BROADWAY WORLD: GET HAPPY A TRIUMPHANT TRIBUTE TO JUDY GARLAND

BROADWAY WORLD: GET HAPPY A TRIUMPHIANT TRIBUTE TO JUDY GARLAND

BWW Review, K. Lawler: 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.

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WPMT Presents: MEET ME IN ST LoUIS

WPMT Presents: Meet Me In St Louis

The WPMT premiere of “Meet Me in St. Louis” as heard on December 2, 1946, on The Lux Radio Theatre is now live with a special interview between Michael Weber and Angela Ingersoll! Starring Judy Garland as "Esther Smith," Margaret O'Brien as "Tootie Smith," and Tom Drake as "John Truitt"," the performance features popular songs “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Trolley Song” and “The Boy Next Door.”

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LIVE CONCERT STREAMING ONE NIGHT ONLY, OCTOBER 11

LIVE CONCERT STREAMING ONE NIGHT ONLY: OCTOBER 11

Artists Lounge Live has partnered with theaters across America to present GET HAPPY: ANGELA INGERSOLL SINGS JUDY GARLAND, streaming live from Chicago, Sunday, October 11, 7pm ET/ 6pm CT/ 4pm PT. The virtual concert event features a live talkback following the show. Join the national watch party by purchasing tickets from one of our participating partners: San Diego Rep (San Diego), Laguna Playhouse (LA), Marriott Theatre (Chicago), The Goodspeed (Connecticut), Max & Louie Productions (St Louis), and AD Players (Houston). Don't see a partner in your region? You're still invited. Any of the organizations listed would greatly appreciate your support. To view concert, you'll need a high speed internet connection that allows for streaming.

In an Emmy Award-nominated performance, Angela Ingersoll celebrates Judy Garland with virtuosic vocals, passionate storytelling, and naturally winning humor. As seen on PBS, her two hour concert features a powerful six-piece orchestra and classic songs including "Over the Rainbow," "The Trolley Song," and "The Man That Got Away.”  LEARN MORE

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CHICAGO TRIBUNE: DYNAMIC POWER COUPLE

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: DYNAMIC POWER COUPLE

INGERSOLLS OFFER BEAUTIFUL MELODIES MIXED WITH A BIT OF NORMAL COUPLE RAZZING

Courier-News, A. Alleman, ELGIN, IL: Chicago performers Michael and Angela Ingersoll have had quite a bit of success in their solo careers. Now, the musical power couple will join forces in a new show.

He’s the former star of Jersey Boys (original cast San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago) and the group Under the Streetlamp. She’s the Emmy-nominated actress known for her Judy Garland shows (End of the Rainbow and Get Happy on PBS). Artists Lounge Live presents Happy Together: Michael and Angela Ingersoll Sing Songs You Know By Heart May 4 at Elgin Arts Center.

“Michael and I have been asked quite a lot lately to appear together at some of the theaters where we each have been able to tour,” Angela Ingersoll said. “We used to do a show together a few years ago that we’ve put on the shelf while we were focusing on other projects, so we’re revving up a new evening.

“The shows he and I do together are very light-hearted and fun. Our husband-and-wife shtick is … one producer that we worked with compared it to a George (Burns) and Gracie (Allen) vibe. Kind of George and Gracie, Lucy (Ball) and Desi (Arnez). We very lovingly poke fun at one another all night and people seem to identify with that kind of old-fashioned good humor.”

They’ve been married 14 years and together for 18. The music they choose is broad, from the jazz and pop songs she likes to the rock and roll for Michael. “We sing songs that spread from the ’40s to the ’80s,” she said. “Love-pop standards that we always make sure everybody knows the words to. We do some of our signature songs we’ve both done on our PBS specials. He’ll probably do ‘Save the Last Dance For Me’ … I’ll sing ‘Over the Rainbow’ at some point. There will be lots of fun duets and surprises. We tend to always at some point of the evening sing ‘I’ve Had the Time of My Life’ together and that always brings the house down.”

Other songs they will do include “Love Story (Where Do I Begin)”, plus “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys and “Just the Way You Are” by Billy Joel. And obviously, “Happy Together” will be on the docket. “They’re largely songs about cherishing one another while the shtick in between tends to be ribbing one another,” she said. “So it’s a good balance.”

A lot has changed in the years since the previous show they did together. Michael was the one touring with Jersey Boys and Under the Streetlamp while Angela was holding down the fort. “The tables have really turned now. We have Artists Lounge Live and he’s doing more producing than performing and I’m out on the road,” she said. “I think we are more equals now.

“We’re both a little older now. We’re both over 40 and we have different priorities,” she said. “This is the refresh of all of the old versions of this show that we’ve done. Before, our shows were very much kind of a cocktail party on the stage — we might’ve had a cocktail in our hand in years past. I think we’ve grown up a little more and we are bringing something a little more wholesome than we used to bring. No less fun but perhaps a little older and hopefully slightly wiser.”

