In a festive ceremony at Drury Lane Theatre, Angela Ingersoll received Chicago's Jeff Award for Leading Actress in a Play for her star turn as Judy Garland in END OF THE RAINBOW at Porchlight Music Theatre. Ingersoll also received a nomination in the Supporting Actress in a Musical category for her scene-stealing, dumb-blonde Hedy LaRue in Marriott Theatre’s HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Congratulations to all the exemplar nominees, representing the finest of Chicago's diverse theatre community.

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Jackie Moe Entertainment Reporting. Before Angela Ingersoll steps out onto the stage to portray film icon Judy Garland in the Broadway musical “End of the Rainbow,” she turns on one of Garland’s albums and does her own hair and makeup. “That’s my time to commit to being truly present for the task at hand. As I paint her portrait in the mirror before me, I fall in love with Judy all over again. It’s always full of discovery,” said Ingersoll, who received a Jeff Award nomination for “best actress in a play” for the role in September.

The Chicago actress shines in her portrayal of Garland with a unique yet uncanny style that makes the audience feel like they are truly witnessing the singer and film icon tell her story. The La Mirada Theatre is currently presenting the play through Sunday, Nov. 12. The musical drama, written by Peter Quilter, spotlights the life of Judy Garland in the months leading up to her death in 1969, at the age of 47. The production had its premiere in Sydney in 2005 and opened on Broadway in 2012.

Ingersoll took the time to share insight into her role as the legendary actress-singer:

What have been the challenges of taking on this role as Garland?

This production of “End of the Rainbow” is my second. We had a very short rehearsal process, which demands excellence from the entire artistic team. I’ve only been working with our director Michael Matthews for a week and a half, and I am in love. He’s a gorgeous artist. He’s helped me keep a fresh approach, even though I’ve been singing Judy non-stop for a couple of years now. In addition to this show, I also sing my own concerts of Judy’s music all over the country. Just a week before we began rehearsals, I finished filming my Judy concert for Public Television. My life has, just in the past couple of years, dramatically shifted focus to shining a light on her legacy, as her artistic descendant.

Previous to taking on the role, what did Garland mean to you?

I’ve been a devoted fan of Judy’s for as long as I can recall. I don’t remember a time without her. So many of us meet her as children, when she’s a child as well, and her Dorothy stays with us. Yet even as a child, I was most attracted to 60s Judy, to TV Show Judy, to Carnegie Hall Judy. I saw a self-possessed woman and artist and knew that’s what I wanted to be. Now that I’ve just turned 40, I feel I’ve come into the time of my life I’ve always dreamed about.

The press pitch stated you are “the spitting image of Judy” – have you received this comparison throughout your life? 

I have been compared to, or likened to Ms. Garland since I was about four years old. That’s when I started singing. Folks said to me then, as they do now, “How does that big voice come out of that little body?” People have continuously throughout my life pointed out my similarities to Judy: stature, eyes, emotional intensity, sheer volume. Even our teeth are crooked in precisely the way – of course she wore caps over her teeth during the MGM years. So yes, I’ve always been short, loud, and confident.

Every actor/actress can feel the energy of the audience at specific parts of the story. What parts of this production do you feel the audience become the most exhilarated? 

I can certainly hear an audible reaction to my first entrance. I hear folks tittering and sizing me up, all five feet of me. They’re commenting on my stature, my hair, as well as Bill Morey’s striking costumes. There’s a palpable outpouring of love and excitement from the audience in all of the musical numbers, but when we get to “Over The Rainbow” we’re all of us at our most intimate and exposed. The listening we share in that song is, for me, quite spiritual.

What song numbers are your personal favorite? 

It is always pure joy to sing “Over The Rainbow.” It is the greatest song of the 20th century, and a perfectly marvelous existential poem. As we grow, “Rainbow” grows with us; that’s its magic. I would say that the emotional power of “The Man That Got Away” has ingrained itself most deeply into the fibers of voice and body. It’s cathartic. And it is utterly exhilarating to sing “Come Rain Or Come Shine” with our outstanding orchestra. It’s a burning arrangement that really soars!

