the last minute, Clandestine ARTS had to pull out of the Fringe. Their show, Tuesday Morning, was replaced by the incomparable, Judy Garland performed by Mark Baratelli of thedailycity.com. Many of the seats in the Blue Venue had small questionnaires, asking which Judy Garland songs people might want to hear. The MC warmed up the crowd and Judy stumbled around back stage. Then she began to slur the lyrics to a song and she came out, greeted by thunderous applause. Props on the stage were covered with dark fabrics and she stripped them bare as she sang. Yellow medicine bottles hung from her necklace.

Her legs were often crossed or akimbo as she wavered in the spotlight. Her high heels caused her to stumble and fall more than once. Misplaced mascara gave her raccoon eyes and the lipstick was smeared all around her lips. The dark wig often hid her face and the baggy man’s dress shirt hid her supple figure. Judy is 93 but she still belts out those tunes with a vengeance.

The MC announced that local artist Thomas Thorspecken was in the audience drawing. He wasn’t talking about me however. Chase Padgett was in the audience posing as me. Chase did a sketch of Judy but he was supposed to imagine her nude. I couldn’t bring myself to go there. Judy’s medicated antics were laugh out loud funny. At times she was on the floor slayed out as she sang and other times she tried to escape into the shadows to avoid the spotlight. Some songs were just improvised on the spot to hilarious effect.

Don’t miss Judy! She is hilarious and the shows are selling out. The remaining show times are…

Tuesday May 20, 11:30pm to 12:15pm

Friday May 23, 10pm to 10:45pm

Saturday May 24, 1:30pm to 2:15pm

Sunday May 25,  8:15pm to 9pm

Tickets are $8 and Judy can be found in the Blue venue in the Orlando Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St., Orlando, FL.) If you are trying to find information about Judy in your printed Fringe program, she isn’t listed. She was a last minute replacement for Tuesday Morning.