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LA
WEEKLY PERFORMANCE PICK OF THE WEEK - Jim Bailey: Judy, Judy, Judy
Los
Angeles - It sounds like a grand bit of camp, a hoot of an evening, watching
a guy dressed up like Hollywood icon Judy Garland, but this is no drag
show. This is as close as we can get to the real thing. Jim Bailey is
a masterful actor and extraordinary singer who recreates the grand dame
of musical standards from her tiny physique to her immense voice. There
are plenty of laughs in an evening filled with Garland’s famous songs
and almost whiny, self-deprecating patter that gives just enough impression
of the drugs and alcohol that both created and destroyed the lady’s
legendary persona. For a special treat, Bailey delivers some songs written
after Garland’s death, filling in our fantasies of how she would
deal with later Broadway melodies, especially those of Stephen Sondheim.
Sitting at the Cinegrill, we hear Garland’s occasional vocal staggering
as she sometime grapples for the note. The note always arrives just in
time to create the perfect moment of heartbreak. Jim Bailey is one of
the great showmen of our time, and this grand illusion is not to be missed.
