End of the Rainbow, Stage Bio of Judy Garland, Sets Dates for Broadway Run

Dates have been set for the previously announced Broadway transfer of End of the Rainbow, Peter Quilter’s biographical play about the last days of superstar Judy Garland. According to The New York Times, the show, starring two-time Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett as Garland, will begin previews on March 19, 2012, at a Shubert theater to be announced and open on April 3, directed by Tony winner Terry Johnson (La Cage aux Folles).

Set in London in 1968, the play offers a glimpse into the period leading up to the Garland’s final days. About to make her comeback at a local nightclub, with her loyal pianist Anthony and a new young fiancé at her side, the actress battles a tornado of drugs and alcohol. The show features some of Garland's most memorable songs, including “The Man That Got Away,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “The Trolley Song” and “Over the Rainbow.”

End of the Rainbow debuted in London in November 2010, winning rave reviews for Bennett, who will make her Broadway debut as Garland. The play will have a pre-Broadway engagement at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis January 28-March 11, 2012.