Kathy St. George stars as the legendary Judy Garland in Actors’ Playhouse “End of the Rainbow,” a play that chronicles the last six months of Garland’s troubled life.
St. George also starred in “Fiddler on the Roof” on Broadway and in regional productions of “9 to 5” and “42nd Street,” among others.
She grew up in Stoneham, Mass. and attended Salem State University to become a second grade teacher, her dream job. While at Salem State University, she started performing as a piano accompanist for a singer in Boston.
“That was my first exposure to theater, going around with her and playing for all of her auditions,” she said.
She describes “End of the Rainbow,” the title of which is a reference to Garland’s iconic performance of “Over the Rainbow” in the classic film “The Wizard of Oz,” as a play with music that shows Garland’s struggles with addiction and life in the spotlight.
“We get to see exactly what was going on in her life as she was trying to make yet one more comeback,” said St. George.
She said it’s also a thrill to embody Garland, whom she has played in the productions of “Dear Miss Garland” and “Miss Judy Garland.” The play has been performed on Broadway and London’s West End and is set in 1968, when Garland was engaged to musician Mickey Deans, who became her fifth and final husband.
The show features a six-piece band, which accompanies St. George in performing some of Garland’s greatest hits. “Come Rain or Come Shine” is St. George’s favorite to sing, especially since she’s never performed it in any other production. St. George said that playing someone as iconic as Garland is challenging.
“She was a worker. She could do it all. She was an actress, a singer, a dancer. I’m not nearly as fast a learner as I think she was,” St. George said.
Though the play is about Garland’s inevitable death at 47, St. George said the show is very funny as well.
“People that worked with Judy and knew Judy say that she was the funniest woman in the world,” said St. George. “I’ve watch countless YouTube clips of her and all of her interviews and performances, and she is funny, and this play allows us to see that part of Judy.”
St. George said audiences will be most surprised to find out how “ridiculously hard” Garland worked, which led her to rely on medication that turned into an addiction.
“[Garland] was booked to do six weeks at this nightclub in London called The Talk of the Town. Six weeks every night, it’s exhausting — song after song after song. She was in this cycle of trying to get clean, but it just consumed her how hard she worked”, said St. George.
St. George said the play offers audiences insight into the not-so-glamorous life of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
“I think people will come away from seeing ‘End of the Rainbow’ with a newfound respect and love for Judy Garland and an insight into what was really going on inside her,” she said.
“End of the Rainbow” is playing through Feb. 9 at Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit actorsplayhouse.org.