Her other shows have prepared her for this new show by allowing her to take risks and explore different emotions, she said. “I take really big emotional risks,” she said. “I sing so whole-bodied I can barely walk some nights after the show. I really throw it out there. That has taught me about how much the audience really want a connection that feels real. A live connection … and a new kinship.

“Talking about Judy and my love of her helped open up quite a lot of vulnerability and a Pandora’s Box of pain. And to work on healing that pain, the music does that for us. The humor and the music and the storytelling allows us to realize that none of us has a monopoly on pain. We can work through it together as a group in that live experience.”

She thinks audiences will see themselves onstage in the husband-and-wife dynamic. “We’re not trying to project perfect versions of ourselves,” she said. “He and I are pretty warts-and-all as performers and I think people can relate to the regular husband-and-wife familiarity. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. But I think people will appreciate that underneath the jokes (there is) gratitude that you have someone to stand next to in life and have someone to get through it with.”

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WEST HAWAII TODAY: Angela INGERSOLL CHANNELS Judy GARLAND

WEST HAWAII TODAY: ANGLEA INGERSOLL CHANNELS JUDY GARLAND

E. Pitts, KAHILUA-KONA: Judy Garland was an American pop culture icon who knew how to put on a show and belt out a tune. Her modern counterpart, Angela Ingersoll, wants to bring Garland back on stage the only way she knows how — by channeling Garland’s singing voice and presence into a new concert for Garland fans on the Big Island.

“The only thing better than listening to a great classic record that we love is hearing music that we know, and love, live,” Ingersoll said. “There’s nothing like live music. So to be able to create a live music experience for music that people feel so nostalgic about is a great honor.”

Ingersoll is bringing the concert Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland to the Big Island at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea. The show, which Ingersoll has performed in cities including Los Angeles and in her native Chicago, was turned into a PBS special last year and was nominated for two Emmy awards, including one for Ingersoll’s performance. Ingersoll will be conveying her inner Garland this weekend by singing some of her most famous tracks, including ‘Over the Rainbow’ and ‘Get Happy.’

“What can beat ‘Over the Rainbow?’” Ingersoll said. “It’s the greatest song written in the 20th century, and I think it’s the greatest pop song ever.”

The message Ingersoll finds in ‘Over the Rainbow’ is the reason she holds it so close to her heart. It’s also one of the more popular Garland songs she sings at her concerts. “I think the songs that people all know the words to, like ‘Over the Rainbow,’ are a way for us all to see each other as a little more human,” Ingersoll said.

Besides ‘Over the Rainbow,’ Ingersoll lists the song ‘The Man That Got Away’ as her personal favorite to perform. “I feel that’s the song most deeply ingrained in my heart,” Ingersoll said. “It’s like a tidal wave comes out of my heart when I sing that, and it’s a very easy song for me to sing. I don’t feel strained whatsoever. A very powerful wave of emotion flows through me.”

Ingersoll has been compared to Garland, through both physical appearance and through her singing voice, since she started performing at the age of 5. Get Happy was created by Ingersoll in 2015. She wanted to create a new way to honor the singer and actress she admired so much. She called the project a risk that paid off in the end.

“All of my favorite artists whose biographies I read all say eventually you have to start creating your own work,” Ingersoll said. “Unless you want to stand in line and wait for permission the rest of your life, you eventually have to create your own work and declare to the world what is in your heart. And that’s really how these Judy Garland concerts came about. I dared to say I could do her legacy justice.”

For Get Happy, Ingersoll wants to capture Garland’s spirit instead of just impersonating her. Even with her likeness, Ingersoll doesn’t want to pretend she is someone she is not. “I don’t think at all of myself as an impersonator who is trying to fool anyone into thinking that I’m Judy Garland,” Ingersoll said. “It’s not a fake, hokey thing like that. I am my own artist who is her artistic descendant. And I honor her by continuing to tell her stories with compassion and heart so that they feel alive right now.”

Garland became a Hollywood star in the late 1930s with her breakout performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and followed that success with appearances in many more notable films and musicals in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. Despite an active career as an A-list star, Garland’s personal life was filled with struggles with mental health, alcoholism and drug addiction. Ingersoll wants to change the less than stellar image some modern Americans have of the actress.

“I don’t think her legacy should be silly. I don’t think her legacy should be one that is overwrought as a caricature, as a larger than life person that was bombastic,” Ingersoll said. “I want her legacy to be one full of compassion, joy and honesty; seeing her as the powerful artist that she was.”

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Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in Theatre

LA Times Woman of the Year in Theatre

With much gratitude, Angela Ingersoll joins a great tradition of artists named Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year in Theatre.

The publication's initial review of Ingersoll's work in the drama End of the Rainbow praised "the dynamic star power of the incandescent Ingersoll." Reviewer Tom Titus recently called Ingersoll's star turn "a truly singular performance" in his article "On Theater: Fetes, Ingersoll, Wright share year-end honors."

