A campy, poignant ‘Judy Christmas’ at Uptown; and why it may be time for DTC to rehearse a new ‘Carol’
ARNOLD WAYNE JONES Executive Editor
jones@dallasvoice.com
Judy Garland gave us one of the most enduring holiday songs, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and she hosted some of the iconic “evening with” TV shows of her era, so it doesn’t seem too far-fetched that a revue built around her catalogue of songs would be a good fit for December. But when Uptown Players is involved, you know they won’t tackle that chestnut head-on with just a playlist of carols… especially with a mischievous elf like B.J. Cleveland behind the scenes as writer and director, and Janelle Lutz — whose performances as Judy are still indelibly seared on our collective theatergoing experience — adding her touches of wit and tragedy.
And so the world-premiere of A Very Judy Christmas, coming down the chimney of the Kalita through Dec. 16, is not merely a collection of two dozen songs (though there is that), but a charming and occasionally emotional glass of holiday cheer.
It’s putatively 1963, on the faux living room set of a TV Christmas special (though tons of anachronisms elbow the audience about the artifice of it all), and Judy Garland is welcoming guests to her nog-flowing party — among them, celebrity pals Marilyn Monroe (Grace West), Pearl Bailey (Dana Harper), Ethel Merman (B.J. Cleveland), Frank Sinatra (Jeff Wells) and Mel Torme (Christopher Curtis). They come, tell some anecdotes, drink a hot toddy or six, and sing a few songs. At first it has the structure of a Saturday Night Live sketch (or a drag show), where the cast show their versatility at impersonations … and the impersonations are pretty stellar. But as the show progresses, Cleveland-the-playwright throws in sly historical references, digs at contemporary society, gags about alcoholism and pill-popping, and, ultimately, a poignant appreciation for the significance Garland plays in the gay firmament.
Until then, we are treated to a breathy Marilyn singing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” a silken-voice Harper killing it as Pearl Bailey, Cleveland as a blowsy Ethel (and later as an older Liza) chewing up the scenery as only he can and Trevor Wright, a stand-in for all the gay boys who loved (and often married) into the Minnelli clan.
But it’s largely Lutz’s show. She sings only two solos — the lead-off “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and the closer “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — but duets on many others, and there are long stretches where you’re certain you’re watching the reincarnation of Judy. The tone of her voice is spot-on, and her expressive eyes capture the sadness and genius of Garland. An especially memorable moment is the mash-up duet of “Happy Days/Get Happy” between Lutz and Sarah Elizabeth Price as a young Liza. Then she improvs banter with the actual audience with a bitchy camp sensibility that Uptown Players’ exceeds at. In fact, it’s such a delightful sleigh ride of song and sentiment that I hope this becomes an annual tradition in North Texas. We need a little Christmas, right this very minute… and at least until the next election.
Since the Dallas Theater Center moved its annual staging of A Christmas Carol to the Wyly Theatre about a decade ago, it has employed artistic director Kevin Moriarty’s adaptation of Dickens’ story of holiday redemption — an industrial, bleak world that ends with Scrooge keeping the season in his heart. The theater has gussied up each year’s version with tweaks — new director, new leading actor, sometimes super-imposing social critique as well, such as making Scrooge a woman two years ago. But I think it’s finally time for the DTC to do something more radical.
The version now playing through December casts Alex Organ as probably the youngest Ebenezer yet, and while Scrooge was probably much younger than the shriveled curmudgeon he’s often played as (after all, his older sister, Fanny, died giving birth to his nephew Fred, who couldn’t be more than about 25; Scrooge probably hasn’t left his 40s yet), the casting of Organ doesn’t quite work… and points out the weaknesses in the script and design.
If you’re one of those who sees the production every year, you could probably recite every line from memory, and it feels like Organ is so intent on breathing a different sensibility into the lines, he doesn’t project the same style of black-hearted misery that makes his transformation feel meaningful. There’s also the gnawing disconnect of how Scrooge soured sooooo quickly on the holiday spirit (in one scene, he’s laughing it up with Mr. Fezziwig; in the next, he’s plotting his ruin) that you wonder if he was ever a good person in the first place, or a predator lying in wait for his mentor to slip up. Sure, by the end, your cockles are properly warmed — I like Jahi Kearse as Bob Cratchit, and director Tiffany Nichole Greene’s casting of the Ghosts of Christmas Present as a pair of Thing 1/Thing 2 scamps — gives a lovely jolt of energy. But the sewer-like set is cumbersome and ultimately a distraction. After 10 years, it seems a humbug to continually trot out this warhorse for one more campaign. Here’s hoping that the new year, the regifting will end and something fresh will come about.
