Judy Garland is dead!  Long live Judy Garland!

When one watches and listens to Peter Mac perform as Garland, it’s hard to distinguish where reality ends and illusion begins. In full Garland regalia — wig, elegant dresses, shoes, make-up — Peter Mac becomes the iconic singer and, while his voice may be slightly deeper than hers was, the vocals are so close and the re-creation so precise that it’s nearly impossible not to be taken in completely and to use the female pronoun when referring to the performer.

Mac knows his subject extremely well — not just her mannerisms, but also her sense of humor — so that when a couple walks in after the show has started, he’s able to quip that, for a change, it wasn’t Garland who was late. But every mannerism that Garland had is there: slurring the end of words, especially “ing” sounds; slinging the microphone wire over one shoulder; clutching an elbow with the opposite hand; pronouncing certain words in her distinctive style; giggling self-consciously; throwing the head back slightly and holding the microphone at a downward angle.

And the phrasing — simply impeccable.

Mac refers to himself as a tribute artist rather than an impersonator, and he clearly loves and admires his subject. Although he was born roughly a decade after Garland’s death, Mac acknowledges in off-stage conversation that her voice served as an inspiration that saved his life while he was growing up gay in Long Island, N.Y.

Most of the songs he sang are Garland’s songs, including several using Garland’s original charts: “When You’re Smiling ” (Larry Shay/Mark Fisher/Joe Goodwin), and the medley of “Almost Like Being in Love”/ “This Can’t Be Love” (Lerner and Loewe/ Rodgers and Hart), both arranged by Mort Lindsey; and one medley arranged by Roger Edens: “You Made Me Love You” (James V. Monaco/Joseph McCarthy); “For Me and My Gal” (George W. Meyer/Edgar Leslie/E. Ray Goetz) and “The Trolley Song” (Hugh Martin).

Other Garland standards included a softly caressing version of “It Never Was You” (Kurt Weill/Maxwell Anderson); a very solid “Swanee” (George Gershwin/Irving Caesar) and, after putting on a pair of red shoes (“Just something I found under the house one day!”), the inevitable “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen/E.Y. “Yip” Harburg).

One of the show’s special highlights was hearing Mac as Garland sing a song she never recorded — a superb rendition of Jerry Herman’s “If He Walked Into My Life” from Mame. Another, spoken, highlight was a moving dramatic monologue based on quotes from a magazine article in which Mac as Garland discussed her insecurities about singing until she hears that first burst of applause, which tells her she’s still Judy Garland and audiences still want to hear her. That led Mac into “Once Before I Go,” a song by Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford that was written as an apparent tribute to Garland (“I want you to know/That I’d do it all again”).

While Mac/Garland changed from a two-piece white gown to a sparkly black ensemble and finally to a jacket and pants, Gillmore Rizzo took to the stage to sing impressively, including an adorable novelty called “I Didn’t Slip, I Wasn’t Pushed, I Fell” (Eddie Pola/George Wyle), a very sweet “How Deep Is the Ocean?” (Irving Berlin) and a laid-back version of the Dean Martin hit, “Everybody Loves Somebody” (Irving Taylor/Ken Lane).

Musical direction was provided by pianist Brian Miller, with percussion by Michael Joseph James, who included too many wind chimes in his playing.

Garland would have been 88 this year, and the only time Mac referred to the illusion with a wink was when he pointed out that he feels like a 30-year-old man in an 88-year-old woman’s body.

He will be back at the Gardenia July 15 with his salute to several women, including Garland, Liza Minnelli, Dame Edna, Peggy Lee and Bebe Neuwirth, plus a performance as himself.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
June 18, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org