The distinction from the LA Times is a time honored tradition. Titus says, "For the past 44 years, this column has closed out each calendar year with a tribute to two people, a man and a woman, who excelled notably in local theater during the preceding 12 months, beginning with David Emmes and Doris Allen in 1974."

Shining his spotlight on Ingersoll, Titus proclaims, "Angela Ingersoll not only played Judy Garland in Laguna’s End of the Rainbow, she epitomized the mannerisms as well as the trembling voice of the late musical icon. 'It might be said that Angela Ingersoll was born to play Judy Garland,' this column declared. 'Certainly the physical and vocal categories 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 character’s death has been revealed.'

Ingersoll extends special gratitude to the many artists of La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, and Laguna Playhouse.

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Ingersoll lands Emmy Award nomination

INGERSOLL LANDS EMMY AWARD NOMINATION

The National Academy Television Arts and Sciences honored Angela Ingersoll with a 2018 Emmy Award nomination for her outstanding performance in her debut television special, Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. The concert, captured by HMS Media at Chicago’s Arcada Theatre, is produced by Artists Lounge Live. Winners for this branch of EMMY AWARDS will be announced at a ceremony in November.

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CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Angela Ingersoll devotes herself to keeping Judy Garland’s legacy alive

chicago tribune: angela ingersoll devotes herself to keeping judy garland's legacy alive

Angela Ingersoll has a special place in her heart for Elgin Community College. That’s where she first started performing the music of Judy Garland in her own show, “I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues,” featuring the music of Garland, Patsy Cline and Ella Fitzgerald, back in 2014.

“My idea was born there in that show and the response was so overwhelming I followed that star,” she said. “The night we drove home from that show in Elgin and I could not believe the overwhelming audience to this thing that I created … I looked out and made a wish on a star and said ‘I want to dedicate my life to being the foremost interpreter of Judy Garland’s legacy in the world.’ Ever since I said that out loud, looking at that star that night, my life has been nothing but green lights.”

Ingersoll is bringing her show “Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland” to Elgin Community College Sept. 22 for a 3 p.m. performance. This is the show that aired on PBS in March.

“It’s lots and lots of Judy and lots of personal stuff from me how I got to be this person in the world who seems to have pulled the lot in life to carry on Judy Garland’s legacy in the 21st century,” she said. “It’s lots of music and lots of storytelling. I talk a lot about Judy because so many of the folks in the audience only know her from ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ And I like to talk about how much she shaped pop culture throughout the mid-20th century. I could talk about her all night long.”

She’ll bring a six-piece band, that she lovingly calls The Emerald City Orchestra — with her.

Garland’s role in American history is exciting and moving, she said.

“There’s a serious, heartfelt section about her relationship with John Kennedy and her reaction to his assassination and how she used music to help heal the country at that moment,” Ingersoll said. “She happened to have a TV show at the time on CBS and she performs a really stunning tribute to him by singing ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ I tell the story leading up to that moment and perform that live for people. And nearly every time I do, service men and women in the audience stand throughout. It’s a really exciting moment.”

Ingersoll has practically had a lifetime of research to put her show together, but it was in 2015 she decided that what she wanted to do with her life was to tell stories about Garland and keep her music and memory alive. “She was a very strong female artist who stood on her own two feet and I wanted that to be recognized and respected,” she said.

She’s not surprised people still love Garland after all these years. So many Americans were introduced to her as a child and carry that vision of the girl trying to get back to Kansas, she said. “That dreamer is in all of us,” she said.

The show is two acts of music and storytelling that traverses her career, Ingersoll said. “I talk about her coming up in vaudeville and then becoming America’s sweetheart throughout the ’40s with her outstanding moving career at MGM — she was the top grossing musical artist for them for many years,” she said. “After her split with MGM and the drama of that, she goes on to re-create herself on the concert stage in the ’50s. And then television and the great triumph at Carnegie Hall — this Grammy-award winning gold album that’s never been out of print. All the comebacks she had — decade after decade. People think she’s down and out and then she comes back a bigger star than ever.”

Since the PBS special was cut for time, she gets to sing a lot more songs in the live show, she said. “The best thing about these songs is they’re classics. They grow as we grow,” she said. “They’re not disposable. They’re a way to connect with one another because they’re all songs we know.” Some of the songs you’ll hear include “Over the Rainbow,” “Man That Got Away,” “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” “When You’re Smiling,” “Swanee” and “Smile.”

Her favorite part of the show is talking to the audience — she asks them for questions about Judy. “Some will have seen Judy live and will tell stories about having seen her, then I feel one degree closer to her again,” she said.

Would Judy approve of the show? What would she say if she were here? “I think if she were here she would tell me, ‘Move over — I ain’t done singing yet.’ I would certainly move out of the way if she were in the room.”

