An Evening with Lorna Luft
3 May 2008
Fairfax studio, The Arts Centre
Melbourne didn’t see Lorna Luft’s
multimedia show Songs My Mother Taught Me.
Instead, we were treated to the much more intimate An Evening with Lorna Luft. This gave us the opportunity to see
Luft for herself, without immediate association with well-known members of her
family.
Luft made
her television debut at 11, singing on her mother’s series (The Judy Garland Show). She said she was never comfortable with her legacy. Comfort, acceptance
and celebration of her upbringing have come with age, love and distance. She has also created and maintained her
own astonishingly consistent career that spans Broadway musicals (at 19 she
stared in Promises, Promises.),
national tours, Off Broadway theatre, television, film (she was in Grease 2), concerts and variety. She has
also had time to write “Me and My Shadows: Living with the Legacy of Judy Garland” and produce the Emmy winning series based
on her memoir.
The evening’s standing ovation
declared that Luft is indeed a performer to be reckoned with. She enthralled
the eager audience, with a selection of musical and popular favourites ranging
from ‘My Funny Valentine’ to ‘Don’t Cry Outloud’ (in tribute to the brother in
law she loved dearly).
She was much more
comfortable and settled after the interval. It was here that we got to hear her
stories, feel her sincerity, laugh at her wit, and share some of Songs My Mother Taught Me. We were privileged
to hear her stories (like Judy changing all the shoes outside the doors at the
Savoy) and hear her sing some of those songs. When she stated with, ‘The night is bitter...’ the room
belonged only to her.
Luft doesn’t try
to emulate her mother. Her arrangements (by her husband and pianist Colin R
Freeman) suit her voice, her style and her personality. She captivates by being
herself.
Luft is performing
in other cities until the end of June. Nothing will stop fans going, but there
will also be many more Friends of Lorna by the end of the tour.
This review appeared on AussieTheatre.com
