Swing Into Spring

SWING INTO SPRING

New engagements announced. I GOTTA RIGHT TO SING THE BLUES combines the iconic catalogues of Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, and Patsy Cline and into an inspiring portrait of America’s musical heritage. Alexis J Roston (LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL; PORGY AND BESS) effortlessly emits the sweet and sultry swing of Jazz great Ella Fitzgerald; Angela Ingersoll (END OF THE RAINBOW; SOUTH PACIFIC) hauntingly captures the emotional power of Pop superstar Judy Garland; and Katie Deal (ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE; CLASSIC NASHVILLE ROADSHOW) soulfully embodies the tender heartache of Country legend Patsy Cline. Presented by Artists Lounge Live.

EXPLORE THE SHOW

Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland

"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. If anyone was ever meant to reincarnate Judy in performance, it’s undeniably her."
-Times Square Chronicles

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NOMINEE

Outstanding Performer in a Program

Angela Ingersoll, Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland

 

GET HAPPY: ANGELA INGERSOLL SINGS JUDY GARLAND

Emmy-nominated, as seen on PBS. Artists Lounge Live

A star is born as Emmy nominee Angela Ingersoll celebrates Judy Garland in a powerful virtuoso performance, as seen on PBS. Ingersoll's moving concert delivers two glorious hours of tremendous vocals, passionate storytelling, and naturally winning humor. Ingersoll won acclaim for her portrayal of Garland in End of the Rainbow, including Chicago's Jeff Award and LA Times Woman of the Year in Theatre. Chicago Sun-Times exclaims, “Phenomenal. Judy Garland has been reborn.” Songs include "Over the Rainbow," "The Trolley Song," and "The Man That Got Away.”

CDs and DVDs are available at Angela's live shows.

Get Happy on PBS, Demo. Artists Lounge Live.

Angela Ingersoll, The Man That Got Away. Artists Lounge Live.

Angela Ingersoll, Over the Rainbow. Artists Lounge Live.

Angela Ingersoll, Come Rain or Come Shine. Artists Lounge Live.

CONCERT REVIEWS

BROADWAY WORLD

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’s H2$. 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."


 

End of the Rainbow

"Angela Ingersoll was born to play Judy Garland. Ingersoll's tour de force performance is an act of breathtaking alchemy-a simultaneously sublime and chilling act of transformation. And it may well leave you believing you've encountered the ghost of the beloved film star."
-Chicago Sun-Times

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WINNER
Best Actress in a Play
Angela Ingersoll, End of the Rainbow

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WINNER
Best Actress in a Play
Angela Ingersoll, End of the Rainbow

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Woman of the Year in Theatre
Los Angeles Times
Angela Ingersoll, End of the Rainbow

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Top Performances of the Year
Los Angeles Times
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Sun-Times
Angela Ingersoll, End of the Rainbow

END OF THE RAINBOW

Porchlight Music Theatre (Chicago)
La Mirada Theatre/McCoy Rigby Entertainment (Los Angeles)
Laguna Playhouse (Los Angeles)
Grandel Theatre/Max and Louie Productions (St Louis)

 

CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Chris Jones)

The best Judy Garland Chicago ever saw. Barring the real one. ★★★1/2 of 4

“Garland is here performed by Angela Ingersoll. It is a simply magnificent portrayal, especially vocally, which is really what matters the most. It will, I think, be enough to make this show a huge hit as we go into the holiday season and, by rights, it should transform Ingersoll's career in this town.

What makes it so great? …I just found this to be a remarkably profound dive into this very familiar character — at once honest, earnest, vulnerable and live. That last adjective is the one that matters most. That’s what Ingersoll nails… capturing a vitality, even a joie de vivre…

You might find Ingersoll a little young. You'll get over that. Actually, that youth is what makes the performance work — well, that, and Ingersoll's near-flawless command of the songs… It’s not a matter of Ingersoll's voice being a re-creation of Garland's instrument — although if you must go there, you will be impressed — but that Ingersoll works shrewdly on both required levels, singing the songs well and, with equal bravura, singing them as Garland would have sung them in that moment. Ingersoll's lower register is especially formidable. But none of that would matter a hill of beans if Ingersoll did not seem to be improvising everything in the moment, which is pretty much all Garland was doing in 1968 at the Talk of the Town.

This did not come easy to Ingersoll. To be that on, while playing one who was more off than on, takes enormous work and a rich reservoir of interpretative talent. What a performance!”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Chris Jones)

Top 10 stage performances of 2016: Angela Ingersoll, "End of the Rainbow" at Porchlight Music Theatre.

