End Of The Rainbow, Peter Quilter’s drama about the final days of Judy Garland’s life, has proved so popular during its run at the Trafalgar Studios that it has extended its West End season by five weeks.
The show, which stars Laurence Olivier Award-winner Tracie Bennett as the fading superstar, opened at the former Whitehall theatre in November and was due to close on 5 March. It will now run until 16 April.
End Of the Rainbow is set in 1968 as Garland attempts to make another comeback at the Talk Of The Town. Despite a series of failed marriages and a ruined Hollywood career, Garland remains a tough and remarkable woman, armed with a sharp wit and a real understanding of the demons that possess her. Yet within six months she will be dead at the age of 47, her body wrecked by the legendary amounts of drink and drugs she had been consuming since a teenager.
Though billed as a play, the piece includes performances of a collection of Garland’s most memorable songs, including The Man That Got Away, Come Rain Or Come Shine and Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
Since opening in November, the production has proved a hit with both the public and the press, with the Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer describing Bennett’s portrayal of Garland as “One of the greatest musical theatre performances I have ever witnessed.”
MA