This seems to be the summer of Judy Garland. The Film Society of Lincoln Center is having a festival of Judy Garland movies that is on now until August 9th. I've never seen any of her movies on a big screen so on Sunday, I saw a pre-Wizard of Oz film I had never seen before called Everybody Sing. It was a screwball great or terrible comedy if you took it seriously with an amazing cast and plenty of singing by Judy.
15 year old Judy shared the a number with Fanny Brice wh had a major role in the film. This was great to see since, I have seen only brief clips of Fanny Brice performing. Most of my knowledge of Fanny Brice comes from Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and Funny Lady. However, I will never forget seeing an older Judy doing a duet with a young Streisand - Happy Days and Get Happy. Now Audra McDonald and Patti Lupone have done the same duet in concert and while I like them, the Judy and Barbra version is still my favorite.
The Paley Center, formerly known as The Museum of Television and Radio is celebrating Judy's television appearances as well until August 18th. I hope to catch a screening there too.
UPDATE 8/3 - I saw the 12:30 screening today. It will be repeated Thurs Aug 18th. Outstanding! The Lincoln Center and Paley Center programs are curated by Judy scholar John Fricke. His latest book is Judy: A Legendary Film Career. I hope to get to at least 1 more TV or film screening before these festivals end.
As my friend Charlene would say, in NYC, if you announce it, they will come!
One of my favorite Broadway moments is Jerry Orbach singing Lullaby of Broadway.
Comments