Billy Van Zandt's The Property Known as Garland, starring Adrienne Barbeau as the legendary Judy Garland, will end its limited engagement at The Actors' Playhouse earlier than expected. The show, originally scheduled to close on June 4, is now set to shutter on May 21. At the time it closes, it will have played 12 previews and 68 regular performances.
The Property Known as Garland paints a fictional portrait of Judy backstage at her final concert appearance at Falkoner Center in Copenhagen in 1969. In addition to Barbeau, Kerby Joe Grubb is also featured in the cast.
The show, directed by Glenn Casale, opened off-Broadway on March 23. In his Broadway.com Review of the mounting, Ron Lasko wrote: "Playwright Van Zandt seems to want to uncover the 'real' Judy, but his play only skims the surface, spending much of the time on anecdotes and trivia. He supposedly used the infamous recordings Garland made in the mid-1960s as part of her autobiography as source material for the play. It is impossible to hear these tragic, heartfelt recordings and not be moved. It's just the opposite with The Property Known as Garland; I came away feeling oddly detached… Barbeau has a commanding stage presence and she tackles the material with gusto."