What do you want your audience to take from this production?

Well, our story is both deeply inspiring and deeply painful. I hope that audiences confronting and experiencing that pain can find a sense of peace in their own hearts. Because none of us has a monopoly on heartache. I believe this beloved music and this great humor can give us all the courage to feel a little less alone.

END OF THE RAINBOW: Judy Garland’s Swan Song Tribute

RAGE MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Since her endearing role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz back in 1939, Judy Garland won the hearts of millions, cementing her as a much-beloved icon throughout her entire career. An image marred only, by her ongoing struggle with an addiction to drugs and alcohol throughout that storied calling.

End of the Rainbow illustrates her later years and the months leading up to her death in 1969: It’s December, Garland is in London and about to make her 1968 comeback…Again. Along with both her young fiancé Mickey Deans and her adoring, loyal accompanist, Anthony, she fights to revive her sagging career and reputation.

Angela Ingersoll has garnered abundant praise for her portrayal of Judy Garland, including a Jeff Award nomination, a Time Out Chicago Award nomination and “Top Performances of the Year” honors from both The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times.

The Rage Monthly caught up with Angela during the rehearsal process at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. When asked to share her insights about Judy Garland and things that most might not know about her, Ingersoll offered these insights: “I do quite a lot of concert work and I encourage the audience to ask me anything about Judy.”

“I believe I can address just about anything they want to discuss, lovingly, respectfully and candidly. What I find myself realizing the more I tell folks about the many, many facets of Garland, is that our Judy was a genius.”

Ingersoll explains further, “Her radiant humor is a tell-tale sign, as well as her cunning facility with language…She was a great raconteur. I think Judy’s great artistry is evidenced not only in her performance techniques, but in the way she lived her life. She was so very present, always. I think that bewitching ability to invite you in to ‘the now,’ to never give up on that moment, was her genius.”

Representing such an iconic character as Judy Garland on stage is a challenge to be sure. Ingersoll discussed what she did to transform herself, as she portrays this complex character. “This may sound strange, but my greatest challenge in performing this play, was prioritizing self-care and by self-care, I mean sleep. This is a leave-it-all-on-the-stage sort of role, yet you’re on the hook to get right back in the ring before you know it…And duke it out all over again. It’s a role that requires great stamina and my preparation time for each show is important. So, I may mindfully dig in and pull back the slingshot and then, once we’re up and running, wham!”

Opining further about the play itself, Ingersoll said this, “The show is one hell of an exciting ride full of surprises—a whirlwind if you will—with Judy’s formidable winds filling your sails. You really get to flying high and I’m absolutely buzzing at show’s end.”

“Once I hit the wings, I quickly kiss the nearest theatre wall in a kind of prayer, amazed and grateful that we somehow did it once again, all of us. Then begins the process of riding my adrenaline back down to Earth. I must allow that fantastic and volatile inner life of hers to get some rest. I must take care, so that the phoenix is always ready to rise again.”

As to what she hopes audiences will take away from the show and her performance, “I do not assume to prescribe an expected outcome for the audience. I will say, the journey of this show is a glorious yet painful one and individuals must process their experience of that pain for themselves.”

Ingersoll finished beautifully with these sage words, “I do hope audience members find their experience an opportunity to cultivate greater peace with their own pain. Because you know, none of us has a monopoly on heartache. Hopefully through laughter and music we can, all of us, feel less alone.”

DISCOVER LA MIRADA: If you have been fortunate to see Angela Ingersoll recently on stage or in concert, you already know what the big buzz is about. She is smart, sassy, sexy, and above all, a natural born talent.

Ingersoll’s critically acclaimed performance as Judy Garland in the recent Porchlight Music Theatre production of End of the Rainbow channeled every ounce of her powerhouse talent to elevate our imagination and richly stir our compassion for the fragile and falling star. It was all there – electrifying stage performances, manic vitality, childlike enthusiasm and reckless abandon – all seeming to unfold effortlessly in the moment in Ingersoll’s unforgettable performance.

