Judy! a new play with music about the life of Judy Garland to run at the Arts Theatre

Judy Garland's life re-examined at the Arts Theatre

A new biographical musical play about the life of Judy Garland has been announced to run at the Arts Theatre in central London from 16 May to 17 June 2017, with an official opening on 18 May.

Judy! is a play by Ray Rackham, previously see in London under the title Through The Mill at the London Theatre Workshop in Fulham as well as The Southwark Playhouse.

Described as a "poignant and ultimately uplifting story portraying the star as a survivor in a man's world" the play uses three ages of Judy Garland to show different sides of her life.

"The stories of Young Judy (an innocent girl filled with hope and excitement as she heads toward her life-changing performance in The Wizard of Oz), Palace Theatre Judy (a woman at the height of her performing powers in the midst of a passionate romance with Sidney Luft) and CBS Judy (an older and possibly wiser woman) demonstrate that no matter how hard we look for love in all the wrong places, the answer is ultimately inside ourselves."

The cast includes Helen Sheals as CBS Judy, Belinda Wollaston as Palace Judy and Lucy Penrose as Young Judy. The score is brought to life by a live band that combines Garland standards interlinked with some of her lesser known numbers and includes "The Trolley Song", "The Man That Got Away" and "Over The Rainbow".

Playwright, director, librettist and producer Ray Rackham is the Artistic Director of the London Theatre Workshop. As a writer his credits include the musical Apartment 40C which premiered at the London Theatre Workshop in December 2014 before transferring to the St James Studio.

Judy! tickets are now on sale.