Friday, May 26, 2017

Judy Garland Letter from Home: "Chasing Rainbows" Special Event and more...!.


*  Tina Marie Casamento Libby – The Road to Oz - The Main Event
*  John Fricke – A Group of Wonderful Programs
*  Wizard of Oz/Judy Garland Jeopardy
*  Events for Children – Oz Fest & Dorothy’s Farm Animals
*  What’s New in Grand Rapids? Places to Visit- Things to See
*  Volunteer Thank Yous
*  Wish List…


The Main Event – Chasing Rainbows Dinner
with Tina Marie Casamento Libby
Over the last year, those interested in theater have been aware of one show to watch for: “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.” It’s a play which details the life of young Judy Garland and her family from the time they leave Grand Rapids until Judy receives her Ruby Slippers and knows that she is the one chosen to Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” In the tradition of Broadway shows, “Chasing Rainbows” has lots of hit songs and big dance numbers.

In 2015, “Chasing Rainbows” opened at the Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina to rave reviews. Last fall, it moved to the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, where once again the show was given high praise, along with coverage by Theatre World and Playbill Magazine and received reviews like “must see” and “phenomenal.”

As a side note, appearing at the Goodspeed is often seen as a precursor to Broadway.  For more information, check here:  (http://www.playbill.com/article/goodspeeds-judy-garland-musical-opens-tonight)


On Saturday, June 10th – Judy’s 95th Birthday - Tina Marie Casamento Libby, who conceived and created the show will be speaking at the Festival dinner, as well as showing some musical numbers from the show!

Tina Marie Casamento Libby is a producer, director, teacher and actress with over thirty years’ experience in the industry. She served as Chair and National Theatre/Musical Theatre Panelist of Young Arts for 4 years, and was presented the Teacher Recognition Award by the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. She has directed productions at Infinity Theatre Company, Gallery Players, and Village Light Opera Groups. Ms. Casamento Libby attended Carnegie Mellon University, as well as the University Maryland, where she was recipient of a full scholarship in Creative and Performing Arts. She performed in the first National tours of “Kiss Me, Kate” (2000) and “Victor/Victoria,” as well as the Fulton Theatre production of “Into the Woods” and “Submissions Only.” She also brings her twelve-plus years as a casting associate for NETworks tours and Bob Cline Casting to university masterclasses and workshops throughout the country.

In preparation for this event, we thought it would be nice to find out more about our special visitor and how the production came to be.

Judy Garland Museum:   Hello, Tina Marie. Thank you so much for agreeing to answer some questions. We know you have a busy schedule. To begin with, can you tell us where you grew up and how you become involved in theatre?

Tina Marie Casamento Libby:   I grew up in Northern Virginia, and I saw my first musical at age four. It was The Sound of Music, starring Barbara Eden (of I Dream of Jeannie) -- and I was hooked!


JGM:  After you became interested in creating a show about Judy Garland’s young life, how long did it take you to actually put it together?

TMCL:  Technically, it’s been eight years since I first "pitched" the idea, which really started when I acquired the music rights. That's a whole story in itself, but it seemed logical to make sure those musical numbers would be available to the show. After all, it's Judy who sang, "The history of my life is in my songs."  

But the actual idea that her young life could serve as the basis for a stage show has been in my head since I was thirteen or fourteen!


JGM:   In your studies of Judy, what research did you do? And what research or which books did you find most useful?

TMCL:  It started with the book I found at in my local library: Rainbow by Christopher Finch (originally published in 1975). But all bios and JG info ultimately lead to John Fricke -- of course!


JGM:  After working on the show, did you change your view of Judy Garland in any way?

TMCL:  To put it most simply, I've developed more and more empathy for the way she was determined that her talents would "dig" her and her family out of their financial, emotional, and problematic situations. And I've gained more and more awe as I've come to recognize the strength and character she already possessed at such a young age.