Ingersoll will be performing as Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow from October 27 – November 12, 2017 at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Featuring some of Garland’s most memorable songs, this savagely funny play-with-music offers unique insight into the inner conflict that inspired and consumed one of the most beloved figures of our time.

Click here for performance and ticket information.

Barbara Vitello, DAILY HERALD.

About 18 months ago, singer/actress and lifelong Judy Garland fan Angela Ingersoll made a wish. Fearing for Garland's legacy, Ingersoll wished for the opportunity to excise the kitsch that sometimes dimmed Garland's star. "I wanted to commit to shining a positive light on Judy," Ingersoll said. And since then, "the universe has been nonstop green lights."

The latest comes Tuesday, Oct. 10, when PBS will film a performance of her tribute concert "Judy Garland: Come Rain or Come Shine" at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles for broadcast next year. The taping for PBS, which has showcased concerts featuring her husband and "Jersey Boys" star Michael Ingersoll's group Under the Streetlamp, follows another key Garland role. Ingersoll starred last year in Porchlight Music Theatre's acclaimed revival of "End of the Rainbow," Peter Quilter's play with music chronicling Garland's 1968 London comeback concert. The role earned Ingersoll a 2017 Joseph Jefferson Award nomination for lead actress in a play.

Like many fans, Ingersoll first encountered Garland in 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" as Dorothy, the teenager dressed in blue gingham who desperately wanted to return home to Kansas. But the Judy Garland who indelibly etched herself into the singer/actress' consciousness was the Garland who played Carnegie Hall in 1961 and starred in her own CBS variety show from 1963 to 1964.

"Judy looking directly into the camera … It wasn't a movie or a character, it was her real self she was giving me," said Ingersoll, a Chicago and suburban theater veteran who previously channeled Garland in cabaret shows "The 12 Dames of Christmas" and "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues."

"Come Rain or Come Shine" is all Judy. But Ingersoll makes clear her performance is not an impression. And she doesn't sugarcoat the darkness that plagued the star. "When I walk on stage in concert, I say 'Hello, I'm Angela Ingersoll.' I make it clear my calling is to be her artistic descendant," she said.

Garland grew up during the Depression, emerged as America's sweetheart during World War II, fought personal demons in the 1950s and did concerts and TV in the 1960s. When she died in 1969, a couple of months before Woodstock, "a version of America died," Ingersoll said.

Ingersoll came upon the live recording of Garland's 1961 Carnegie Hall concert as a child, rummaging through albums at a thrift store. "I couldn't stop singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'" she said. "I sang it as loud as I could sing it. I felt liberated."

Ingersoll's roles over the years have ranged from a schoolgirl in the Aesop fable-inspired tuner "How Can You Run With a Shell on Your Back?" to William Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Ingersoll said she's always relished playing "the most difficult woman on stage," who carries pain and darkness inside. "Judy's sharp edges and glowing center add up to that equation," she said.

Porchlight artistic director Michael Weber knew about Ingersoll's Garland affinity and her expertise at performing Garland's repertoire when he was preparing for "End of the Rainbow." "The pleasure of Angie is she came to the table with so much knowledge," Weber said. "She already knew the dramaturgical components of Garland's life."

A fine musician as well as a serious actress, Ingersoll is also a comedian and a dancer, who crafted a performance so remarkable, Weber says, he cannot imagine remounting Porchlight's production without her. "Angela has an open invitation when it comes to this piece," he said. "Audiences would love to get another opportunity to see her play the role."

Weber wasn't the only one Ingersoll impressed. Garland's son Joey Luft heard about her performance, contacted her and appeared alongside her at her Mother's Day Arcada concert last May, putting his blessing on Ingersoll's life's calling. "I feel like she's whispering to me," Ingersoll says. "I'm listening to her in my head when I'm singing the songs."

After Tuesday's filming, Ingersoll heads to Los Angeles for another production of "End of the Rainbow." And while she hasn't ruled out returning to the stage in some other role, Garland will occupy Ingersoll's professional life for the foreseeable future.

And she couldn't be happier. "I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have."