BROADWAY WORLD

GET HAPPY IS A TRIUMPHANT TRIBUTE TO JUDY GARLAND
"Close your eyes, and you might think Judy Garland is in the room. Open them, and you might still think she's in the room. Angela Ingersoll is both every-inch a blazing star in her own right and a glorious tribute to one of America's all-time greatest voices.

Get Happy is now on stage at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. The show is an Artists Lounge Live production, which essentially means it has played all over the country and will now enjoy some time in Milwaukee, courtesy of The Rep. The star of the show, Angela Ingersoll, created, wrote, and directs Get Happy. She was even nominated for an Emmy Award for the PBS recording of her show. Is there anything she can't do?

From corseted Judy to pantsuit Judy, Get Happy is a revue of Judy Garland's iconic hits, as well as a tour through her life with Ingersoll as our singular guide. She tells us how she's been "likened to Ms. Garland" all her life, her love of Judy reaching back into childhood. Ingersoll's genuine admiration for Judy comes through like crazy, and that's just part of what makes this show so splendid.

The main bit is, of course, the music and the immense voice with which Ingersoll is blessed. From swingin', upbeat numbers where she barely catches a breath to soft, intimate ballads, her voice finds a home in every single one. From the start, Ingersoll sets out to "pump some life into these old songs" and she does all that and more. Some standouts: "The Boy Next Door," transporting us back to our teenage first love. "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart," in which Ingersoll first takes us to the edge of tears, then snaps into a zippy tempo. "Make Someone Happy," which feels like tender advice for a life well-lived.

Ingersoll is backed by a marvelous trio of musicians: Chuck Larkin on piano, Charles Heath on percussion, and Milwaukee's own Jeff Hamann on the upright bass. Together with Ingersoll, they tear through Garland's catalog of work, but it never feels rushed. Of course "Over the Rainbow" is teased throughout the show, but is saved for the very end. And did you know that Judy's most iconic song was nearly left on the cutting room floor? This is just one of the many historic gems Ingersoll shares throughout Get Happy.

Which gets me thinking: What is it, aside from Ingersoll's big voice, that makes Get Happy a step above other cabaret musical revues? To me, it's the history sprinkled throughout. It's also the way Ingersoll breaks up the show with on-stage costume changes and even a balloon animal. And then there's Ingersoll's authentic performance. She's likable, charming, fiery -- like Judy, she has that spark of something you just can't fake. The honesty with which Ingersoll shares her own story as it weaves with Judy's, the sincere gratitude she shows for the chance to step into her icon's shoes night after night -- this is what makes Get Happy such a sensation in every way."

TIMES SQUARE CHRONICLES

"Every theater goer should be so lucky, just once in their life, to see an amazing artist give a performance that is unforgettable. Chicago area audiences will get that chance, if they hurry to see Angela Ingersoll in her rafter shaking, uncanny tribute to the talent and spirit of Judy Garland playing now.

You really shouldn’t attempt to recreate the performance of one of the greatest singing talents of all time unless you’ve got pretty extraordinary performing chops yourself. That caveat should definitely go for people doing tribute shows about Judy Garland. Thank heaven, Ms. Ingersoll is a thoroughbred racehorse of a different color. She’s got it all. She has a voice as truly beautiful as Judy’s, with equally big pipes. She is a great actress who is as passionate, sensitive and heart wrenching as Judy was. Best of all, she’s a real woman, who can honestly bring Judy back for us. She tells us that she has been noted all her life for her resemblance to Judy in features, stature, and even, as she wryly points out, their similarly crooked teeth. She relates how her beloved uncle coached her as a budding performer in Judy’s style when she was very young. She’s been singing these songs in Judy’s style all her life. If anyone was ever meant to reincarnate Judy in performance, it’s undeniably her.

Most of this set of Judy favorites is as exuberant, upbeat and energetic as Ms. Ingersoll herself, whether cheering us on with 'Get Happy' from Summer Stock, or belting out 'Swanee', Ms. Garland’s tribute to her own favorite singer, Al Jolson. My favorite moments, however, were the quiet ones, when Ms. Ingersoll would sing only with her pianist, the capable Jeremy Kahn. I loved the wistfulness of her rendition of Noel Coward’s 'If Love Were All', and the need to find love expressed by her delivery of 'Make Someone Happy.' Wishing that Mickey Rooney would have thought of her as more than a sister set up a beautiful version of 'But Not For Me.' Above all, it was the world weary Judy singing 'Over the Rainbow,' whose poignancy was unforgettable. The closer we get to Ms. Ingersoll as Judy, the more we love her, and cherish the memory of Judy she evokes in us.