"To play Judy Garland is not just to fight off the comparison with all of that past competition — from the camp to the intensely serious — but to battle against cliche. But Ingersoll soared. The force of her fantastic performance came largely from her richly textured vocal exploration of Garland as a singer, as a woman who clung on to her craft and innate ability to interpret a song, even as all else collapsed. But this work from Ingersoll also flowed from a healthy dose of raw courage. She was willing to dive into the pills, the men, the regrets, the existential angst, as if no one had ever made such a dive before. The strange was made familiar, and the familiar strange. Just as it should be."


CHICAGO SUN-TIMES (Hedy Weiss)

Ingersoll soars to End of the Rainbow and beyond

“Angela Ingersoll was born to play Judy Garland. But the word ‘play’ doesn’t come close to suggesting just what this petite, raven-haired actress with the astonishing voice (and a remarkable physical resemblance to Garland) does during the course of the Porchlight Music Theatre production of End of he Rainbow

Ingersoll’s tour de force performance is an act of breathtaking alchemy — a simultaneously sublime and chilling act of transformation. And it might well leave you believing you’ve encountered the ghost of the beloved film star…

Along the way there are many opportunities for Ingersoll to sing the songs with which Garland is most closely associated… In all cases it is perfectly placed, and invariably the effect is blistering, hypnotic and altogether shattering.

Ingersoll captures the timbre and phrasing of Garland’s heart-piercing contralto to uncanny effect, but she never gives you the feeling she is doing an “impression,” for she has crawled so far into Garland’s psyche, and captured so much of her edgy gesturing (just watch as she gets entangled in her microphone cord), her tempestuous soul and her hungry heart, that she has made both the anguish and swagger her own. And she makes you see how Garland’s interpretations of the songs came straight from life. A superb physical comedienne (she recently played Hedy LaRue in the Marriott Theatre production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and left indelible marks with roles in The 39 Steps and The Game’s Afoot at Drury Lane Theatre a few seasons back), Ingersoll also knows how to elicit laughs along with tears.

…Bill Morey has recreated Garland’s signature sparkling costumes, which Ingersoll wears as if she were Garland’s clone. By the time you leave the theater you might well believe that is the case."

"Judy Garland has been reborn: Angela Ingersoll is phenomenal in End of the Rainbow at Porchlight Music Theatre. A truly astonishing, tour de force performance.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


CHICAGO SUN-TIMES (Hedy Weiss)

Best of Chicago Theatre 2016: “END OF THE RAINBOW”  (Porchlight Music Theatre)

"Angela Ingersoll’s knockout performance as Judy Garland in “End of the Rainbow — the “play with music” about the last tragic months in the life of the legendary performer, left audiences gasping. Ingersoll, a huge talent, not only looked like a Garland clone, but captured every gesture and note of the iconic performer while at the same time making the role entirely her own. Jon Steinhagen’s portrayal of her piano accompanist also was ideal. As I’ve said many times, these Porchlight productions should be moved to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place where they would enjoy great tourist traffic."


TIME OUT CHICAGO (Allison Shoemaker)

In a knockout performance, Angela Ingersoll matches Judy Garland’s devastating heights and depths ★★★★

“The story here is Angela Ingersoll, who delivers a performance of staggering beauty that will be talked about for months, if not years, to come.

…Every moment of it belongs to Ingersoll. This is a performance that transcends imitation (though it’s a splendid one), breathing vibrant, aching life into one of the most recognizable cultural figures of all time. That’s true before she sings a single note.

When she does—buckle the hell up… Ingersoll captures the frequent highs and heartbreaking lows of Judy’s live performances. Both are remarkable, the former perhaps more so, as Ingersoll lets loose that incredible voice as its owner fumbles with a microphone cord or forgets what she’s supposed to be doing. It’s tragic, fragile, and just a little bit beautiful… You’re gonna love it, come rain or come shine."

Recommended / Read full review


CHICAGO CRITIC (Tom Williams)

Legendary Judy Garland comes to life in stunning performance by Angela Ingersoll

“Angela Ingersoll’s tour de force performance is one of the most powerful and compelling performances seen on a Chicago stage in years! Ingersoll has all the Garland traits down. From the eager-to-please to the rage to the dependence on stimulants to her command of the stage including a velvet voice, Angela Ingersoll is mesmerizing to watch and listen to. She works extremely hard in this production as she dips to the lows and exalts to highs as Garland. After we see Ingersoll crawling on the floor screaming for stimulants, in the next scene we enjoy her landing one of her signature tunes…