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END OF THE RAINBOW returns to SO CAL

END OF THE RAINBOW RETURNS TO SO CAL

August 8-September 2, 2018

Laguna Playhouse

Angela Ingersoll reprises her Jeff Award and Broadway World Award-winning portrayal of Judy Garland in Peter Quilter's play with music depicting the final days of the icon's life. Don't miss this limited engagement, featuring Ingersoll's star turn that critics are calling, "Five Stars," "Stunning," "Astounding," "Riveting," and "Brilliant."

End of the Rainbow playwright Peter Quilter hails, "Angela Ingersoll is an absolute knockout... I recently saw her incredible performance myself in Los Angeles. I'm sure she will cause a sensation... Masterful, memorable stage performances do not come around very often. I hope you won't miss it."

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CHICAGO TRIBUNE features Ingersoll at Paramount

CHICAGO TRIBUNE FEATURES INGERSOLL AT PARAMOUNT

Actress and singer Angela Ingersoll started following the yellow brick road when she was a small child and she has never looked back. “I was four years old when I fell in love with Judy Garland via ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” said Ingersoll, who performs the songs of Judy Garland in the show “Judy Garland: Come Rain or Come Shine,” which will be presented at 3 p.m. June 10 at the Paramount Theatre in Aurora.

“In the early 1980s, I was living in Indiana and I had an uncle who had an extensive Judy Garland record collection,” Ingersoll continued. “I sang and danced to the records. I learned to sing by singing along. I also sang along with records from the library, fully immersing myself in the make-believe world of the music. As a little girl, I liked how it made me feel to sing with Judy, and I’ve tried to keep that good feeling going throughout my life.”

Ingersoll won the 2017 Jeff Award for Leading Actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland in Porchlight Music Theatre’s “End of the Rainbow.” In “Judy Garland: Come Rain or Come Shine,” Ingersoll, backed by six-piece band, will perform such Garland classic songs as “Over the Rainbow,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody.”

Ingersoll is a long-time Chicago actress with credits at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Drury Lane Oakbrook and Porchlight Music Theatre, among others. Ingersoll also was nominated for a Jeff Award for her performances in “The Mistress Cycle,” “The Secret Garden” and “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.”

“The June 10th concert at the Paramount is momentous for me as it is my debut Chicago Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) pledge event,” said the 40-year-old entertainer. “My television concert special, ‘Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland,’ premiered on WTTW this March. June 10th at the Paramount is the live event that folks got tickets for when they pledged their support to PBS. To make matters even more sublime, the concert falls on Judy’s birthday. We’ll be celebrating her 96th, so I’m cooking up a special surprise.”

In addition to singing Judy Garland’s songs, Ingersoll relates backstage stories about Garland’s show business journey and stories about her own life. “Storytelling is crucial to my concert,” Ingersoll said, “and I think that is what really sets this show apart from other shows. I speak from my perspective, as Garland’s artistic descendant, with great compassion for Judy as an artist and a woman. But I’m an actress, and her psychology resonates with me, so sometimes I’m sure it’s as if she’s speaking.”

And Ingersoll is quick to point out that she is not doing an impression. “To me, an impersonator is intentionally trying to fool someone,” she said, “and that’s not what I’m about. This is not an impressionist-style tribute act. Judy has influenced me my entire life. The illusion that I embody her in concert is simply me sharing my love of her. I get lost in the music and stop paying attention to where I stop and where she starts. I’m holding her in my mind’s eye and experiencing her music live in the moment, and what comes out often makes people feel like they’ve seen her live in concert.

“This is Angela up there singing Judy’s songs,” Ingersoll said, “and people see all the Judy they want to see.”

 

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KDHX: Angela Ingersoll authentically channels a more glamorous era in the image of Judy Garland

Angela Ingersoll authentically channels a more glamorous era in the image of Judy Garland

KDHX: If you think it’s a bit disarming bumping into an icon from a bygone era, imagining waking up one morning and discovering you were the spitting image and possessed the powerful, evocative voice of Judy Garland. Pretty much the crème de la crème of singular talent, right? Welcome to the world of Angela Ingersoll, a multitalented performer with a knack for capturing Ms. Garland to the finest detail and nuance. Ingersoll was in town several weeks ago, and I had the chance to sit down and talk with her about her career and how a little girl born well after Ms. Garland’s passing grew up to become known as the country’s pre-eminent Garland performer.

“When I was a child the library was my world,” Ingersoll begins. “I grew up in a family of modest means and we frequently checked out VHS tapes and records to watch at home. I was introduced to Julie Andrews, Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland and a host of other female performers, and I become obsessed.” Her family immediately noticed similarities between Ingersoll and the legendary actress and singer, and a quick glance at pictures of each woman at the age of 10 verifies the similarities. Biten by the bug, Ingersoll attended a performing arts high school and continues to study to this day; she’s always looking for more information and insight on her signature character.