JGM:  What do you hope the full effect of Chasing Rainbows will be – and what do you hope people take away with them after seeing it?

TMCL:  By highlighting Judy's early years, I hope that people will comprehend the spirit of a very young girl who possessed an undying, timeless talent. Her story, and the story of Chasing Rainbows, is the inspirational and universal story of a girl who, against all odds, became an American icon. I hope to honor her memory by telling and sharing this extraordinary portion of her saga -- her childhood and teens -- which often gets skipped by those who examine her life and times.

What I've learned -- and what the show really demonstrates -- is that you have to start at the very beginning of this yellow brick road. In that way, you might see and hear things about Judy Garland in a very different way. 


JGM:  Thank you for speaking with us, Tina Marie.  We can’t wait for your special program!

***

We’re sure that you will all agree from this brief touch on Tina Marie Casamento Libby’s history, she has a lot more to tell us! Don’t miss this event!

Date: Saturday, June 10, 2017
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Place: Sawmill Inn
Price:  $35.00

The evening includes a three course dinner, video clips from “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz” and Interview with Tina Marie Casamento Libby conducted by John Fricke.

For more information on Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz, visit Broadway…

Here’s an ad for the shown:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN0zsUAB3-g



John Fricke’s Special Events – Introduction to Oz!

Last week we wrote about the “Happy Anniversary, Judy” program which John Fricke will be presenting on Friday, June 9th at 3:00 p.m. at the Judy Garland Museum.

In addition, Saturday, June 10th at 3:00 p.m., he will be presenting the documentary film, “We’re Off to See the Munchkins,” which includes interviews with eight of our wonderful friends. There is also a contest associated with this, so please scroll down to our previous newsletter to learn more.

On Friday, June 9th, preeminent Judy Garland and MGM Wizard of Oz historian, John Fricke will be presenting a short 45 minute program entitled “Introduction to Oz!” This is a family friendly presentation that will be as much fun for the kids as for the adults. 
Fricke will discuss how the special effects in the film were accomplished before the use of computer imaging. Along with this, he will discuss the wonderful anti-bullying themes in the film.

This is a great talk to attend before the showing of the film in Blu-Ray on a jumbo screen that night.
In case you don’t know John Fricke, as previously stated, he is widely regarded as the preeminent Judy Garland and MGM Wizard of Oz historian and written seven books on these topics. He has been interviewed on television numerous times, including on: The Today Show, CNN, Entertainment Tonight, The Joan Rivers Show, National Public Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. He is the recipient of Emmy Awards as co-producer of the PBS American Masters and E&E Biography Garland documentaries. He also received a Grammy Award nomination for his liner notes on the Capitol DC, Judy Garland: 25th Anniversary Retrospective.

This event will take place in the art room at the Judy Garland Museum.

Friday, June 9th, 2017
Time:  1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Price:  $10.00 – CHILDREN ARE FREE!


Wizard of Oz / Judy Garland Jeopardy

Date: Friday, June 9, 2017
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Place: Judy Garland Museum
Price: $5.00

Judy Garland/Wizard of Oz, hosted by Paul Herrick and Joe Malinovsky, is an added challenge and great fun for Festival attendees. How well do you know your Wizard of Oz history? Try it out. Great prizes!!!


Oz Festival – Children’s Events

All of the children’s events will take place at the JUDY GARLAND/CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY MUSEUM on Saturday, June 10th. These events will be outside in the Memorial Garden. In case of rain, they will move into the museum.  Both the Emerald City Fest and Dorothy’s Farm Animals are FREE and to the public.

The Emerald City Fest begins at 11:00 a.m. and will run to 2:00 p.m. There will be games, rides with the Horse of a Different Color, photo opportunities with Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion, Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West. There will also be art projects and face painting!


Specialty Food and Drink will be available all day, along with a wash station


Dorothy’s Farm Animals will take place in the Memorial Garden from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will
be an assortment of animals from baby chicks and ducks, to grown-up chickens, turkeys, goats, piglets, a calf and more. We are still waiting on the list! A fun event for children.