I can’t remember seeing a more complete wide-ranging performance than Angela Ingersoll’s Judy Garland. We both feel sad at what happened to her yet we enjoy her magical stage presence and her amazing contralto voice. This bittersweet show is a must see on several levels. As we see the demise of a star, we see the emergence of another star.  Angela Ingersoll’s performance in this tough role will launch a new phase in her career.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


CHICAGO THEATRE REVIEW (Colin Douglas)

“Judy Garland, played to perfection by Chicago musical theatre actress Angela Ingersoll, suddenly bursts into the room. This actress, who’s an absolute force of nature, sinks her teeth into this role from the start and never lets go until the end. Ms. Ingersoll isn’t simply an actress playing a part. She is Judy Garland and this entire show belongs entirely to her… Playing against Ms. Ingersoll’s wall of unstoppable energy, the other actors are challenged by this diva’s performance.

Angela Ingersoll, who recently showcased her comic talents as sexy Hedy LaRue in the Marriott’s excellent “H2$,” is perfection in director Michael Weber’s fresh, forceful production. She completely inhabits this show business legend, whose private life became riddled with anxiety, loneliness and a desperate need for love. This is no easy task. Ms. Ingersoll throws herself into her portrayal with wild abandon, yet she’s in full control every step of the way. This actress has done her homework, too, and she understands exactly what made the singer tick. As a middle-aged Judy Garland her sheer stamina and drive is inspiring, but Ingersoll also reminds theatergoers of the vulnerable child star beneath…

Ms. Ingersoll has mastered Judy Garland’s signature moves, posturing, speech pattern and vocal styling, as well. She’s even got her laugh down pat, which so frequently erupts out of nowhere… Angela Ingersoll is an accomplished songstress and she’s superbly mastered the diva’s identifiable way with a song. Musically, Ms. Ingersoll is simply impeccable.

…This show belongs entirely to Angela Ingersoll, from start to finish. Both director Michael Weber and musical director Jon Steinhagen understand this and support her performance with all their heart, soul and gentle guidance. Leaving this breathtaking theatrical experience, audiences will find themselves emotionally spent. Moved to tears, they may feel they’ve just been been transported back to 1968 and witnessed firsthand the sadly tragic final days of a true American legend.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO (Al Bresloff)

★★★★★ “The amazing Angela Ingersoll brings Judy Garland to life. When I say Amazing, I mean AMAZING!!! She looks like her (circa 1968), she sounds like her, and I would have to say almost made me feel that I had gone back in time and was a fly on the wall of the London hotel where Ms. Garland stayed. WOW! and double Wow!

This show is filled with many of Garland’s signature songs, and I must tell you that I had chills up my spine as Ingersoll performed them. When we get to the final number, Over The Rainbow, one can see the tears fall down her cheek and don’t be surprised to find that you are seeing her tears through yours! Yes, I suggest a few tissues in your pocket or purse. You will need them. If you are a Garland fan, I suggest you find a way to see this masterpiece. I am thinking this will be a Jeff Award nominee (several) and probably will garner some 2016 Awards, for sure.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


PERFORM INK (Rachel Weinberg)

Ingersoll’s Magnificent Performance Anchors Porchlight’s End of the Rainbow

“…A compelling and beautifully realized performance by Angela Ingersoll as Garland, pulls back the curtain and shows us a haunted and broken woman nearing the end of her career.

Just as Judy Garland was the center of her own universe of fame and star worship, so too does Ingersoll own every moment she is on the stage. Ingersoll captures all of Garland’s wildly swinging ups and downs as an addict in a shockingly realistic manner.

Ingersoll conducts a veritable master class with her acting, and vocally her performance is equally as astounding. She dives into each of the songs with an intoxicating blend of mesmerizing vocal prowess and raw emotion, just as Garland herself was able to do. And while Ingersoll sounds uncannily like Garland—particularly on the famous “Trolley Song”—her vulnerable and masterful performance allows her to make the role her own. Decked out in Bill Morey’s glittering costumes, Ingersoll commands the stage but shows us Garland’s tortured soul in each moment. And when she sings “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the show’s end, the effect is both jaw-dropping and heartbreaking.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


HUFFINGTON POST (Bob Bullen)

Angela Ingersoll gives the performance of a lifetime in Porchlight’s End of the Rainbow

“Oh boy, what a star Porchlight has found in Angela Ingersoll. It’s simply remarkable how Ingersoll has managed to cast a portrayal that’s enough impersonation to captivate, and grounded in human truth to haunt. And what a voice! Ingersoll steamrolls through the Garland Songbook like her life depended on it… Sure, the ending is tragic, but you can’t help but feel uplifted by the sheer willpower (mostly due to Ingersoll’s career-making performance) to endure, despite the odds.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


