The Rainbow is Ongoing

The Opera House played host to the End of The Rainbow's Manchester visit last week and I was lucky enough to have witnessed this incredible musical on the press night last Tuesday. The musical explores the last few months before the devastating death of the Hollywood legend Judy Garland in 1969 and the relationship between her and her fifth husband but most importantly her battle with drugs. The witty script, cleverly written by Peter Quilter, is hilarious and allows for moments of joyous 'belly laughter' yet in parts is extremely emotional as the audience can truly feel sympathetic towards Garland as her struggle with drugs and alcohol is explicitly displayed. Lisa Maxwell's portrayal of Garland was pleasantly surprising as I only knew her from watching her on the TV as a 'Loose Woman' so I hadn't realised how much talent she had. Her performance was a roaring success as she did not come across as a tribute act but it was as if we were attending a Judy Garland concert, her singing was fantastic especially her rendition of 'Over The Rainbow' which captivated the audience. 

Thanks to Adam, who had luckily been given free tickets, ourselves, Rachel and Emily all enjoyed the evening out and shared the same opinions on the production. As we were all fans of Garland we were eagerly anticipated to see how she would be perceived and were thrilled the see that she was shown to have a brilliant sense of humour and not just portrayed as a drug addict. Although this was a musical due to Maxwell's beautiful version of the classics, it could have easily been mistaken for a play as there was a heavy focus on the script and therefore was not the usual musical full of dance routines and big chorus numbers. The minimal cast allowed for extreme concentration on the minimal aspects of the characters hence Maxwell's interpretation was readily received as the show was deservingly rewarded a mixture of four and five star reviews. 

Although at first I wasn't bothered about seeing the show, End of The Rainbow has got to be one of the best shows I have ever seen and I'm so glad I went, I highly recommend it. The musical shows that the legacy of Judy Garland lives on and her films such as The Wizard of Oz will be enjoyed by generations to come. The UK tour finishes on 9th July and I am hoping it will come back to Manchester in the future.

Picture credit to End of The Rainbow's Facebook page.