"END OF THE RAINBOW"
the JUDY GARLAND Musical Drama
West End hit in 2011 & Broadway smash in 2012
Performed in major cities in 24 countries worldwide
Adapted for the 2020 Oscar-winning movie "JUDY"
Nominated for 3 TONY Awards
and 4 OLIVIER Awards
including BEST NEW PLAY
"END OF THE RAINBOW"
dramatizes the final few months in the life of the iconic Hollywood star Judy Garland as she struggles to complete a run of concerts at the Talk of the Town in London. Accompanied by her loyal pianist Anthony and new fiancé Mickey, and drowning in problems, she must battle to reclaim her crown as the greatest performer of her generation. The show is based around one flexible set and requires a cast of 4 actors plus a small band. (smaller versions can use 3 actors and recorded music).
"There are moments in the theatre when you lean forward in your seat,
with shivers racing down the spine, and realise there is nowhere else
on God's earth you'd rather be. End of the Rainbow is one such occasion...
One of the greatest musical performances I have ever witnessed"
(Daily Telegraph, London)
BEN BRANTLEY REVIEW IN THE NEW YORK TIMES:
"After watching the electrifying, intense production at the Belasco Theater, you feel exhilarated, exhausted and utterly alive. "End of the Rainbow" is sensational - in every sense of the word. This lurid account of the twilight of an all-too-mortal goddess on the eve of destruction is revealing in a way that tell-all bio-drama seldom is. Every chapter of Garland's history is alive: she is foul-mouthed, flirtatious, hypersexual, childlike, unedited, manipulative and supremely self-conscious as she makes love and war. Touch this woman at your own risk - she burns. She has a strong sense of herself as a human tragedy on a world stage, but her sense of humour, of the absurdity of it all, is just as sharp. Some of her zingers are appallingly funny. And then she sings - and all those disparate, desperate elements coalesce into a coherent, riveting whole."
END OF THE RAINBOW had its premiere at Sydney Opera House in Australia in 2005. The show was then produced around the world, finally arriving for a sold out run in London's West End (at the Trafalgar Theatre) in 2010.
The award winning production transferred to New York in 2012 (at the Belasco Theatre) where it ran for 6 months prior to a run in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre. The play went on to enjoy runs in Chicago, Miami and many other U.S. cities and worldwide it has been performed in dozens of countries including acclaimed runs in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Amsterdam and Tokyo.
In 2019, the play was adapted for the movie "Judy" starring Renée Zellweger. The film was a box office success and won the Golden Globe, the Bafta and the Oscar for Actress in a leading role.
"Judy Garland has been brought back to utterly convincing stage life in Peter Quilter's moving, miraculous new play...Ferocious and fascinating" (Sunday Express)