THE FOURTH WALSH (Katy Walsh)

“I saw Judy Garland last night in this play about her final days. I experienced her as both a tragic trainwreck and a superstar diva. The extraordinary Angela Ingersoll (Judy) embodies the iconic legend… Ingersoll delivers a tour de force performance. At one point, she is full-on moxie refusing to pay her hotel bill. Next, she and Hatley are sniping or pawing at each other. Then, she’s lying in a puddle of despair begging for pills. A reluctant Hatley hands over her fix. And magically the elixir kicks in, Ingersoll steps into the spotlight and belts out a song. Ingersoll plays this role with raw intensity. She visits rock bottom multiple times. She rants. She spirals. She exposes a vulnerability from career substance abuse that started as a child. Ingersoll forces us to experience the real woman behind Dorothy. Her emotional delivery is riveting and exhausting. Still, she continually transforms into the powerhouse singer and even comes back with an encore… Ingersoll’s portrayal of Judy Garland is astonishing. It is a must see!”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


NEW CITY STAGE (Irene Hsiao)

“Every once in a while her parts crystallize into something so brilliant, profound and glorious it almost pains you as much as it must pain her. You think: by gum—if it’s not Judy Garland… If you have ever wanted to see Judy live, Ingersoll can show her to you in a remarkable performance that channels the forcefulness and fragility of the legendary woman. It will hurt.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review


CHICAGOLAND MUSICAL THEATRE (Barry Reszel)

Ingersoll’s pot of gold performance stunningly resurrects Garland

“Indeed to see Ingersoll on stage brings Garland back to life. She is just that good… Ingersoll is extraordinarily convincing… Brilliantly performed.”

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STAGE AND CINEMA (Lawrence Bommer)

“Angela Ingersoll’s Judy is magnificently miserable, and still electrically entertaining… Ingersoll, on stage, in charge and surging with star quality, also delivers the dreamgirl-next-door… Looking and often sounding exactly like the essential original, Ingersoll tears out her heart and the stuffing from Garland favorites… Ingersoll registers everything grand about Garland—the vulnerable tremolo, the flirtatious warble, the velvet vocalizing, the agonizing eagerness to please, the belting to the balcony.”

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CHICAGO THEATRE BEAT (Lauren Whalen)

Sparkling, transformative, and deeply human, End of the Rainbow is a heartbreaking musical play with a bravura leading performance by Angela Ingersoll… End of the Rainbow belongs to Ingersoll, who captivates from beginning to end. In Ingersoll’s capable hands, Judy is frenetic and demanding, lovable and charming, and always, always a force to be reckoned with onstage… Rich with beautiful music and nuanced portrayals, Porchlight Theatre’s latest is a haunting two and a half hours that will stay with you long after curtain call. End of the Rainbow isn’t always easy, but it is forever memorable.”

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CHICAGO READER (Tony Adler)

“Angela Ingersoll shows us the icon's indomitability amid utter collapse, even as she displays her own diva-level chops. You're simultaneously relieved and enraptured every time she makes it through a song.”

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HYDE PARK HERALD (Anne Spiselman)

“Angela Ingersoll gives a stunning performance as Judy Garland. She bears a striking resemblance to the troubled star and captures all the volatility and vulnerability of a woman on the edge of self-destruction after a lifetime of manipulation by others. She also sings splendidly, incorporating Garland’s tremolo and other vocal signatures…

Some of the scenes are painful to watch, but Ingersoll avoids becoming pathetic. By turns fierce and funny, manic and depressive, angry and needy, imperious and pleading, a screaming harpy and sad child, she shows us a complicated woman who could be foul-mouthed one minute and charming the next, who both loved her audiences and had terrible stage fright, and who was terribly in need of the kind of help she just couldn’t get, inevitably making her feel all alone.

…the main reason to catch End of the Rainbow is the vivid way Ingersoll brings Judy Garland to life in all her many contradictory colors.”

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LOS ANGELES TIMES (Tom Titus)

"With the incandescent star power of the dynamic Angela Ingersoll — a ringer for the original in every respect — lighting the way, End of the Rainbow approaches rare theatrical brilliance under the fiercely sensitive direction of Michael Matthews.

Few actors have landed an impersonation of a famous figure more completely than Ingersoll, from the diminutive physique to the powerful vocal tones that seemingly can hold a note forever. She also has mastered the rushed tones and breaks in the star’s dialogue that switch subjects in mid-sentence... It might be said that Ingersoll was born to play Garland. Certainly the physical and vocal characteristics are there, and if that weren’t enough, her publicity reveals that she once played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. And, of course, she closes her time in the show with Judy’s theme song, Over the Rainbow, sitting plaintively on the stage after her death has been revealed.

