Hello Everyone:
It’s nearly June and we wanted to fill you in on some
of our events at this years’ Wizard of Oz Festival which will take place from
Thursday, June 14th – Saturday, June 16th. I should add
that although the Festival concludes on Saturday, there will be one more
performance of “The Wizard of Oz – Young Performer’s Edition on Sunday, June 17th,
2:00 pm at the Reif Center.
And now on to some of our news stories.
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| Riley Stovall,Hannah Clark, and Sarah Whittaker |
The
Festival Opener – A Living History in the Judy Garland Birthplace
Twenty-one years ago, An Afternoon with the Gumm Family was performed in the Judy Garland
Birthplace with a mother, Ethel Gumm, and three little girls playing the Gumm
sisters. That year, the Judy Garland Festival celebrated the seventy-fifth
anniversary of Judy Garland’s birth here in Grand Rapids and it was quite a
large event.
There were seven performances of that living history
and every performance was packed. At the first event, a childhood friend of
Judy Garland’s sister, Jimmy, attended and the Itasca Community Television
filmed the performance. For the final performance we had an illustrious crowd
which included: Judy’s husband, Sid Luft, her son, Joe Luft, the widow of
Judy’s cousin, Richard Gumm (his father was Frank Gumm’s brother), their son
and granddaughter, three of the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz and Tony and
Ruth Landini – owners of the Ruby Slippers! These performances brought laughter
and tears to audiences and were not soon forgotten.
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| John Schroeder and Karen Bordeaux in the Gumm's front parlor. |
Now, finally, a living history will occur again in the
Judy Garland house. This time the title is: The Gumms’ Goodbye Party, 1926,
reliving the time just before the Gumm family headed out to California. This
time, the cast consists of very talented Grand Rapids residents, including
well-known actor, John Schroeder as Frank Gumm, Karen Bordeaux – a family
friend, and three little girls as the Gumm sisters, Riley Stovall, Sarah
Whittaker and Hannah Clark. Stuart Boehr will accompany on piano. The music
included in the event are all the songs the Gumms sang when they lived in Grand
Rapids. As an interesting note, Karen Bordeaux was the first place winner of the very first Judy Garland Talent Show here in Grand Rapids!
Time has not allowed for multiple performances, but if
the first show sells out – and it is close to doing so, a second performance
will take place immediately following. Please make sure to purchase your
tickets soon!
http://www.judygarlandmuseum.com
– Purchase them online, over the phone or in-person!
Judy
Garland, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin Together!
Thursday evening, after a summer chicken dinner and
wonderful talk on Judy’s Miracle Year by John Fricke (and you don’t want to
miss that!), Judy Garland’s 1962 special will be shown on the big screen. This
is going to be a really great event. For Sinatra and Martin fans – as well as
Judy fans, this is one you will truly enjoy! These three weave their magic.
For a little more information, please read the article
below.
Judy’s
Miracle Year – What’s It All About?
The story of
1962 in Judy Garland’s life, aptly named by John Fricke, was amazing year for
Judy Garland. Not long before this she’d been told she could never work again –
that she would die. She had liver disease and her body was terribly swollen as
a result. But after a year of calm and healing with her family, Judy picked up
and began to do what she did best – sing – not just for herself, but for her
audiences and as a result we have some of the greatest recordings and footage
on record for any performer in history.
Thursday and Friday, John Fricke will take us through
some of this history with film, video and recorded sound to illustrate the
facts. And, as he always does, John will give us the back stories and a view of
Judy that is fresh an alive.
Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.
– the story behind the Judy Garland Special with her guests Frank Sinatra and
Dean Martin. Then watch the television show as you’ve never seen it before,
bright and clear on a big screen!
Friday, June 15, at 3:00
pm, learn more about Judy’s Miracle Year. This presentation will include
footage of The Ed Sullivan Show, the backstory of the film, “I Could Go on
Singing,” and the two film premieres for this film. And of course there will be
many fun facts and anecdotes.
Then, return after the Community Picnic to see “I
Could Go on Singing” in Blu-ray on a 12 foot screen! You’ll feel as if you’ve
visited London and Judy is right there! This is going to be a truly amazing
experience!
A
Tribute to Judy Garland
 |
| Jayda Richards of Minneapolis |
Our official closing event for the 2018 Wizard of Oz
Festival is A Tribute to Judy Garland.
Five singers will pay tribute to Judy with songs they have chosen and
commentary on her career. Performers include Grand Rapids’ John Schroeder,
Karen Bordeaux, eleven year-old Riley Stovall, along with Justine Benoit of
Duluth, Jayda Richards of Minneapolis.
Pianist Stuart Boehr will accompany on
the piano as well as conducting a few sing-a-longs of the kind that Judy led at
her concerts. We are very excited to have these talented participants take part
in our Tribute to Judy Garland.
As with the Living History program, we have limited
space, if the first performance sells out, we will repeat a second show
immediately following.
Justine Benoit sings "If I Only Had A Brain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pFo0A2wfWo&feature=youtu.be
***
We will be following up with more information in a few
days!
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https://www.facebook.com/judygarlandmuseum/?ref=bookmarks
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