JADAR

★★★★☆

Judy & Liza follows the sensational mother and daughter duo Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli through the highs and lows of their lives and stardom, set during their 1964 London Palladium show and mirroring the enigmatic energy that made both stars so popular.

With a tiny, poetically intimate stage, dazzling lights and a memory box full of wonders, they reminisce about their lives and link many of the pairs classic hits to important moments of their lives, whether it be from their movies: Cabaret, A Star is Born, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, or songs that reflect the emotional passings of family members. It was shocking how well many of these songs perfectly slotted into their lives, as if they were predestined to be searching for a better life ‘Over the Rainbow’ or struggling with intimate marital issues. 

The show is an emotional rollercoaster, starring two incredibly talented actresses that perfectly capitulate the energy of the Hollywood stars to their core. Whenever you see a show with actors taking on the roll of legendary Broadway and Hollywood stars, it always pays to be a little apprehensive, but they truly captured the mother and daughter duo, with playful interruptions, starry-eyed solos, gorgeously produced duets with jaw-dropping harmonies and stand-out moments, and ultimately a surprisingly accurate impression of Judy and Liza’s distinct voices. 

The first half of the show focuses mainly on Judy’s life in showbiz and the good and bad aspects of Hollywood. While the show could have highlighted their glamourous lifestyles and movie fame, the effect stardom had on the pair is so integral and integrated into their stories that it would be a crime not to reflect on their hardships too… and that they did. 

Helen Sheals perfectly captured that unique Judy Garland twang, if you will, and brought so much emotion during her performance of ‘Over the Rainbow’ after Judy’s suicide attempt… the poeticism of Judy sitting aside her little red shoes and performing such an emotionally raw and poignant rendition of the song gave me goosebumps leading into the interval, and still haunts me to this moment.

While the intricacies of Judy’s struggles could have been explored even further, I do feel that the show would have lost its energy and impact in focusing too deeply on the negatives or Judy alone, as where the show reveled was with the mother-daughter bond, which seemed to thrive despite all of their troubles.

Often these emotive moments were lightened with cute interactions or more uplifting songs, whether it be Liza’s tearfully sung ‘Sorry I Asked’ when reflecting on her troubled love-life and moving onto ‘Smile’, or following the tragic moments after Judy’s death with Sheals stood enchantingly in the haunting spotlight and Dears narrating in tears before singing ‘Cabaret’. While the shift from tears to a smiley ‘Cabaret’ felt a little odd, the startling resemblance between Judy and Elsie from the song, and their shared peaceful aura in death, was pure and simple poetic beauty once more.

While the second half focused on the life and career of Liza, including how to say her name in the mischievous ‘Say Liza (Liza With a ‘Z’)’, her rise to fame during Cabaret, and her bereavement after her mother’s death, Judy was still an important part of many of these moments, whether it be the supportive and chatty mother figure, a confidant to share her Hollywood dreams with, or another singer.

Emma Dears (who also wrote the musical) was phenomenal in the second act, moving from supportive daughter to stardom with ease. She not only stars in the show but also directed it, creating this aura of confidence, as if she was at home in the part. Her poses for the Cabaret segments had all the swagger of Minnelli, her acting during Judy’s demise was so believably mournful, and her singing was flawless, particularly during Liza’s big song ‘Maybe This Time’, which reflected her win at the Oscars, unlike Judy’s awards-snub years earlier. 

‘Maybe This Time’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ proved not only to be two of their most popular songs but also the most impactful in their performances, to the extent that they reappeared in a mashup in the encore. While they were less impressive combined (being such grandiose songs in their own right), something about the pieces subtly worked together and provided the perfect ending to the show. 

The only hiccups were a subtle line mistake by Sheals that was masterfully covered over, a bit of a jump-scare from a backing track glitch during the songs, and that the backing track during a handful of songs in the first act made it difficult to hear their performances fully. Despite this, the show kept its pacing and recovered effortlessly at every hurdle. 

While I occasionally felt a little disconnected, with the audience sometimes feeling more like fly-on-the-wall observers to mother and daughter conversations rather than concert attendees, at other times the show perfectly matched the conversational tone of the Palladium backdrop. There was also a nice mix-up to this formula in the second act, with the divorce segment setting up a freeze frame with Liza onstage posing while Judy spoke about her next marriage, before Liza would talk and vice versa. 

Between the intimate staging, unapologetically powerful performances, great on-stage chemistry, and incredibly raw and emotional performances, Judy & Liza is a phenomenon like no other that intricately weaves classic hits into the complicated lives of the stars.

Judy & Liza runs at Hope Mill Theatre until June 2 and tours the UK until June 29.

Photo: Andrew AB