End of the Rainbow not only is the best show on the Laguna stage this year, it also outclasses those of any other local theater. This one is worth fighting the arts festival traffic to experience."

BROADWAY WORLD LOS ANGELES (Gil Kaan)

Ingersoll's Garland Reincarnated in An Excruciatingly Raw END OF THE RAINBOW

"Two moments of Rainbow rate as the must, MUST-see moments for any Judy Garland aficionados - when the astonishing Angela Ingersoll totally morphs into Judy Garland singing The Man That Got Away, and when Ingersoll channels Judy Garland in Over the Rainbow. Ingersoll has Judy Garland's breath control, her phrasing, her hand gestures and her posture down pat... What you see and what you hear is Judy Garland concert-performing at her best (and, sadly, at her worst). Ingersoll's STRONG vocal pipes suggest Judy Garland's vocal prowess at her peak as she hits and holds her ending high notes in The Trolley Song, You Made Me Love You, and Come Rain or Come Shine. Ingersoll's heartbreaking acting chops in combination with her stunning vocals will bring tears to your eyes and rip your heart out in her tormented despair in The Man That Got Away and in the most un-optimistic rendition of Over the Rainbow you'll ever have the incredible opportunity to experience. Definitely not the wide-eyed Dorothy's version or the more cheery contemporary takes on Rainbow you're more accustomed to hearing. Brava, Ms. Ingersoll!

Before Amy Winehouse, even before Janis Joplin; there was Judy Garland, the patron saint of self-destruction. The raw vitriol may be too uncomfortable and disturbing for the more staid of audience, but Ingersoll's singing's totally worth it. Ingersoll! Singing! Judy! Oh, my!"


BROADWAY WORLD LOS ANGELES (Michael Quintos)

POWERFUL LEAD PERFORMANCE ELEVATES END OF THE RAINBOW

A powerful, breathtaking performance from Angela Ingersoll showcases a can't-look-away implosion of a beloved icon whose battles with her personal demons make her a relatable human being with real, tangible problems...  And in between tantrums, crying, and melodramatic pleas for help, we watch as Garland sings classic after classic in flawless perfection---a vivid reminder of why we love her in the first place.

In an astonishing portrayal that will give you chills throughout, Ingersoll embodies Garland in a way that transcends mere acting or even impersonation (though, to be sure, she basically has her vocal mannerisms and body language mastered). As Garland, Ingersoll is transcendent, hilarious, awkward, luminous, sensuous, and, ultimately, heartbreaking. When she triumphantly sings through tears in "The Man That Got Away" with the same ache and longing that Garland displayed in her Oscar-nominated turn in A Star Is Born, it's not difficult to heap praises on her performance. And, damn, can this girl BELT a song!

Really, it's a role written to be purposely tumultuous and over-the-top erratic and Ingersoll definitely has the acting and singing chops to carry it off. Seriously, whether she's acting up a brewing storm of emotions in a hotel room or singing the divalicious crap out of a torch song on a stage while crazily futzing with an unruly microphone cord, Ingersoll gives her Garland her deserved icon status and a down-to-earth humanity that easily earns our affections and empathy.

Ingersoll is so amazing in the role that the performance really helped sell the believability of this version of Garland: one that, despite having an undeniable musical prowess, being able to spout out wonderful, witty comebacks at any given moment, and having romantic notions of love, is deep down a woman who's also in desperate inner turmoil---pain that can only be alleviated by substances that has already done its damage and doomed her to a shorter than normal life. Even by today's standards, watching someone who brought so much joy to so many people just fall apart at the seams before our very eyes is still gut-wrenching, no matter where your affection for this star may stand. Ingersoll's beautiful, gutsy portrait helped paint a picture---and as an audience, we can't help but ache for Garland.

I must say that the true draw for this new production of END OF THE RAINBOW is to witness Ingersoll's note-perfect portrait of Garland in the latter stage of her life. Rendered with great humanity and empathy, you may never look at Garland the same after seeing this captivating performance.


ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Eric Marchese)

"Stellar... Angela Ingersoll gives an astonishingly accurate portrayal of the tortured, late-career Garland... Ingersoll deftly brings out the star’s competent exterior while showing the needy, vulnerable soul beneath that façade.

“Rainbow” isn’t a musical, but no show about Garland would be complete without some of the star’s singular, killer vocal performances. The 11 musical numbers  evoke Garland the singer to an incredible degree. None of the songs are more compelling than “The Man That Got Away.” Prompted by Mickey’s walking out on her, Garland crumbles to the floor, with Ingersoll nailing the singer’s trademark fragile emotions and quivering vocals.

