To my generation, Judy Garland is seen as an icon of years passed. Known for “The Wizard of Oz” and little else amongst the modern youth, she fails to evoke the nostalgia and grace that Marilyn Monroe or Grace Kelly can still effortlessly command. To many, Garland produced Dorothy Gale, Liza Minnelli and nothing more. That the young girl who enchanted the world with a wish to fly over the rainbow would go on to lead such a pitiful and hopeless life is undeniably tragic. However, this story is no longer told and often forgotten.
In steps Grégoire Aubert and “Judy in Person”, his one-person extravaganza. The piece portrays Garland reflecting on her many rises and many falls in monologue form, performing some of her biggest hits along the way. At just under two hours, Aubert’s performance delves into Garland’s psyche in ways that no documentary of literary biography could even attempt.
Those wishing for an uncanny impersonation of Garland will be undoubtedly disappointed. Though dressed and styled in an observant manner, Aubert looks nothing like the songstress and sounds even less like her. The musical performances are accompanied by Garland’s original vocals in the background, accentuating these differences and highlighting Aubert’s relative lack of vocal talent.
As the performance goes on, this becomes less of a problem and more of a virtue. From the very start of the piece, there is a sinister and awkward tension within the room. My initial assessments that these were the projections of a nervous performer were soon washed away. Judy Garland was a hostile and fickle figure and, by rejecting a typical assumption and verisimilitudinous impression, Aubert has managed to establish a tense and afflicted environment in which these events can transpire. This results in a truly suspenseful and unpredictable piece, despite the somewhat inevitable ending of a story about the life of Judy Garland.
However, the scale of the project detracts from the impact that these moods provide. The piece is extremely lengthy and many of the musical numbers, especially during the second act, appear to serve little purpose. In recent years, Hollywood has learnt that biographies of notable people work best when focusing on one aspect or time period of its subject’s life. With its continual dwellings on many of the repetitive aspects of Garland’s years, this piece could benefit from taking the same lessons and adopting the classic “kill your darlings” approach.
In all, “Judy in Person” provides a terrifying biographical account of a star whose tragic life proves all too relevant to the debates surrounding today’s culture of instant fame. It would be twice as effective, however, if it were more succinct in its approach. Perhaps aiming at sky level and not all the way over the rainbow is the best way to deconstruct Judy Garland.