In End of the Rainbow, Ms. Ingersoll was tasked with being a Judy impersonator, which she did brilliantly. But as Ms. Ingersoll tells us when she is introduced as herself at the top of her concert, she isn’t really impersonating Judy this time. What she does, in a most wonderful way, is channel the essence of Judy at her best through her own formidable talent. When she relates stories of Judy’s life in show business between the songs, it’s Ms. Ingersoll speaking to us, although certain of Judy’s signature mannerisms and speech pattern are now inseparably blended into hers. When she sings is when she gives us more of Judy than Angela. But it’s still filtered through her own bold, brash style. At times, some notes seem a bit too big or are held too long, because she does indulge occasionally in a little vocal grandstanding. As good as she is, however, she earns the right to blow her horn as long and loudly as she chooses.

Ms. Ingersoll gives us Judy as she might have been at the height of her power as a performer, if she hadn’t been defeated by addictions to drugs, alcohol, and overwork, all of which killed her at age 47. Ms. Ingersoll gives us a new and improved 'Judy 2.0.' This wonderful tribute was taped for PBS, and has recently earned Ms. Ingersoll an Emmy nomination. So lucky viewers will get to see this show in their own homes. But there’s nothing like being there in person. For fans of Judy who want to be able to remember her at her best, there’s no better way to experience that than to see her through Ms. Ingersoll’s eyes."

STAGE AND CINEMA

BACK FROM OVER THE RAINBOW
"Please don’t take my word for it. See, hear and cherish for yourselves Angela Ingersoll’s wonderful reclamation of the great Judy Garland — the look, voice, persona, mannerisms, charisma and legend.

It’s remarkable enough how much this Emmy-nominated songstress resembles the girl from Oz — her winsome warble, brushing-back gestures, nervous giggle, impassioned belting, and shy but infectious smile. But to sound so much like her — and you certainly do not have to close your eyes to be taken back — you imagine the pop diva singing right to and for you.

Talk about 'You Made Me Love You.' She did. For over two generous hours, this labor of love — which goes beyond impersonation to virtual channeling — renders a constant payoff in Ingersoll’s latest embodiment of La Garland.

This concert not only recreates the once and future Judy at least as large as life (4’11”), Ingersoll also presents her very parallel perspective on how a star is reborn. Regaling us with the inside-out connections that she feels with the woman she becomes — a short stature, a supportive husband, a gay uncle, a passion to sing her way out of solitude — Ingersoll brings us into Judy’s roller-coaster career.

And then there are the songs, vaudeville and other gold standards, backed up by a superb six-man orchestra and rendered as if we’re present at the creation. Most moving perhaps is Ingersoll’s tender version of a lesser known Garland gift: Virtually an artistic credo, Noël Coward’s most personal song declares that 'All I’ve had is a talent to amuse' — which makes the wish 'If Love Were All' all the sadder and deeper. Of course — inevitably and enthrallingly — Ingersoll delivers the full version of 'Over the Rainbow,' intro and all. Sung with her simply sitting on the stage, it ultimately takes us just there.

In the second act, Ingersoll asks the primarily older audience to share any recollections they have of seeing Judy and what she meant to them. Several did, with surprising ardor, a tribute to how much this performer had managed to stir up and reconsecrate."

AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO

★★★★★ 
"If you are a fan of Judy Garland and have not had the opportunity (or good fortune) to witness Angela Ingersoll bring her back to life, you owe it to yourself to hightail it! Ingersoll, a Jeff-Award winner, who has been nominated for an Emmy for her PBS special on Judy Garland, becomes the great Garland for two glorious hours...

Within minutes Ms Ingersoll has you under her spell. She becomes Judy Garland, with the sound, the stories, the laughs, the giggles and every little detail. The songs are powerful! The evening (or matinée) will me memorable...'Over The Rainbow' will take you back in time, as you will swear you are at Carnegie Hall watching THE Judy Garland herself!

The music (conducted by Jeremy Kahn, at the keyboards) is wonderful and the musicians are sheer perfection. The show runs about two hours, but feels much shorter and there is a chance to meet this fabulous performer after the show... This is a show NOT to be missed!"

CHICAGOLAND MUSICAL THEATRE

CONCERT ILLUMINATES BRAVURA PERFORMANCE BY ANGELA INGERSOLL

"Angela Ingersoll is a bright-shining star. There’s no denying this fact, and the Chicago actress has brought her bravura, one-woman show to Evanston for just two weeks. For anyone who loved Judy Garland, the melodic classics of the 1940’s through the 60’s or audiences who simply want to enjoy a two-hour treasure trove of great music, performed by mega-gifted musical actress, a perfect production is playing for a limited time at Nichols Concert Hall.

