A STAR IS BORN
BY LEE PFEIFFER
The Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, has scored another potential monster hit with its presentation of "Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz", which presents the life of Judy Garland from her early days as a child hoofer and singer through her starring role as Dorothy in MGM's "The Wizard of Oz" at age 16. With a star-making performance by Ruby Rakos, the production hits all the right notes in terms of feel-good family entertainment, as evidenced by the enthusiastic ovation matinee presentation we attended. The show incorporates plenty of classic songs along with some bright new numbers by David Libby, with lyrics by Tina Marie Casemento. It's directed and choreographed at a brisk pace and considerable skill by Denis Jones. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Judy Garland's untimely death. Sadly, as with other legendary celebrities who died tragically before their time, the achievements of Garland's work on stage and in cinema inevitably become compromised by the clouded aspects of her personal life. The new, acclaimed big screen biography dwells on these aspects of her life and career. "Chasing Rainbows", however, deftly avoids this pitfall by concentrating only on her early days as a rising star for MGM. Thus, a more upbeat experience for the audience is ensured, which is probably why Liza Minnelli has enthusiastically endorsed the production.
The story begins with young Judy already in show business as part of family act, performing with her mother and father and her two sisters. The sisters ultimately formed a trio known as The Gumm Sisters (Garland's birth name was Frances Ethel Gumm.) The family struggles financially but her perpetually upbeat parents are determined to find success for the family in show business, thus they head off to Hollywood. Things look grim until Garland lands a contract at MGM, then firmly under the dictatorial control of Louis B. Mayer. She goes through the usual ritual of the era that contract players were subjected to as they are trained to sing, act and dance. Garland, however, is routinely denied promising roles because she is deemed to be unattractive and pudgy. She befriends Mickey Rooney, who reaches mega star status first and becomes one of MGM's most bankable assets. The engrossing book by Marc Acito plays a bit loose with the facts, implying that prior to "The Wizard of Oz" , Garland was struggling at the studio. While it's true her talents were not being capitalized on properly, in fact, she had landed a starring role opposite Rooney the previous year in "Love Finds Andy Hardy". The story follows Garland's frustrations with attempting to land the role of Dorothy in "Oz", but Mayer is intent on casting Shirley Temple. Mayer was convinced that she lacked sex appeal and was largely content to use her for vocal assignments. We watch as the starry-eyed Judy intermingles with her idol Clark Gable (Sean Thompson) and other Hollywood dignitaries, which helps dispel some of the downbeat aspects of her grueling schedule. We all know how events eventually transpired with Garland succeeding in landing her most beloved role. However, if you are expecting to see Dorothy and her companions skipping and singing down the Yellow Brick Road, be aware that the show ends shortly after Garland is finally cast as Dorothy. (Amusingly, she meets her would-be co-star Buddy Ebsen on the set, as he was originally cast as the Tin Man before a reaction to the makeup forced him to bow out and be replaced by Jack Haley.) "Oz" fanatics might be a bit let down, especially since the ad campaign depicts Garland skipping down a road but there is so much else to admire in the production, any hints of of disappointment are likely to be quickly overcome.