When our friends at Centrepoint, the leading charity for homeless young people, extended an invitation for My Soho Times to attend an unmissable one-off show; Judy: No Place Like Home to celebrate the legacy of Judy Garland, we knew just the person to to take with us… award-winning lifestyle blogger Ana De-Jesus shares more from the spectacular night!

On the 28^{th of} November, I was blessed to have been invited to Judy: No Place Like Home courtesy of My Soho Times. There’s an interesting correlation between Centrepoint charity which began over 50 years ago from the basement of St Anne’s Church in Soho, the iconic Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue – just around the corner from where Centrepoint first started, and My Soho Times who’s founder and editor, Kai Lutterodt, has an almost 20-year connection with Centrepoint; citing them as “my first link to Soho since 2003”.

Judy: No Place Like Homes was a celebration of what would have been Judy Garland’s 100^th birthday this year (10th June 2022). Legends from stage and screen gathered together on the big stage to share the legacy of Judy, and raise vital funds for youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint.  

Judy Garland’s Icon Status 

Judy Garland was an icon, a legend if you will, whose life was cut too short. She was singer, actor, queer figure and a beloved cultural symbol, who to this day is revered by many – myself included. Seeing Judy in The Wizard of Oz, felt like a cultural reset. Here was someone who was not afraid to be herself, living life the only way she knew; fabulously, and always in colour. As both Judy Garland and as Dorothy, she embodied positivity and light.  

Yet, she had her struggles too. Judy Garland had incredibly heart-breaking experiences with homelessness, struggles with mental health, and drug addiction. It was the latter that led to her accidentally overdosing on barburites aged 47. The world was heartbroken, and 22,000+ mourners turned up to her funeral in New York in June 1969.

The LGBTQIA+ community mourned her. They were ‘Friends of Dorothy’ (a code gay men sometimes used to identify each other when it was dangerous to do so). After all, they found hope and optimism in Judy’s portrayal of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. Writer Steven Frank suggested in a 2007 article, that this was because Dorothy’s journey from Kansas to Oz;  

“mirrored many gay men’s desires to escape the black-and-white limitations of small town life … for big, colourful cities filled with quirky, gender-bending characters who would welcome them.”

Even in contemporary Queer culture, Judy’s impact is felt. On RuPaul’s Drag Race (aka my favourite show), in All Stars 4, the cast paid tribute to Judy’s legacy. I found the last verse poignant: 

Come along, you’re my best Judy
Look up there, a star is born
Sing a song, you’re my best Judy
Well, my name Liza, Sherry or Lorna

Let’s make it, let’s break it
Let’s take it… to the Stonewall Inn!

It was largely speculated that Judy’s death triggered the Stonewall riots on the night of her funeral in June 1969. Popular culture writer Barry Walters wrote that Garland was a “symbol of emotional liberation… an Elvis for homosexuals… who struggled to live and love without restraint… and neither could her fans”.  

 However, some historians refute that theory. According to Rachel Corbman, The Garland myth ‘trivializes the myriad of serious issues that contributed to the uprising, which included abuse and harassment of the LGBTQ community, homophobia, and growing activism within the community.  

Whether Garland’s passing was responsible for the Stonewall Riots is unknown. But one thing that is certain is that Judy was IT. She was an icon!  

Get Happy

Speaking about Judy, Lisa Maxwell, an ambassador for Centrepoint, executive producer and creator of Judy: No Place Like Home, said;

“Judy Garland is an icon for so many people and her experiences of addiction and homelessness still resonate today. However, it is her music, films and voice that most people cherish and that is what will be front and centre of this unmissable, star-studded tribute to Judy Garland, who many regard as the greatest entertainer of all time. 

What an entertainer she was. She was known for being Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. But she was equally a stand out in ‘A Star Is Born’ (1954) and ‘Meet me in St Louis’. Yet my favourite Judy Garland moment? Her song ‘Get Happy’ as part of Summer Stock. Though she was anything but happy behind the scenes, in this song she is joyful, young, and carefree. Its one of my favourite songs, and one I can relate to immensely. Having dealt with my own battles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, I know all too well, just how a ‘happy mask’ can hide your real problems and insecurities.  