Ingersoll, who wowed audiences in this theatre company’s 2006 production of South Pacific, also made audiences laugh uproariously as sexy Hedy LaRue in Marriott’sH2$. Here she is in great form once again. Like her Jeff Award-winning performance as Garland in Porchlight Music Theatre’s End of the Rainbow, as well as her Emmy-nominated television special, Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland, Ingersoll doesn’t simply sing the songs of the famous movie star; she hauntingly becomes Garland with every nuance, gesture and facial expression.

Having been told throughout her entire life that she strongly resembles the famous film and TV star, Angela developed her look and vocal style as an homage to one of Tinseltown’s greatest icons. The result is this astounding production that’s presented in a gorgeous, intimate setting. Since Ingersoll has become a walking encyclopedia article concerning the actress, she spends part of the second act fielding questions about Garland and hearing testaments from audience members who remember seeing the actual star in concert.

Ingersoll alternates the mood with each golden oldie, enchanting theatergoers with an effervescent 'Trolley Song,' a melancholy 'But Not For Me,' a pulse-racing 'Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart' and a pensive 'After You’ve Gone.' She leaves her audience spellbound with her bluesy rendition of 'The Man That Got Away.' Ingersoll bewitches with the titular 'Come Rain or Come Shine.' Recalling Garland’s memorial performance following the assassination of President Kennedy, the artist performs a goose bump-inducing 'Battle Hymn of the Republic.' Ingersoll practically brings the audience to its feet with her zippy version of 'Chicago.' She concludes the evening with her soulful, long-awaited presentation of 'Over the Rainbow.' Clearly the audience wanted more, so Ingersoll offered an encore with another of Garland’s Al Jolson treasures, 'Swanee.'

The show is co-produced by Angela and her talented husband, Michael Ingersoll as part of their Artists Lounge Live concert series. This popular program has taken the couple all over the country, earning them both popular and critical accolades wherever they go. This limited run in Evanston is an exciting opportunity to not only relive the memorable music of a bygone era, but to enjoy, in person, a bravura performance by one of Chicago’s greatest musical theatre treasures."

SPLASH MAGAZINE

"While there was a torrential rainstorm outside the theater Friday night there was no 'Stormy Weather' in Angela Ingersoll’s powerful and rich rendition of Judy Garland’s hit song. Ingersoll, the heiress apparent to the Garland legacy... does not impersonate Judy Garland, rather she interprets with a bias toward the positive, setting this particular rendition of the Garland story apart and allowing us to revel in Judy Garland’s wonderful music and the glory of Ingersoll’s voice, remarkable in its sparkle, depth, and power. Petite in stature like her idol, only an inch taller than the 4-foot 11-inch Garland, Ingersoll packs a mighty punch in a small package.

Ingersoll’s narrative throughout the evening is both the backstory of Garland’s life, her career and music and also what led Ingersoll to pursue with singular devotion a retelling of the Garland saga. With all of the energy and less of the darkness, Ingersoll sings beautiful renditions of classics from the Garland playbook, also sharing the story of Garlands respect and admiration for Al Jolson with rollicking versions of his classic 'Swanee' and 'Dixie Melody.' Ingersoll frames Garland’s life in the momentous period in American history spanning the Great Depression, WWII and Kennedy’s Camelot. Ingersoll’s stirring presentation of the 'Battle Hymn of the Republic' is prefaced with a telling of the star’s early support and friendship with President John F. Kennedy.

Garland was an American Icon and her family guard her memory, but Ingersoll’s talent and voice have justifiably won their support giving her the right to sing 'Rainbow' and to perform alongside Garland’s son Joe Luft. Often the retelling of the Garland story focuses on her early death from a combination of drugs and alcohol. Ingersoll’s running narrative throughout the show gives us the ups and downs of the Garland story, but her vocalization is without the frailty, pathos, and anguish that powered Garland’s later life. Ingersoll’s Garland is a healthy, strong and powerful virtuoso performance."

ST LOUIS LIMELIGHT

"Although Judy Garland has been gone for almost 50 years, her spirit continues to live on in the hearts of fans all around the world. Nowhere as much, though, as it does in the vessel of Angela Ingersoll. In her touring concert, Ingersoll leaves you wanting more. The way she embodies the late entertainer is not just reminiscent of the timeless star, but a show of perfection.

