Judy's Scary Little Christmas: Orange County-Long Beach Blade Review

ORANGE COUNTY-LONG BEACH
BLADE

12/1/02

JUDY'S SCARY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
A Theatre Review By Stan Jenson

It is 1959 and Judy Garland is hosting a Christmas television special. The studio setting is supposedly her living room. Her guests include Ethel Merman, Bing Crosy, Liberace (accompanied by a hunky young sailor), Joan Crawford, Lillian Hellman, Richard Nixon, a purple dragon puppet and one uninvited guest.

Writers James Webber and David Church have woven these wonderful ingredients, along with music and lyrics by Joe Patrick Ward ("Southern Baptist Sissies") into a holiday confection that must not be missed.

The special opens with a schmaltzy Christmas medley, sung and danced by four starry-eyed ensemble members. They eventually introduce the lady herself: Judy Garland. Connie Champagne is absolutely magical in her evocation of the great gay icon. She is petite, vibrant, and her voice and mannerisms produce tingles.

As each of her celebrity guests enters, they have a chat with Judy and then a musical number. Liberace plays and smiles his way through a piano solo. Merman has just returned from Hawaii and is plugging her new album - Hawaiian music with a Broadway beat. As Richard Nixon, Eric Anderson garners more laughs in one evening than the actual president received in his entire life. His visual impersonation is uncanny, and his physical comedy doesn't wane throughout the evening.
The first act has one belly laugh after another, resulting from the combination of the written material, the terrific impersonations of the full cast and the nostalgia of being involved in a 1959 television special. The second act is much darker and more like "The Twilight Zone" as the uninvited guest takes over. But then the mood picks back up as Connie Champagne belts out the final number, "Make It Shine." It is an amazing homage to Judy - like a recently discovered film clip. Then there is a big musical finale when each of the guests returns for a quick verse before boarding a trolley driven by Judy. The audience can't leap to their feet soon enough with whooping and applause.

This world-premiere show is destined to become a cult favorite, and one you don't want to miss!

The Victory Theatre is located at 3326 West Victory Blvd in Burbank. The show runs through December 22 with performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Starting December 8, there will be additional Sunday performances at 7 p.m. Tickets are $28 each and available from The Victory Theatre at (818) 841-5422. See www.judyschristmas.com.