While I am still at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia, it seems that I’ve managed to miss the year’s greatest cabaret event of the year, and quite possibly millennium so far, at New York’s Carnegie Hall, where Rufus Wainwright has this week done an astonishing thing: he has recreated Judy Garland’s legendary 1961 concert there in its entirety. According to Stephen Holden in his New York Times review, “It didn’t matter that Mr. Wainwright sounds nothing like Garland or that his voice, an astringent drone with a quavering edge, uncertain intonation and slightly garbled diction, isn’t half as good an instrument as Garland’s. The spirit was there. At the very least, his loving song-by-song recreation of “Judy at Carnegie Hall,” Garland’s brilliant 1961 concert that became the most beloved of all pre-rock concert albums, was a fabulous stunt. Not even Madonna, pop music’s ultimate pop provocateur, has attempted anything so ambitious. What unfolded onstage was a tour de force of politically empowering performance art in which a proudly gay male performer paid homage to the original and longest-running gay icon in the crowded pantheon of pop divas.”
What a hip and amazing idea! And it is one that, as Holden suggests, was something that “the heavily gay, male, over-30 audience” could intimately identify with: “His courage to stand as a surrogate for every audience member who ever gazed into the mirror and fantasized slipping into Dorothy’s ruby slippers spoke for itself.”
At last year’s Edinburgh Fringe (and subsequently off-Broadway), there was a similar act of powerful appropriation, when New York performance artist Bradford Louryk recreated an interview with Christine Jorgensen, a celebrated male-to-female sex change, that brought Jorgensen back to intimate life. But that was mimed to Jorgensen’s own voice; Wainwright’s show, by contrast, is a far more personalised tribute. Perhaps he can be joined by one of his sisters to recreate the legendary Judy and Liza concert at the London Palladium one day…
The evening was exciting, star studded and electric. Let's face it, anything related to Garland brings electricity in the air. I knew nothing of Rufus Wainwright but decided, at the last moment to go just to hear Mort Lindsey's original arrangements Garland sang. I've herd them all my life via the LP and CD. I was surprised and pleased and thought, aside from anything gay, the evening was a stunning success for Mr Wainwright. That "Gay Icon Garland Song" is so over played it makes me furious. I read reviews where the comments were so focused on "Gay men floating to the stars, kissing in front of the concert hall and to be quite frank. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary for a New York theatre crowd. I did notice Sara Jessica Parker in the lobby looking quite stunning and didn't think I was "stuck" in a "Gay Garland Vortex" at all. It was a great evening of classic Garland music and if compared to Linda Edder's attempt a few months back.....well.... it couldn't!
In my enthusiasm I did forget to mention one very important item. Before the performance on Wednesday. I ventured across the street to the Trattoria Dellarte for a quick martini. I happened to land next to and was introduced to Loudon Wainwright III Rufus W's Father. He graciously autographed my ticket as we dashed back to Carnegie Hall as it was five minutes before curtain. But the absolute highlight of the evening was walking up the stairs, glancing to my left eye to eye with JOHN WATERS!!! After the show I continued with the back stage crowd to the gathering. Not being on the list I was talking to Mr Waters and his Sister in hopes of crashing the scene. Well, when it was confirmed that I was definitely NOT on the list I suggested I was with Mr Waters party which infuriated him and made me feel like the Witch after getting the bucket of water thrown on her! MR WATERS WHERE EVER YOU ARE! PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE APOLOGY FOR UPSETTING YOU AND POSSIBLY YOUR SISTER! I was totally wrong and if ever possible, owe you one! One lesson learned here.... never go across the street for a couple of quick martinis as they may have devastating results later on in the evening!!!! But then again, you never know who might be over there unless you do! Life is just full of difficult choices, when in doubt.... punt!