Ingersoll captures the mercurial star’s look and complex persona – near manic, marvelously vibrant and alive, wildly unpredictable, craving of attention, and so unruly it’s easy to sympathize with Deans. She also has the rhythms and inflections of Garland’s well-known speaking voice and, in her vocals, shows us the star’s instinctive approach to each of her songs... positively uncanny.


LA EXCITES (Imaan Jalali)

“End of the Rainbow” stars the astonishing Angela Ingersoll as Garland. As uncanny as Angela Ingersoll is as Garland, while giving the part her own personal stamp, it is the meaningful message she imparts that supersedes everything else. Having earned the respect of Garland’s son, Joey Luft, Ingersoll does more than just pay her respects to Garland’s memory with resounding renditions of “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby,” “Just in Time,” “The Trolley Song,” “Get Happy,” and “For Me and My Gal;” she brings much-needed awareness to the very human struggle of the towering icon. Ingersoll is searingly realistic as a big ball of energy in a petite body, evincing Garland’s maladaptive ways, including, but not limited to, her irascibility, contriving the threat of her suicide as a negotiating ploy for settling an unpaid hotel debt, and manically begging for just one more pill of Ritalin.

“Over the Rainbow,” too, takes on a deeper substance echoing Garland’s harrowing life, with Ingersoll plaintively on her knees, arms stretched to the sky, channeling the international darling, who regrettably never reached her full potential. When the classic song movingly ends on “…why, oh why, can’t I?”, with Ingersoll’s sustained, goosebumps-inducing note to finish, we aren’t thinking of “The Wizard of Oz” anymore, but rather the tragedy that was Garland’s unfinished journey.


SPLASH MAGAZINE (Elaine Mura)

END OF THE RAINBOW is a potent and penetrating slice of Judy Garland’s life, and the formidable Ms. Ingersoll brilliantly depicts her pain, her fears, and her manic confusion. To add the cherry on top, Angela Ingersoll has a powerful voice that eerily mimics Garland’s; and those strong vocal cords enchant the audience as they enjoy some of Judy Garland’s biggest hits. This is Judy Garland’s show, and Angela Ingersoll has cloned her to a tee.


LADUE NEWS (Mark Bretz)

Brilliant, extraordinary performance propels End of the Rainbow

Angela Ingersoll packs a powerful wallop in a searing and astounding performance as the diminutive and tragic talent who loved her audiences but, in her own words, “often wished for just a few words of love from one man, rather than the applause of thousands of people.” Ingersoll is both brilliant and extraordinary in her portrayal of the doomed star. It’s a performance which any fan of Garland should not miss.

Ingersoll was ingratiating and indefatigable in her Come Rain or Come Shine tribute concert to the fabled Hollywood star, pointing out that at 5 feet tall she is an inch taller than was Garland. Sure, the raven-haired singer/actress bears a strong physical resemblance to Judy Garland, nee Frances Gumm, but it’s her singing and acting which propel her riveting and horrific depiction. Horrific in the sense that with playwright Peter Quilter’s haunting dialogue she exposes all of the vulnerability and loneliness which ravaged the American screen idol.

Audience won’t forget Ingersoll’s stunning portrayal, which explodes as soon as the stage is lit and doesn’t diminish until the final light goes out.

Ingersoll won a Jeff Award in Chicago for her portrayal, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to her blistering acting performance, Ingersoll is a force of nature as she belts out many of Garland’s signature tunes, such as The Trolley Song from Meet Me in St. Louis, When You’re Smiling, Come Rain or Come Shine and the iconic Over the Rainbow, sung poignantly and powerfully at the edge of the stage... It’s a performance truly over the rainbow in its heartbreaking brilliance.


KDHX (Tina Farmer)

Angela Ingersoll transforms into a legend in the tragically beautiful ‘End of the Rainbow’

The production is made all the more effective by the mesmerizing performance of Angela Ingersoll, who captures Garland to near perfection, from her petite stature and crooked teeth to her gestures and vocal inflections.

Ingersoll has clearly studied her subject and her hard work is apparent, as is her considerable personal talent. She effortlessly moves from drunken brawl backstage to the charming, self-deprecating wit of a Judy Garland concert. Her vocal phrasing and rhythms are resonant of Garland’s whether she’s singing, speaking, or screaming. It is more than just the superficial, however. Through her performance Ingersoll lets us peak into the frightened and neglected soul of the woman behind the star. We see the weight she carries, the depth of her insecurities and addictions, and her ability to still charm us, even when we know her demons are present.