What’s New in Grand Rapids?
Places to Go – Things to See

Many visitors in Grand Rapids this year will be surprised by the changes in town. There are a lot of new places and old places with new names.  Here are a few.

Places to eat and buy food:

Driving down Pokegama South on the right hand, the former Cub Grocery Store is now Super One with loads of choices of food, as well as take-out items.
Further down the on the right Aldi’s opened a new store.
Just past Aldi’s is a new Hardees.
On the left, you will find a new Thrifty Drug, and Culvers, an upper scale (we are told) burger and shake place.

Gifts and Things to See

Down by Central School, on your left I the old mall., at the back of the mall is the Village Book Store, which originally was fairly small. We are happy to report it has now doubled in size to include a gift shop. There are a large selection of items unique to northern Minnesota, along with a good selection of books, local and otherwise, as well as magazines. It’s a nice place to visit. Look for:

Of course, we always recommend the Itasca County Historical Society, which is free to visit and also has a gift shop. Go down and take a look at Judy Garland’s baby cradle and Frank Gumm’s golf clubs. They also have quite a number of rare photographs. The new address for the Itasca Historical Society is:  201 N. Pokegama Avenue, across Wayne’s Automotive.

The Old Central School does not have many businesses now, but it’s worth a visit if for nothing else, just to see the old school itself.  The Forest History Center is another unique place to visit.



Volunteers

It takes a lot of hands to run a museum properly and in this newsletter we’d like to thank two very special volunteers. Katie Stella, long-time Judy Garland fan and Museum member recently began doing volunteer work for the Judy Garland Museum. For a number of Saturdays, Katie has put in close to full-time hours to help us. Not only that, she travels all the way from Virginia to do it! As part of her work, Katie is using her experience to help catalog some of our new arrivals! Thank you, Katie. We really needed your help and appreciate your dedication so much!

Another volunteer is John Michael, who used to work at our front desk. John has retired, but returned to use as a volunteer to help out as needed in many ways. A week ago he came in and glued quite a number of broken artifacts. Last week, he worked in the garden, pruning and cleaning. It’s not all easy, but John is very skilled and does fine work in whatever he undertakes. Thank you so much to John Michael!

If you would like to volunteer, please contact us. In coming months we will need help with the garden, painting and a number of other things. During the Festival, we can likely also use a hand here and there with a number of events. So, contact us if you are interested.


Wishes…

There are many things on our wish list, but one thing needed is a CD/DVD/Video cabinet. We are looking for tall shelves, at least 6’ x 2’ – 3’ wide and no more than 9 inches deep. This will help us with conserve on space, of which we are quickly running out. It will also help with organization – making things easy to find.
In addition, our cataloging program is in need of  and Microsoft Word Program, which works in conjunction with the cataloging software. Although the museum is constantly working to raise funds, these types of items are last on the list for spending money. They are just not seen as priorities but they would certainly help the museum run much more efficiently. If someone has a second hand CD/DVD shelf or two we might be able to purchase it from you at a cut-rate price.


ONE MORE NEWSLETTER…

We will have one more newsletter coming before the Wizard of Oz Festival, so stay tuned.
As is always stated, things may be changed without warning, so it’s possible we could have something new on the program. In any case, we will confirm everything.

Be sure to visit us on FACEBOOK!   See you soon!


https://www.facebook.com/judygarlandmuseum/?ref=bookmarks



Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Judy Garland Letter from Home - Judy and the Munchkins!

As the Festival gets closer, we are gearing up for some fun events.

Here is more about what will be happening Thursday, June 8 – Saturday, June 10

In this newsletter we will be talking about:

-          Happy Anniversary, Judy!
-          The Munchkins in Grand Rapids Contest and Film
-          High Tea with Josh Gallagher
-          Talent Contest at the Reif

Happy Anniversary, Judy!

