Happy Birthday Judy Garland!

Hello, my beautiful, Judy-Loving fans! Today, Judy Garland would have been 90 years old, and how remarkable that today is also the day of the Tony Awards. Judy is and always will be an icon. From her first major splash in The Wizard of Oz, to her movies with Mickey Rooney, to her starring roles in The Clock, Meet Me in St. Louis, A Star is Born, etc, Judy thrills us with full throated glory, vulnerable acting and her oh-so-immitatable mannerisms. Judy's life was full of ups and downs, and we remember her for both, but we mostly remember her for her unquestionable talent. I'm celebrating by drinking some tea and watching the Judy Garland marathon on Turner Classic Movies. Oh, and here is one of my favorite Judy Performances.

Fierce Belting B*tches!

Hello, gorgeous fans. I just found this compilation video of some AMAZING belting. It's the most enjoyable 9:27 I've had in a WHILE! Highlights for me include Diana Kaarina (despite her thin, whatever voice) holding the C at the end of "On my Own" a really long time, Linda Eder singing "Someone Like You," Kate Shindle's Ab at the end of "Legally Blonde," Whitney Houston flawlessly singing "All at Once," Judy's "Hello Bluebird," Patti's PERFECT "Buenos Aires," Liza's best "New York, New York" ending, Linda Eder singing in whistle voice and then belting her face off, Stephanie Mills riffing her face off singing "Home,"etc. Obviously Shirley Bassey should have been in this too, but it's okay. Have fun!

Happy Easter!!!

Hello, my gorgeous, Easter bonnet wearing fans! Just wishing you all a Happy Easter! I hope your day is filled with chocolate eggs, bunnies, and Judy Garland in East Parade. 

Missed Opportunities

Hello, my gorgeous fans! One of my favorite things to do is to "dream cast" musicals, which means taking a musical, and casting it with your ideal, perfect cast. Most of the time I cast myself as the leading heroine when I play this game, but sometimes I ponder on things like: "What if Betty Buckley had replaced Patti LuPone in Evita?" "What if Judy Garland had starred in the movie version of Gypsy?" or "What if Shirley Bassey had done a stint as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?" "Why wasn't Master Class written sooner so Anne Bancroft could have starred in it?" These questions spark glorious fantasies in my mind, but usually lead to depression since they never happened.

What is so maddening is that some beyond fantastical casting opportunities have been SO CLOSE to actually happening, but for some reason or another (schedules, artistic differences, drug use) they never came to fruition. Here are some from stage and screen...

1. Judy Garland as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (there were some talks)

2. Betty Buckley as The Witch in Into The Woods (she was in the workshops, but had artistic differences)

3. Patti LuPone in Sunday in the Park with George (she auditioned, but it didn't work out)

4. Judy Garland in Valley of The Dolls (click here for video)

5. Elaine Stritch in Gypsy (she almost did it over Angela Lansbury in London in the 70s, but for some reason it didn't happen. Obviously I'm glad Angela said yes and did it, because it's an amazing performance. Check out clips!)

6. Liza Minelli in the Evita movie. (This didn't happen because Tim Rice was involved and wanted Elaine Paige, his then girlfriend, who had originated the role in London, to do the movie.)
7. Cher as the Witch in an Into The Woods movie. (The fact that this movie didn't happen makes me so upset. It was to be directed by Rob Reiner also starring Goldie Hawn as the Baker's Wife, Robyn Williams as the Baker, Elijah Woods as Jack, Roseanne Barr as Jack's mother, Steve Martin as the Woolf, etc. Major UGH!)
8. Meryl Street in Sunset Boulevard movie. (This project just never happened. Streep was battling Glenn Close and Barbra Streisand for the part. Hugh Jackman was supposed to play Joe.)
9. Britney Spears in Streetcar Named Desire. (She was offered to do it in London...I know what you're thinking, and I don't care. I would have enjoyed it if it was shockingly bad, and I would have enjoyed it if it was miraculously good. I would have been in heaven.)
10. Veronica Garland in everything. (I have been offered so many parts in so many different stage productions, movies, etc and for some reason or another I have had to decline. Truly sad.)