Though this is a play, Ingersoll’s pitch perfect renditions of Garland’s music can’t be overlooked. Whether she’s singing a snippet of a favorite tune as a way of cajoling someone or in front of the full band and on stage in Garland’s cabaret show, Ingersoll has the range, inflection and sense of timing that burns with the fire of the original. She lights up and delivers spectacular interpretations that seem much bigger than the petite actress on the stage. Ingersoll becomes Garland as easy as Garland blossomed from insecure and frightened girl to legendary star the moment the spotlight hit her.

Ingersoll’s realistic and thoroughly integrated performance as Garland goes well beyond impersonation, seemingly transforming herself into the icon. In the age of reality TV, her captivating portrayal and the believable supporting characters make it easy for audiences to suspend their disbelief and feel like they just witnessed the tragic and beautiful descent of a phenomenal star.


STL TODAY (Judy Newmark)

Angela Ingersoll leaps over the rainbow

Angela Ingersoll won the Chicago's Jeff for this play. It’s not hard to see why. This juicy role give lots of latitude to the rare performer who is also capable of singing it. Ingersoll is that performer. Her work dazzles when she portrays Garland in concert in London... She sparkles more than the sequins she wears, confident that the audience rests in the palm of her hand... Ingersoll performs with feeling, flair and an uncanny resemblance to Garland.


SNOOPS THEATRE THOUGHTS (Michelle Kenyon)

End of the Rainbow showcases great talent

End of the Rainbow is an excellent opportunity for the showcasing of two remarkable talents–the legendary Garland, of course, and also the wonderful performer who portrays her, Angela Ingersoll.

This is a tour-de-force kind of show. The role of Judy Garland is a demanding one, both in terms of talent and of energy. I’ve seen the Olivier and Tony Award nominated Tracie Bennett play the role impressively in London, and now this challenging, intense role is taken by Angela Ingersoll, who is every bit as impressive, if not more so. Ingersoll has the vocal stylings as close as I can imagine to Garland’s. She’s also got an explosive kind of energy, able to portray Garland in this era at her worst, as well as her best, allowing a youthful glow to shine through.

It’s the performances that make this show, and particularly Ingersoll’s seemingly boundless energy and evocation of the spirit of the legendary Garland. It’s a performance not to be missed.


ST LOUIS LIMELIGHT MAGAZINE (Bradley Rohlf)

At her first entrance, Angela Ingersoll was met with a brief moment of stunned silence followed by welcoming applause – she had brought Judy back to life before even uttering a word. From there, her gripping personality steamrolls over everyone in the room, and we all thank her for it. It is impossible not to fall in love with her... one feels compelled to leap out of their seat, push Hatley and Conroy out of the way and declare, “No, I can save her!” But of course, she was beyond that.


TALKIN' BROADWAY (Richard Green)

Do you ever catch yourself, when you're really entranced by a show, secretly imagining the actors on stage are slyly performing it all to you? That's just one of the seductive powers of End of the Rainbow: it sucks you in, with thrilling songs and torrid heartbreak, perfect for the 60-year-old gay man, at least. Another trance-inducing element is just getting lost, staring out over the dizzying brink of sanity, trying to figure out what crazy thing Angela Ingersoll, extremely credible as Judy Garland, is going to do next.

More than a concert piece, more than a tell-all, behind-the-scenes scandalmonger's dream, there is a pure intelligence at work in Ms. Ingersoll's performance... And there's swagger and sequins to burn, and chaser-lights and deep insights into the art of impersonation that still catch my breath, the next day, from Ms. Ingersoll... Ms. Ingersoll's performance has something deeper, something enigmatic at its center—like the mysterious, silky sands in the holy ark in the first Indiana Jones movie. And like Spielberg's Nazis, with their melting faces, none of us can turn away. There's something dangerous and unreadable in the actress herself. Every kind of beauty and seduction and monstrous power rises out of her, through great acting and singing.


TWO ON THE AISLE (Bob Wilcox & Gerry Kowarsky)

How good is Angela's Ingersoll's impersonation of Judy Garland? When Ingersoll first rushed onto the stage the audience burst in to the sort of ovation that only greets a star of the highest magnitude. Throughout the show, everything about Ingersoll is a reminder of Garland: the singing, the speech patterns, the gestures, the hair and makeup. As remarkable as Ingersoll's impersonation is, however, the characterization she builds on top of the outward resemblance is even better.

Ingersoll is an enthralling performer... She performs several Garland standards with striking authenticity. The final number is the one everyone is waiting for. Nothing could make the hopelessness of the play's conclusion more compelling than Ingersoll's heartbreaking interpretation of Over the Rainbow. It's wonderful.