It’s this very feeling that I carry in with me into Judy: No Place Like Home. I’m having an ‘off’ day, that happens far too often for my liking. I’m anxious, upset, and depressed. I’m visibly on edge and struggling to feel normal, at least my version of normal. But within two hours, briefly for a moment in time I feel happy again. And that’s all thanks to the starts gracing the stage at Lyric Theatre, hoping to do Judy – and Centrepoint – proud.  

If she had been alive today, she would have been a centenarian: 100 years young. Yet her legacy lives on. Let that sink in. Vital funds from the night will help Centrepoint to expand their successful Independent Living Programme, hoping to provide 300 young people with affordable homes, and an apprenticeship or a job. Little did I know but Judy had her own struggles with homelessness. At the end of her life, Judy Garland was penniless, addicted to drugs, and virtually homeless.  

Often nicknamed the Queen of Tragedy, Judy’s only solace was performing. It was an outlet for her loneliness, isolation, and depression. Her daughter Liza Minelli considers her mother’s performance in Get Happy (Summer Stock) the very pinnacle of her career. So it is with high expectations that I watched Bonnie Langford (Doctor Who, Just William, Eastenders) perform it stage in Judy – No Place At Home. And what a spectacular performance! Bedazzled in an elegant black suit dress, and matching fedora, she captured Judy’s impish cabaret spirit. It was almost as though she was channelling the spirit of Judy right there on stage, transported back into the 1950’s.  

Bonnie Langford wasn’t the only highlight. The one-off show paid host to stars like Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dame Arlene Phillips and Nate James to name a few. Yet one of the biggest standouts was undoubtably Patrick Robinson (Casualty), whose reading of Judy’s Eulogy, almost made me weep again. It was powerful, taking us back to the 1969 special report, where Judy’s legacy was narrated, the good, the bad, and the ugly. James Mason (who played opposite Judy Garland in A Star Is Born) said “Judy’s great gift was that she could wring tears out of hearts of rock…. She gave so richly and so generously, that there was no currency in which to repay her.” 

It was true, there was no other star like Judy. As well as she could sing, she could act. In fact, it seemed she was always acting. Especially at the end. Yet, despite being presented in the press as a tragic figure, there was happiness too. Hello Bluebird, was another favourite of mine. Wistful, innocent, naïve almost. Sang by someone who seemed untouched by the negativity of the world around her.  Performed by Tom Read Wilson, his voice was beautiful, capturing the high notes effortlessly. It was jaunty too. Even when Judy sang ballads, her songs always had underlying positivity. As we would say today ‘that’s showbiz folks’. Putting on a front, so the world thinks your happy.  

No Place Like Home

Judy: No Place Like Home had poignancy and laughter, heartbreak and sorrow, happiness and pure unadulterated joy. The true highlight though? The marvellous finale show, featuring performances from Centrepoint’s young people, Lisa Maxwell, and special surprise guests. Rana, Rashima, Sharnelle and Toni-Ann, were the three young people coached on singing Judy Garland songs for the first time on such a grand stage. Understandably they were nervous but what an amazing job they did. They sang with heart, soul, and reverence.  The crowd were on their feet for the young people who had defied all odds to be here. Just like Judy, they too performed to a large audience with bravery, feeling, and meaning. In fact, they were the only act to receive a standing ovation despite performing on a stage with big names such as Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Bonnie Langford, Angela Rippon, Rosie Jones, and Matt Goss, to name but a few!

And the final surprise? A rendition of Somewhere over the Rainbow lead by Lisa Maxwell, where we as an audience were encouraged to sing along. An iconic Judy number, it was a fitting way to end the show. After all, there really is no place like Home. For Judy, London held a sacred power of resurgence. It was thanks to her success in London that Judy was able to triumphantly return to the screen with ‘A Star is Born’, which alongside The Wizard of Oz was to become her most iconic role.  

London was good to her, kind to her. In her own words she says ‘I feel at home here. The people understand me, and I’m not aware of the cruelty I’ve so often felt in the States. I’ve reached a point in my life where the most precious thing is compassion – and I get this here’. It’s the word compassion that strikes me. Because that is what I associate Centrepoint with. Compassion, love, empathy. All the qualities that our dear Judy possessed.  

On behalf of me, and My Soho Times – a very Happy 100th Birthday Judy! I hope you are still dancing, and singing in heaven. You are a star and always will be.  

Words and photography by Ana De-Jesus | Faded Spring.

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