End of the Rainbow

Play

Writers: Peter Quilter

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2005
Genres
Drama, Historical/Biographical
Settings
Period, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
London, December, 1968
Cast Size
small
Ideal for
Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female
Casting Notes
Mostly male cast
Includes adult, mature adult, young adult characters

Synopsis

End of the Rainbow depicts the final months of the life of Judy Garland. Frail, broke, and crippled with insecurities, Judy comes to London to perform a six-week series of performances at The Talk of the Town nightclub. She arrives with Mickey Deans, her younger fiancé/manager whom she met in America when he supplied her with the drugs on which she depends. Switching between hotel room and the nightclub stage, Judy struggles to face her demons with the support of devoted pianist, Anthony. End of the Rainbow creates a fascinating portrait of a performer who was both brilliantly talented and deeply flawed.

Songs included in the play:

  • ‘I Can’t Give You Anything but Love’ (Fields/McHugh)
  • ‘I Belong to London’ (Anonymous)
  • ‘Just in Time’ (Comden/Green/Styne)
  • ‘For Me and My Gal’ (Goetz/Leslie/Meyer)
  • ‘You Made Me Love You’ (Monaco/McCarthy)
  • ‘The Trolley Song’ (Martin/Blane)
  • ‘The Man that Got Away’ (Arlen/Gershwin)
  • ‘When You’re Smiling’ (Goodwin/Shay/Fisher)
  • ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’ (Arlen/Mercer)
  • ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ (Arlen/Harburg)

Lead Characters


End of the Rainbow guide sections