Judy on the Jack Paar Show





Each year John Fricke attends the Wizard of Oz Festival, he has wonderful, insightful presentations on Judy Garland. These are always events which convey the love and inspiration she gave her fans, at the same time revealing something we didn’t know about this talented woman.









This year, for his special video presentation on Judy, John has chosen to celebrate many of her special anniversaries:

50 years – Judy’s 3rd triumphant engagement at the Palace on Broadway (1967);

55 years – The top-rated TV special – Judy with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin (1962), and
                    The filming of her extraordinary work in the motion picture “I Could Go on Singing.”

60 years - Celebrating her long-playing “concept album,” Alone, and
                    The record-breaking success at London’s Dominion Theatre (1957);

65 years - Judy won her special Tony Award, and
                  The birth of her daughter, Lorna (1952).

Host John Fricke, has just informed us that he has been able to collect some wonderful footage for this presentation, including unedited news footage of Judy receiving her Tony Award! This program is going to be an exciting and joyful celebration of Judy’s fabulous career, so we are sure you won’t want to miss it!

Happy Anniversary, Judy will be on Friday, June 9th from 3:00pm - 4:30pm. Tickets are $20. Of course, with a Judy Garland Membership, you will receive a 10% discount.  Don’t miss it!


We’re Off to See the Munchkins and
   The Munchkins in Grand Rapids Contest!

One of the presentations at this year’s Wizard of Oz Festival will be the showing of the documentary film, We’re Off to See the Munchkins. In conjunction with this, the Judy Garland Museum plans to open a new exhibit titled “The Munchkins in Grand Rapids,” which will tell the stories of these special little people from the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, and their many visits to Grand Rapids!

In addition, the museum is holding a contest for the best story/ picture of an experience you had meeting a Munchkin or a group of Munchkins in Grand Rapids. The winner will receive a free ticket to the showing of the film and have their story/picture featured in the new exhibit. And, if you are not too shy, you may be asked to tell that story before the film! For those who have purchased the special ticket package of all Festival events, we’ll find a prize of equal value.

“We’re Off to See the Munchkins” is a documentary film from 1993. In the film, eight “Munchkins” tell their experiences of working on “The Wizard of Oz,” with cast and crew. Included in the film are: Jerry Maren, Margret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Carl Slover, Clarence Swensen, Betty Tanner, Nels P. Nelson and Lewis Croft.  The film runs 77 minutes.


High Tea with Music by Josh Gallagher

Our High Tea in the Judy Garland House on Thursday, June 8th at 4:00 p.m. is about half sold-out, so if you are interested, be sure to buy your tickets soon.

Last year, the house looked absolutely beautiful. This year, we have a new caterer with some nice sandwiches and treats along with piano music by Josh Gallagher, an amazing jazz musician from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

 Josh was recommended to us several years ago, after visitors heard him playing the piano in the Gumm family’s (Garland) front parlor when he was just a visitor himself. For the last two years, he has performed amazing concerts at the museum. This year, Josh will play some of your favorite melodies in an amazing way during this high tea. He will also have a couple of surprises for you that we are sure will add to the experience.


Guillia Piscitelli, winner of  the 2014 Talent Show

Talent Contest at the Reif


The Judy Garland Talent Contest is for youth ages six through eighteen. The contest will take place on Thursday, June 8 at 7pm. John Fricke will host and some illustrious persons will serve as judges.

The guidelines and applications are available on our website, as well as at the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids.  Judy Garland Museum

Please check this out now and don't delay in submitting your application!  There are less than fifteen days left before the deadline to submit!

This is a great opportunity for talented youth! Maybe someone would like to attend a summer performing arts camp or take lessons they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Best of luck!

Coming Soon! 





Look for our next newsletter, which will include a story on our special guest, Tina Marie Casamento Libby and her show, “Chasing Rainbows, The Road to Oz”!