End of the Rainbow (The Carnegie Theatre at Covington Plaza) | Photo by Mikki Schaffner
After a long, heart-wrenching pandemic production hiatus, I am thrilled to join The Carnegie Theatre in bringing to audiences, at last, Peter Quilter’s End of the Rainbow, the dramatic, sometimes hilarious, and deeply poignant portrait of the last year of Judy Garland’s life, live concerts, and complex relationships with two of the men in her life- her fifth and final husband, Mickey Deans, and Anthony, one of her devoted pianists.
End of the Rainbow (The Carnegie Theatre at Covington Plaza) | Photo by Mikki Schaffner
This play with music delivers many favorite Garland standards while the compelling dramatic narrative explores the complex layers of Judy Garland the Star and Frances Ethel Gumm the Woman, the tragically elusive Whole Self that Garland seemed to spend her life seeking, a personal identity separate from the brand she was fused to from such a tender young age, that she seemed driven by a yearning to find, to know and to understand, and, most desperately, to be seen and loved for.
The show co-stars Dylan Shelton in the role of Mickey Deans, Aaron Whitehead as Anthony, and Julie Locker as the radio interviewer, hotel porter, and ASM. Directed by Alice Flanders, produced by Maggie Perrino, music coordinated and band led by Ted Baldwin, piano, with Alynn Rousselle on drums and Renate Wachter Thomas on bass. Musical arrangements by Brian Allan Hobbs, costume design by Helen Anneliesa Raymond-Goers, set (modified for new venue from original) design by Tyler Duncan Gabbard, lighting design by Will Baker, and technical direction by Doug Stock.
End of the Rainbow runs now through September 19th at the Covington Plaza at Riverfront Commons outdoor amphitheater along the Ohio River, against the gorgeous backdrop of the Cincinnati skyline. Get your tickets today!