The actual transition from a boisterous three-year old with a doting family and a large and varied record collection to a career filled with performances reminiscent of Garland wasn’t quite instantaneous. “I’ve always felt a connection, maybe because, like her, I’m petite, with a big voice and slightly crooked teeth,” she observes. “At first, I was simply imitating her, but as I’ve grown as a performer, I’ve learned to use my own voice to find Judy.” Like most professional artists, Ingersoll continues to refine her craft and to explore other performers she admires. The result is a talented singer and performer with an impressive range who is equally comfortable in her own skin and when developing a character. All that said there is no denying that she’s a drop-dead gorgeous ringer for Garland at her peak.

Though she has played a variety of roles and several of her cabaret concerts include songs in the style of many recognizable voices, with Janis Joplin among the most surprising touch points in her repertoire, Ingersoll has always admired and respected the talent and joie de vivre of Garland. She is quick to point out that Judy was the original "tween," noting how MGM created a huge marketing campaign around her emerging femininity and was very controlling over every aspect of her life, including her appearance. “She grew up in a time when the industry was enamored of pharmaceuticals,” Ingersoll explains. “That had a tremendous and ultimately devastating impact on her, physically and psychologically.”

Ingersoll counters the negative stories by noting Garland’s incredible patriotism, her consistent charitable contributions, and her willingness to embrace everyone equally. “She was a really genuine soul who loved everyone – it didn’t matter if you were male, female, black, white, straight or gay – and wanted to be loved in return. Her concerts were a safe place full of childlike wonder, and she just wanted to share that feeling, that loveliness, with everyone.” A fan of the intimacy and personal interaction that occurs in cabaret and nightclubs, Ingersoll invites the audience to see the star as she does: an incredible performer with an expansive, open heart and sensitive, artistic nature.

Ingersoll strives to bring the same warmth and audience embrace to her concerts, which include her own personal stories as well as tidbits and recollections on Garland’s life in addition to a variety of familiar and lesser known songs. “Judy was always focused on creating authentic connections and making people feel happy they attended her shows, and she mixed up her sets according to the location,” Ingersoll enthuses. “I want to capture that same feeling, that sense of communion between the audience and my performance. So, yes, you will definitely hear selections from ‘Meet Me in St. Louis’ when you come to see my show (and I hope you do)!”

St. Louis theatergoers have the good fortune to be able to catch Ingersoll in performance several times in the coming months. You can see Ingersoll’s “Get Happy” performance on PBS Channel 9 as part of its special spring programming. In April, she begins a limited six-performance engagement, “Judy Garland: Come Rain or Come Shine,” at the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza, and later this summer she returns to St. Louis in a show about Garland’s life.

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GET HAPPY: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland To Premiere On Chicago PBS

GET HAPPY: ANGELA INGERSOLL SINGS JUDY GARLAND PREMIERES ON CHICAGO PBS

BROADWAY WORLD: A star is born as award-winning dynamo Angela Ingersoll celebrates American icon Judy Garland. Tune in to WTTW Chicago Public Television on Sunday, March 18, 2018 at 5:30pm for the Chicago premiere of Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. The televised concert event offers viewers an opportunity to pledge their support to PBS. Thank-you gifts include CDs, DVDs, and tickets to a live performance of the show on Sunday, June 10th, 2018 at Paramount Theatre, 23 E Galena Blvd, Aurora, IL, 60506. Presented by Artists Lounge Live.

Ingersoll won acclaim for her stunning portrayal of Garland in Chicago and Los Angeles productions of the play End of the Rainbow, earning Chicago's Jeff Award for Outstanding Actress, a Broadway World Award, and "Top Performances" honors from both Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Live in concert, as seen in her new PBS television special, Ingersoll shines as a force all her own. She superbly captures Garland's emotional and vocal power, while crafting passionate stories with a naturally winning humor.

Ingersoll's concert special packs an emotional punch. With an extraordinary band and an enthusiastic audience to buoy her sails, the vivacious Ingersoll offers immediacy and vitality to a century's worth of great songs. From the dizzying heights of "Come Rain or Come Shine," to the hard-earned anguish of "The Man That Got Away," the crowd's outpouring of love is palpable. The powerfully rendered "Over The Rainbow" elicits a spellbinding intimacy between singer and audience. Ingersoll reveals, "The listening we share in that song is, for me, quite spiritual." Ingersoll is clearly serving a calling: shining a compassionate light on Garland's legacy while unmistakably establishing herself as the icon's artistic descendant. Learn more at angelaingersoll.com

The broadcast launches a large scale roll out of Ingersoll's concert for public telelvision and live venues nationwide. It captures a live performance filmed at Chicagoland's Arcada Theatre by HMS Media, and is presented by Artists Lounge Live. Performer/producer Michael Ingersoll serves as Executive Producer. No stranger to PBS audiences, Ingersoll toured the country performing with his retro-rock vocal group Under the Streetlamp, whose multiple PBS specals air in millions of homes nationwide. Following his success with Streetlamp, Ingersoll founded Artists Lounge Live, a dynamic concert series featuring popular music of yesterday performed by tremendous talent of today. Rising stars of stage and screen shine in intimate and emotional evenings of story and song. The company's mission states, "We are dedicated to serving audiences across the nation, bringing acts from America's entertainment capitals to communities of all sizes. We believe in the restorative power of live entertainment." Visit artistsloungelive.com for more.