 

PHOTOS: LA MIRADA THEATRE/MCCOY RIGBY ENTERTAINMENT, LOS ANGELES

PHOTOS: PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE, Chicago

PHOTOS: MAX AND LOUIE PRODUCTIONS, St Louis

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

"Delicious... Ms. Ingersoll plays Hedy as if the role had been written expressly for her. As foxy as she is beautiful, Ingersoll makes the most of her physical prowess, mining comedy from every line and movement."
-Chicago Theatre Review

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NOMINEE
Best Supporting Actress in a Musical
Angela Ingersoll, How To Succeed in Business...

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING

Marriott Theatre

"The epitome of the dumb blonde, Angela Ingersoll is delicious as sexy Hedy LaRue. Not to be taken advantage of, and with her own agenda of how to succeed without trying, Ms. Ingersoll plays Hedy as if the role had been written expressly for her. As foxy as she is beautiful, Ms. Ingersoll, who practically erupts from her low-cut dresses, makes the most of her physical prowess, mining comedy from every line and movement. Her schmaltzy duet with Hamilton 'Love From a Heart of Gold' becomes a sweetly welcome sincere moment in a show so filled with comedy."
-Chicago Theatre Review

"Extremely funny... I laughed loud and often at Angela Ingersoll's Hedy, which is a deliciously broad and fearless characterization." "Angela Ingersoll as Hedy LaRue steals the show with her 'larger than life' performance."
-Chicago Tribune

"Hedy LaRue, a dynamite portrayal by Angela Ingersoll, steals several scenes just by walking on the stage-WOW!!! Perfect casting!"
-Around the Town Chicago

"Angela Ingersoll is the best Hedy LaRue I’ve ever seen. Playing a cartoon sex bomb, Ingersoll nails the three most important aspects of the character. One of these is comic timing. Instead of going for the usual high pitched Marilyn-Monroe-from-Brooklyn imitation (or Carol Channing, as Maureen Arthur played it in the movie version), Ingersoll goes for a low, occasionally raspy cigarette voice that is perfect for the character. Polite society decrees that I must not mention the actress’s breasts in a review. But Angela Ingersoll is brilliant at making her tits funny; which is what the part calls for... When Hedy says, “Don't start getting sincere. That's not fair,” Ingersoll looked truly wounded and seemed about to cry. That’s how you give humanity to a cartoon character. I can’t say enough about Ingersoll’s performance."
-Chicagoland Theatre Forum

"Angela Ingersoll who plays Hedy LaRue equally steals the show. Angela comes across with a mixture of Judy Holliday and Marilyn Monroe and is really funny and entertaining in her role."
-Showbiz Chicago

"Angela Ingersoll gives the ostentatiously buxom Hedy LaRue a funny Judy Holliday spin as a brassy blonde who isn’t as dumb as she seems."
-Chicagoland Theatre Reviews

"As the impossibly curvaceous (and in her own way, intensely career-driven) Hedy LaRue, Angela Ingersoll is a most winning comedienne who definitely knows how to move."
-Chicago Sun-Times

Much Ado About Nothing

"Knight and Ingersoll make Benedick and Beatrice a fiery and unpredictable couple with a wonderful, lively rhythm... him with a manly coolness and her with a liberated playfulness.
-South Bend Tribune

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival

"Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival’s production literally jumps, jives and wails. And not just because of the 1940s-style songs composer Scotty Arnold wrote for the show, which director Drew Fracher has set during World War II. Sure, its athletic cast demonstrates impressive dance skills a number of times, but Fracher’s “Much Ado” has a joyful swing from start to finish that goes well beyond the Lindy Hop.

...It provides an opportunity for Fracher to feature Angela Ingersoll’s powerful voice on several solos as Beatrice and with Celina Dean (Ursula) and Kiah Stern (Hero) in a mellifluous Andrews Sisters-style harmony trio.

Cameron Knight and Angela Ingersoll make Benedick and Beatrice a fiery and unpredictable couple with a wonderful, lively rhythm to their exchanges. Each makes exquisite, often hilarious use of facial expressions and body language and has a commanding stage presence, him with a manly coolness and her with a liberated playfulness.

Further, Fracher’s casting of Knight and Ingersoll as an interracial World War II Benedick and Beatrice — unlikely, at best, in that era — serves as a reminder of how much progress the U.S. has made in race relations despite the recent, disturbing rise in white nationalism.

That gives the play and the production contemporary relevance, but, first and foremost, this is Shakespeare at his toe-tappin’ best."
-South Bend Tribune