Click on the links below to down load the poster or the mailer for the PFLAG Event at Playhouse Merced on July 31st, 2005! Warning, it is very large file so it will be best if you have High Speed. So, click on it and walk away from your computer, if you continue to surf, you will slow down your download speeds. It normally arrives within a minute on High Speed.

Flyer in PDF (9.25 MB)

Mailer in PDF

This was for the July 31st, 2005 Performance of JUDY SPEAKS and PFLAG Reception

 

WWW.PLAYHOUSEMERCED.COM • 209.725.TKTS
452 West Main Street, Merced, 95340

PRESS RELEASE FOR:

JUDY SPEAKS

Purpose of Press Release: Inform of the Opening of “JUDY SPEAKS” starring Mary Birdsong from Comedy Central's Reno 911!
Effective Dates: Immediately through July 31st, 2005
Suggestion for Headline: Judy Garland, Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before!
Comedy Central's "Reno 911" Deputy Kimball Stars as Judy Garland in Playhouse Merced’s Presentation of “JUDY SPEAKS!”

To set up interviews or for more information, pictures or logos please contact me at: Jerry@PlayhouseMerced.com, or by calling 209-725-8587.
We have Fabulous pictures, call me and I will email them to you!!

* * *

Playhouse Merced presents “JUDY SPEAKS!” Starring Mary Birdsong of Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!” and of the CBS sitcom “Welcome to New York”.

Written by Mary Birdsong, Created by Julie Kramer and Mary Birdsong, Directed by Gregory Wolfe and inspired from ultra-rare home voice tapes which were recorded by Judy Garland as notes for her never written autobiography.

"…and put the pattern straight, I’m outraged. I’m outraged about many things that I read about myself, that people have said…they’ve affected me deeply. "

"Now I’m going to talk back, I’m gonna talk in my own words and tell the truth, so here goes."

"And if I sound like the 'lady doth protest too much,' don’t get the idea that by…telling my story, and I have a right to, don’t think that comes from anything but having been…treated, and treated badly, written about in a shocking manner, smeared, scandalized, and I’m sick of it!"

"I’ve come to a time in my life when I don’t want it anymore and I can’t rise above it."

"I can’t rise above these scandalous, obscene lies that have been…the so-called “printed word.”

JUDY SPEAKS, and does she!
Her performance as Dorothy won her a special Juvenile Oscar, and it was this role, of course, that gave her her most famous song, "Over the Rainbow". Unfortunately, it was the same studio that made her a star, that unwittingly made her a drug addict- giving her sleeping pills and barbituates to keep her energy level high and her weight level down.

Her drug intake increased dramatically, and this led to increasingly erratic behavior and failure to show up on time at the studio. MGM eventually couldn't take it anymore, and her contract terminated in 1950.

She still continued her dependency on both men and prescription drugs, and finally the inevitable happened: on the night of June 22, 1969, she overdosed on barbiturates and died. Thousands mourned the world over.

The autobiography that was never written.
The voice that was never heard.
The rainbow that was never crossed.
Hear, in her own words, what it was like to be… America’s Darling.

Judy Garland speaks without prompting, without editing, and begs us to ponder why we forget the people behind the talent.

What People Say About “Judy Speaks!”...
Bruce Glikas (HX Magazine) " ... the amazing Mary Birdsong, whose Judy Garland was so dead-on, Judy Davis should give up her Emmy! May I just say: A Star Is Born!"

(NEXT MAGAZINE) "the true revelation of the night was Mary Birdsong channeling a stunning Judy Garland with every word, sketchy hand gesture, and even a couple of brilliant, belting numbers."

Minju Pak (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER) "Inspired by the recent double-CD release of Judy Garland's private "journal" -type tapes, Birdsong is breathing new life into the late troubled songstress (and her words) in the one-woman show "Judy Speaks! (gumm's last tape)." Birdsong has been performing "Judy Speaks!" in the Big Apple for almost a year now, and critics have been enthralled."

Chris Willman (Entertainment Weekly): "In a recent review of 'Judy Garland Speaks!,' a two-CD collection of private tapes Garland recorded late in her life, 'EW' wrote that the bitter, funny, druggy monologues 'feel like a great one-woman Off-Off Broadway show.' Someone else thought so too. Actress Mary Birdsong, of the CBS sitcom 'Welcome to New York,' has created a piece around the soliloquies, titled 'Judy Speaks! (Gumm's Last Tape),' which she's just started workshopping.... 'This show is unusual, for starters, in that it's a woman doing Judy,' she laughs, noting that some drag queens have already worked excerpts from the tapes into their acts. Why the ongoing fascination? 'She failed so hugely, over and over, and then came right back- to me, it's very comforting,' says Birdsong. 'Today an icon of a similar stature is Madonna, but she rarely screws up. She doesn't appear at a concert half-tanked and embarrass herself in front of an entire country and then sing and we forgive her because she's so brilliant.' No, but Maddy's not too old to try."

Andy Horwitz (www.andyschest.com) "But by far, the showstoppingest showstopper of them all was Judy Garland as performed by Mary Birdsong. Zowie!! ...the voice was amazing, the mannerisms perfect and the spoken-word renditions of excerpts from "Judy Garland Speaks" were outlandish and brilliant!"

“JUDY SPEAKS” runs for two weekends only! With JULY 21st already SOLD OUT!!! THIS SHOW IS SURE TO BE A HIT! Previews on Wednesday, July 20th at 7:30 p.m. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Call the box office at 725.TKTS to reserve your seats!

While at the box office, get your table for the biggest event for Playhouse Merced at the 2005/2006 Gala on August 27th! Also, be sure to become a subscriber to Playhouse Merced’s 2005/2006 Season, including the Tony Award winning musical comedy, "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum," the moving drama "The Diary of Anne Frank", the World Premier of "Nuncrackers A-Men!", and Much, Much More! Playhouse Merced is also presenting a Family Series including "James and the Giant Peach", "A Year with Frog and Toad”, and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. With all this and more in store, make sure you get to be a part of the act and learn what they have to offer at www.PlayhouseMerced.com or visit Playhouse Merced at the box office.

The box office is located at 452 West Main Street in downtown Merced. Prices range from $10-$12 for the Family Series, and $10-$18 for the Main Stage productions. Season packages, ranging from $38-$189 are also available. Box office hours are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and one hour before all show times. Tickets may also be purchased by calling 209.725.TKTS.

Some useful Links:

Mary Birdsong's Website, The Author and Star of Judy Speaks

A Shrine to Judy Garland