 

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Double nominee Ingersoll wins Chicago Jeff Award for Best Actress

DOUBLE NOMINEE INGERSOLL WINS CHICAGO JEFF AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS

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.

SEE ALL NOMINEES AND WINNERS

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Jackie Moe Entertainment features Angela Ingersoll

Jackie Moe Entertainment features Angela Ingersoll

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.

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RAGE MONTHLY talks with Ingersoll

RAGE MONTHY TALKS WITH INGERSOLL

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.”

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Angela Ingersoll as Judy Garland: End of the Rainbow at La Mirada Theatre

Angela Ingersoll as Judy Garland: End of the Rainbow at La Mirada Theatre

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.

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DAILY HERALD: Angela Ingersoll’s Judy Garland tribute puts star in PBS spotlight

DAILY HERALD: Angela Ingersoll's Judy Garland tribute puts star in PBS spotlight

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."

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CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Angela Ingersoll to tape her Judy Garland Concert for TV

Chicago Sun-Times: Angela Ingersoll To Tape Her Judy Garland Concert For TV

Hey Weiss, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES. Ask anyone lucky enough to have caught Angela Ingersoll’s performance as Judy Garland in last year’s Porchlight Music Theatre production of “End of the Rainbow” — Peter Quilter’s play-with-music about the final chaotic months of Judy Garland’s life — and you are guaranteed to hear superlatives. The voice, the look, the roller-coaster emotions: Ingersoll captured them all to uncanny effect in a performance that was an unqualified tour de force, and recently earned her a Jeff Award nomination.

The Chicago actress subsequently moved on to the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, where, under the banner of Artists Lounge Live, she performed a special Mother’s Day concert of Garland’s songs, joined by the fabled singer’s son, Joe Luft. And now, Artists Lounge Live is bringing Ingersoll back in “Judy Garland: Come Rain or Come Shine,” for one night only — Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Arcada — where her concert will be filmed before a live audience for later airing on public television.

Tickets ($20 – $35) for the performance at the Arcada, located at 105 E. Main St. in St. Charles, are limited. For reservations call (630) 962-7000 or visit www.arcadalive.com.

Ingersoll’s show, which includes such classics as “Over the Rainbow,” “Get Happy” and “The Man That Got Away,” is part of an ongoing concert series presented by Artists Lounge Live, billed as “featuring popular music of yesterday performed by tremendous talent of today [with] rising stars of stage and screen shining in intimate and emotional evenings of story and song.”

The series is curated by producer-performer Michael Ingersoll (Angela’s husband, who Chicago audiences know for his performance in the national touring production of “Jersey Boys”).

For additional information visit www.artistsloungelive.com.

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Somewhere over at The Arcada

Somewhere Over at the Arcada

Ron Onesti, DAILY HEARLD. Over my 30-plus years in the business of entertainment, I have had the privilege of working with the sons and daughters of some of the biggest names in showbiz history. I can even say I have become as close to some of them as any nonfamily member can get, to the point where we might be considered "unofficial siblings."

By being this close to folks who were thrust into the limelight at birth, I have been able to see their personal sides, the side few people (fans) get to see. I have been witness to emotional moments, career struggles and heartwarming recollections. To be graced with this trust, which allows me "on the inside," is something I have never taken for granted mainly because this connection has not only allowed me to get to know the famous son or daughter much better, but it has also given me great insight about what their legendary parents were like.

My showbiz family -- those with whom I have worked, shared meals and spent quality time -- includes Nancy (Frank) Sinatra, Frank Sinatra Jr., Christopher (Jack) Lemmon, Antonia (Tony) Bennett, Lena and Louis Jr. (Louis) Prima, Ariana (Telly) Savalas, Steve (Mel) Torme, Carlise (Buddy) Guy, Ted (Teddy) Randazzo and Deana (Dean) Martin.

My most recent example would be this past week at the Arcada Theatre when we hosted Joey Luft, the son of silver-screen legend Judy Garland. It was a "Mother's Day Salute to Judy," and a more emotional presentation could not be had.

After Judy and her second husband, director Vincente Minnelli, had their only daughter, Liza, they divorced. Then Judy and her third of five husbands, Sidney Luft, had Joey and Lorna. Judy's three kids remained close through the years. Liza, of course, became a huge star in her own right, and Lorna took the world by storm with her incredible vocal range.

Joey, however, was a shy kid who ran from the world of show business. He preferred the quiet life of photography, audio and video. Even so, he has fond memories of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra at his house, having friendly conversations with Marilyn Monroe while his mother got ready to go out, and took phone calls from JFK.