Ingersoll has been performing since she was 5 years old, stunning people with her big voice, even as a little girl. Now, she spends most of her time sharing her love for Garland, and loving every moment.

Rather than just interpreting Judy on stage, Ingersoll takes the opportunity to share heart-warming and heart-wrenching stories about the entertainer’s tumultuous and tragic life. She learned intimate details by spending time with Judy’s son, Joey Luft, who gave permission to talk about the heartbreak and happiness of his mother. Ingersoll gets emotional relating these haunting stories. Then she followed with a song, and if you closed your eyes, you’d think you were listening to the beloved icon.

Ingersoll’s show gives further luster to the bright star, singing such favorites as 'Get Happy' and 'Come Rain or Come Shine,' but her triumph was 'Over the Rainbow,' leaving the audience reaching for tissues. I have not seen a more convincing and entertaining portrayal of an American icon."

AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO

★★★★★

“The Yellow Brick Road Ends on Southport as Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland”

"A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to have Angela Ingersoll on my radio show. We were talking about her Marriott concert (last week) and the current show at the Venus Theater “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland”. Due to other commitments, I could not attend the Marriott concert, but vowed I would not miss seeing her in this new and very intimate space next to the Mercury Theater on Southport. I must say, watching this lady tell her story and how it mixes with her idol is much more powerful in a small venue like Venus. In this theater we are able to truly see her eyes and watch as at moments, tears flow from them. They are not all tears of sadness-some are of glee and happiness.

If you have never had an opportunity to see this woman bring Judy back to life (even if only for two hours and fifteen minutes), you owe it to yourself to get on the phone or computer and buy tickets, TODAY! (if not sooner).

Angela is built very much like Judy Garland and resembles her in many ways. While they have similarities in looks, and vocal range, it is the parallel life story that truly adds to the story. Angela speaks to us as a story-teller, but if you watch closely, from time to time, becomes the legendary icon to the gay community and the timing of this show is perfection. Celebrating 5 years of Pride and the 50th anniversary of Judy’s passing away.

When Angela takes us back to the *London Palladium concert where her daughter Liza appeared with her, special guest Michelle Lauto joins her on stage as they do a special arrangement of “Hello Dolly” altered to be “Hello Liza”- they are terrific together and the duet of “Happy Days”/C’mon Get Happy” is dynamite. I have seen Ms Ingersoll do her shows before and being in this intimate space, while it limits the number of audience members, enhances her communication with the audience and truly is an experience that will touch you (in many ways).

By the way, her trio of musicians, Chuck Larkin at the Piano, Jake Saleh on Bass and Eric Montzka on drums are terrific as well. In her concerts she has many more instruments, but for this room these three men got it done, to perfection!"

BUZZ CENTER STAGE

June 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the New York City funeral for Judy Garland. Some suggest that the emotional intensity of the day lead to the patrons of the Greenwich Village bar resisting the police thus starting what we know as “Pride” today. As we head into Pride season in Chicago, fewer cabarets would be more fitting than ‘Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland’.

Some may remember Ingersoll’s excellent performance as Judy in Porchlight Music Theatre’s production of ‘End of the Rainbow’ in 2016. She bears uncanny likeness to Judy Garland in both appearance and voice. This is the closest to seeing the real Judy Garland perform as any of us will get.

Not only does Angela Ingersoll do Judy’s songbook justice, but she’s a real Judy Garland historian. In the two rousing sets, she relays the story of Judy’s life as well as many interesting bits of Garland trivia. This is a show for fans. Interestingly enough, she worked with Judy Garland’s surviving son, Joey Luft, on this act which has now toured the country and has been recorded for PBS.

For those who are well versed in Garland’s work, each song will be a delight. Watching her move to the band with Judy’s signature mannerisms is almost eerie. As she goes through the medleys from the famed Carnegie Hall album, it would be impossible not to smile.

But it’s not just a Judy tribute concert. Angela is very charming as herself. She keeps an informal attitude throughout, while telling her own stories of how she relates to Judy. Some are funny and some are very authentic, creating a bond with the audience the way Judy had with hers. It’s as if she’s holding every patron in the intimate cabaret space in her arms to say I’m happy you’re here.

Angela Ingersoll has made a name for herself as the Judy Garland impersonator. As Judy’s life and death fade further into history, it’s important someone with as much enthusiasm is out there keeping her memory warm. It’s startling how many people from younger generations don’t even know who Judy was or that she’s Liza Minnelli’s mother. Ingersoll is keeping a star alive and doing a first-rate job. This cabaret is a pleasing way to celebrate Pride this year."