Judy's Scary Little Christmas: L.A. Weekly Review

11/26/02
JUDY’S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS RECOMMENDED

James Webber and David Church’s mostly brilliant Judy Garland TV special, with memorable tunes by Joe Patrick Ward, is a surreal tribute: Act 1 authentically re-creates an imagined 1959 holiday comeback show, while Act 2 veers into Twilight Zone/VH1 Behind the Music territory. Garland (a scarily believable Connie Champagne) invites an eclectic bunch of celebrities to a Christmas Eve party at her "home" (Webber’s white-and-gold set design is to die for), including Bing Crosby (Sean Smith), Ethel Merman (Lauri Johnson), Liberace (Don Lucas), Richard Nixon (Eric Anderson), Joan Crawford (Joanne O’Brien) and Lillian Hellman (Jan Sheldrick). Musical mayhem and barbed one-liners ensue, with several showstoppers including a wicked duet between political rivals Nixon and Hellman, crooning "Are you now or have you ever been in love?/Confess and give me names." The behind-the-scenes commercial breaks are a hoot, such as when Judy and Bing replace their candy-ass grog with straight vodka. However, the second-act surprise appearance of Death (Mark A. Cross), who’s come for Judy, kills the momen tum of the first half. Still, the hilarious introduction of Crawford, whom Judy was expecting when Death barged in, almost makes up for a noticeable lag in pacing. There are many reasons to forgive director Kay Cole for indulging the marathon length, including a sterling ensemble, top-notch production values and biting dialogue that never stoops to cheap jokes.

Victory Theater, 3326 W. Victory Blvd., Burbank; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; mat Sun., 3 p.m. (starting Dec. 8: additional perfs Sun., 7 p.m.); thru Dec. 22. (818) 841-5422. Written 11/27/02 (Miriam Jacobson)