Joey was 13 years old in 1969, the year his mother passed away from an unintentional overdose at the tragically young age of 47. He recalls watching "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time at the age of 7. Judy was out of the country filming at the time, and he was beside himself that "monkeys kidnapped" his mom. The baby sitter had to track her down by telephone to calm Joey down.

During our lunch together with the show's producer and longtime Luft family friend, John Kimball, Joey said he really didn't want to focus on the "bad" things. "My mom had a fabulous sense of humor, was truly a wonderful person and completely lived for her kids," he said. "My dad (Sid Luft) was truly in love with my mom, even after they divorced. He resurrected her career in 1950 after MGM fired her, and remained her manager up until her death in 1969."

After Sid Luft's death, Joey and best friend Kimball started rummaging through boxes in storage. They found this tremendous transcript that wound up being Sid's autobiography, including many accounts by Judy, told in her own voice. The book, entitled "Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland" was released posthumously. Joey's show was based on excerpts from the book, as well as his own accounts of being home and on the road with his iconic mother.

After speaking with both gentlemen on the phone, I suggested they add a live musical element to the presentation. I have a friend who is a professional actress, and she had recently played Judy Garland in several productions. Her resemblance, both physically and vocally, is uncanny, and they agreed to make her part of the show.

Her name is Angela Ingersoll, and she came out like a cannonball out of a cannon, completely taking over the stage, in that larger-than-life style that Judy truly had. Our huge video screen at The Arcada would play a vintage video clip of Judy at Carnegie Hall, and on her own variety show in the early Sixties. Then Angela would sing a classic Judy number with a live band. A gutsy move that could have gone the other way as unavoidable comparisons could have made or broke her performance.

Although we can all agree there will never be another Judy Garland, Ingersoll's performance was nothing short of stellar, and her contribution to the show was the perfect complement to the rare video footage. The evening was magical.

But the biggest quandary of the night, at least as far as the actress was concerned, was whether to go with Judy's video performance of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" or for her to sing it live. As far as Joey was concerned, there was nothing to discuss. "How could we not show my mom doing that song," Joey said. Discussion was over.

The end of the show came and the video played with Garland, as she would regularly end her television show sitting cross-legged on a floor, broke out into her signature song. There was not a dry eye in the house, including Joey. And to be honest with you, after losing my mom just a couple weeks before the show, hearing the song mom would sing to us as kids turned me into a red-faced ball of tears myself.

As an encore, Joey, who was so enthralled with Angela's live portion of the show, allowed her to fulfill the audience's wish of her doing that famed song, which was named the No. 1 film song in history.

So she sat on the edge of the stage, the way Judy did, and broke out into what appeared to be the performance of her life. The audience once again erupted with a combination of cheers and tears, as did Angela herself, overtaken by emotion at the prized opportunity.

In the middle of the song, I pulled a bar stool next to Joey, who was on stage doing his commentary throughout the show. I put my arm around him as he was visibly emotional. I said to him, "Joey, you must have heard this song a million times." He whispered back at me, "That was my mom, and that has always been my favorite song. Those two things will never change."

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ANGELA INGERSOLL – BEYOND THE RAINBOW

ANGELA INGERSOLL-BEYOND THE RAINBOW

Conversations with Ed Tracy Podcast

 

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.

Her theatre resume is impressive spanning dozens of stage appearances with Marriott Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Drury Lane, Madison Rep, Playhouse on the Square and others. She has appeared with Second City Hollywood and on television in Chicago PD. No stranger to the Garland songbook, Ingersoll continues to perform concert versions of her one-woman Judy Garland show with the Artists Lounge Live concert series produced by her actor/singer husband, Michael Ingersoll.

Angela joined the conversation on February 1st to discuss the run with Judy, what’s happening next for her live concert career and how she met and fell for the special ‘Jersey Boy’ in her life.

On which Judy Garland song brings her most joy …  

“It’s an impossible question … Of course, ‘Rainbow’. It’s arguably one of the best pop songs ever written.  It so perfectly captures the human experience both musically and lyrically ….  ‘Man Who Got Away’ is the most comfortable … feels like home … it sits right in my body and I have worn the grooves of that record on my throat the longest. I love singing ‘Stormy Weather’ … it really is very important to me … my favorite moment of Carnegie hall … one I have recently taken on is ‘Rock-a-Bye Your Baby’ . I stayed away from it for a few years because I was intimidated … it was maybe her favorite … it is so sexy!”

On her relationship with Judy Garland … 

“I like being old Judy, I’m not a young Judy. I’m an old Judy. … I never really put her on the shelf or put her away. She has been a part of my life my entire life and continues to be. It is just more public now.”

On sharing the human experience in Artists Lounge Live shows …

“We find an artist who is so influenced by an icon that they seem to be the torchbearer for that person’s legacy going forward and there is a real intimacy in the storytelling. It is about the storytelling … the very human aspects of the person’s life.”

