Lorna Luft melds the favorite songbook of her mother Judy Garland with personal memories about growing up with the star known for her voice and, of course, her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. No stranger to the stage, Lorna Luft started entertaining at 11 years old and has become a celebrated live performer and actress.
Growing up the daughter of Judy Garland and half-sister of Liza Minnelli can have its advantages as well as its disadvantages. Lorna Luft shares both perspectives in her new stage show “Songs My Mother Taught Me”. Ms. Luft melds the favorite songbook of her mother Judy Garland with personal memories about growing up with the star known for her voice and, of course, her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. No stranger to the stage, Lorna Luft started entertaining at 11 years old and has become a celebrated live performer and actress.
This is a unique opportunity to catch her show in a small venue at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Thursday, January 20, at 8 p.m., at a fraction of the cost of her performances in New York in the same tour. Media sponsor is WMNR Fine Arts Radio 89.5fm. This program is part of the Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer/Songwriter Series.
In “Songs My Mother Taught Me: The Judy Garland Songbook”, Lorna Luft headlines in what the Los Angeles Times calls a “heart-stopping and thrilling” musical event. Ms. Luft has grasped the timeless songs her mother made famous and made them her own: “The Man That Got Away”, “Get Happy”, “The Trolley Song”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Come Rain or Come Shine”, “You Made Me Love You”, “Do It Again”, “This Can’t Be Love”, “Over the Rainbow” are part of the Judy Garland repertoire, and each and every one a showstopper.
As the daughter of superstar Judy Garland, Lorna Luft has earned acclaim in international circles and has appeared with Rufus Wainwright, Alan Cumming and Margaret Cho. She has earned multiple awards including the British Film Critics Award and the American Guild of Variety Artists award as “Rising Star of the Year”. As a singer, television, stage, and film actress, Lorna Luft has had leading roles in Broadway’s Promises, Promises and The Apartment and in touring company productions of Follies, They’re Playing Our Song and Gypsy. She has performed at The Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden and Carnegie Hall as well as at The London Palladium and L’Olympia in Paris.
For tickets ($57), call or visit the box office at The Ridgefield Playhouse, (203) 438-5795. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT; ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
