Tracie Bennett will play Judy Garland in the West End premiere of Peter Quilter's End of the Rainbow. Directed by Terry Johnson, End of the Rainbow combines humour and heartbreak to capture both the drama of Garland's final performances in London and her controversial life off stage.
Set in London in 1968 and featuring her most memorable songs including The Man That Got Away, Come Rain or Come Shine, The Trolley Song and Somewhere Over the Rainbow,
Tracie Bennett is joined by
Hilton McRae as Anthony, Garland's devo
TEd Scottish pianist and musical director,
Stephen Hagan as about to be husband number five Mickey Deanes, Robin Browne as Radio Interviewer, Porter and Stage Manager, plus a six piece on stage band.
End of the Rainbow will preview at the Trafalgar Studios from 15 November, with press night on 22 November and is booking until 5 March 2011. Designed by
William Dudley with sound design by
Gareth Owen, lighting by Simon Corder and musical direction by
Gareth Valentine, End of the Rainbow is presented in the West End by
Lee Dean,
Jenny Topper,
Laurence Myers,
Charles Diamond and
Hilary Williams in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
In her hotel room, with a new young fiancé at her side, Garland battles with drugs and alcohol as she undertakes an exhausting series of concerts at the Talk of the Town in a bid to reclaim her crown as the greatest talent of her generation. Despite a series of failed marriages and a ruined Hollywood career, she remains a tough and remarkable woman, armed with a legendary razor-sharp wit and a real understanding of the demons that possess her. Yet, within six months, she will be dead at the age of just 47, her body wrecked by the legendary amounts of drink & drugs she had been consuming since a teenager.
Multi award-winning
Tracie Bennett's extensive theatre credits include Jacqueline in
Terry Johnson's production of La Cage Aux Folles at
The Playhouse Theatre, and Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray at the Shaftesbury Theatre for which she won the
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Role in a Musical. Her other theatre credits include Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre, Sex Chips and Rock n Roll for the Royal Exchange Manchester, High Society at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Guys and Dolls, Educating Rita and Spring Awakening all for Sheffield Crucible and a national tour of Billy Liar. On television she is best known for her role as Sharon Gaskell in Coronation Street. Her other television credits include Dalziel and Pascoe, Casualty, Vincent and The Royal. On film she played Millandra in
Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine.
Hilton McRae has most recently been seen Channel 4's feature length television drama playing the title role in The Execution of Gary Glitter. In the theatre his credits include The Kreutzer Sonata for the
Gate Theatre, Dublin, Experimentum Mundi at the Edinburgh International Festival, Rock 'n' Roll for Manchester Library Theatre, The Wizard of Oz at the Royal Festiv
Al Hall, Weapons of Happiness for the Finborough Theatre and Caroline, Or Change for the
National Theatre. He played Claudius in
Rupert Goold's production Hamlet at the Royal Theatre Northampton. McRae has worked extensively for the
Royal Shakespeare Company in productions including Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Troilus and Cressida and As You Like It. His other television his credits include Doctors, Silent Witness and Monarch of the Glen for the BBC and Lewis, Frances Tuesday and Midsommer Murders for ITV. His film credits include The Power of Three, Red Riding Trilogy, Mansfield Park, Secret Rapture and The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Stephen Hagan's theatre credits include The York Realist at
Riverside Studios, Cyrano De Bergerac at the
Chichester Festival Theatre, The Real Thing for
Salisbury Playhouse, The Giant for Hampstead Theatre and Troilus and Cressida for the
Royal Shakespeare Company. On television his credits include Ryan in the BBC series The Cut, as well as Best: His Mother's Son , Clapham Junction and Mistresses. On film he has been seen in Against The Dark.
Robin Browne made his West End debut in 1969 in
Eric Porter's My Little Boy, My Big Girl. As a member of the
Peter Hall Company he was seen in The Rose Tattoo and An Ideal Husband. His other West End credits include
Agatha Christie's Murder at the Vicarage and Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife. He appeared as Le Beau and Oliver Mar-Text in
Peter Hall's production of As You Like It in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Most recently he was seen at the Arcola Theatre in Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. On television Browne played Rusty in the original television series of Crossroads. His other screen credits include It Ain't Half Hot Mum and The Hutton Inquiry.
Multi award-winning director and writer
Terry Johnson's recent theatre credits include La Cage aux Folles at the
Menier Chocolate Factory, in the West End and on Broadway, where he won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. His other directing credits include The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Vaudeville Theatre, Rain Man at the
Apollo Theatre, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Gielgud Theatre, Hitchcock Blonde at
The Royal Court Theatre which transferred to the West End, Cleo Camping Emmanuelle and Dick at the
National Theatre and The Graduate at the Gielgud Theatre. On television his credits include 'Cor Blimey! and The Man Who Lost His Head for ITV and Not Only But Always for Channel Four.
Peter Quilter's plays include Duet, Celebrity, Just the Ticket and The Nightingales as well as Glorious!, which was directed by
Alan Strachan and starred
Maureen Lipman.
LISTINGS INFORMATION END OF THE RAINBOW
Theatre: Trafalgar Studios, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY
Dates: 16 November -5 March 2011
Press Night: 22 November at 7pm
Performances: Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm
Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
First Thursday matinee on 25 November
For full details on the performance schedule please check the website or call the box office
Box Office: 0844 8717632
Tickets: £25 - £49.50
Website: www.trafalgar-studios.co.uk
Photo credit: Robert Day
Tracie Bennett
Tracie Bennett