Connecting with Judy beyond the music … 

“One of the most important parallels is she had a very strained relationship with her mother and I have had a complicated relationship emotionally with my mother … So many of her emotional scars were handed down to me … not by her own fault … Inheriting a lot of her pain has informed me a lot … It is my window into the kind of pain with which Judy lived.”

What’s ahead … 

“Judy’s centennial is coming up in 2022. In 2021, we will have the 60th anniversary of Carnegie Hall. I am working toward having relationships with orchestras … so I can be the foremost person doing this in the world, quite honestly. I know that is a lofty thing to say but ‘we gotta dream somewhere’ and I am trying not to censor myself.”

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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

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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

Ingersoll-Emmy-nom

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."

 

Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
Get Happy: Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland. Artists Lounge Live. Amy Boyle Photography.
CONTACT

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.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review

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.”

Recommended / Read full review

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.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review

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.”

Highly Recommended / Read full review

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.”

Recommended / Read full review

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.

 

Two On the Aisle Review: End of the Rainbow, St Louis

End of the Rainbow - Audience Response from Porchlight Music Theatre.

Angela Ingersoll as Judy Garland from Porchlight Music Theatre.

RAF-STL interview: Angela Ingersoll, End of the Rainbow

Showbiz Nation LIVE! Interview with ANGELA INGERSOLL

Behind the Scenes - End of the Rainbow from Porchlight Music Theatre.

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

PHOTOS: PORCHLIGHT MUSIC THEATRE, Chicago

End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll, Kyle Hatley. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Kyle Hatley, Angela Ingersoll, Jon Steinhagen. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Felipe Jorge, Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Jon Steinhagen, Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Kyle Hatley, Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Kyle Hatley, Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.
End of the Rainbow. Kyle Hatley, Angela Ingersoll. Porchlight Music Theatre.

PHOTOS: MAX AND LOUIE PRODUCTIONS, St Louis

End of the Rainbow. Thomas Conroy, Angela Ingersoll, Kyle Hatley. Max and Louie Productions.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll. Max and Louie Productions.
End of the Rainbow. Thomas Conroy, Angela Ingersoll. Max and Louie Productions.
End of the Rainbow. Thomas Conroy, Angela Ingersoll. Max and Louie Productions.
End of the Rainbow. Angela Ingersoll, Kyle Hatley. Max and Louie Productions.
End of the Rainbow Rehearsal. Director David New, Thomas Conroy, Kyle Hatley, Angela Ingersoll. Max and Louie Productions.
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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

jeff-awards-logo

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

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Backstage. Angela Ingersoll. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll and Alex Goodrich. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll and Terry Hamilton. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll, Marya Grandy, Jessica Naimy. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll, Jason Grimm, Marya Grandy. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Ensemble. Marriott Theatre.
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Angela Ingersoll. Marriott Theatre.
CONTACT

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

Much Ado About Nothing. Angela Ingersoll. Notre Dame Shakespeare.
Much Ado About Nothing. Angela Ingersoll, Cameron Knight. Notre Dame Shakespeare.
Much Ado About Nothing. Kaitlin Nelson, Angela Ingersoll, Kiah Stern. Notre Dame Shakespeare.
Much Ado About Nothing. Angela Ingersoll. Notre Dame Shakespeare.
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The 12 Dames of Christmas

"Ingersoll is brilliant... singing classic after classic to flawless perfection."
-Broadway World

THE 12 DAMES OF CHRISTMAS

Artists Lounge Live 

Emmy-nominee Angela Ingersoll sings a dozen divas in the yuletide gift that keeps on giving. Ingersoll is known for her stunning potrayal of Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow (Chicago's Jeff Award, LA Times Woman of the Year in Theatre) and Get Happy on PBS. “The actress with the astonishing voice" (Chicago Sun-Times) delivers a haunting Judy Garland, a proper Julie Andrews, a rockin’ Janis Joplin, and plenty of surprises! Festive favorites include “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Santa Baby,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” 

Angela Ingersoll, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Angela Ingersoll, The Sound Of Music Medley

The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
The 12 Dames of Christmas. Angela Ingersoll. Artists Lounge Live.
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Highly Anticipated Judy Garland Concert Premieres

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED JUDY GARLAND CONCERT PREMIERES

Chicago Tribune calls her “Magnificent. The best Judy Garland Chicago ever saw. Barring the real one.” Chicago Sun-Times exclaims, “Phenomenal. Angela Ingersoll was born to play Judy Garland. Ingersoll’s tour de force performance might well leave you believing you’ve encountered the ghost of the beloved film star.” Award-winning dynamo Angela Ingersoll (Chicago: End of the Rainbow) superbly captures the emotional and vocal power of the legendary Judy Garland. Her great big voice and naturally winning humor make Ingersoll’s loving concert nothing short of breathtaking. Presented by Artists Lounge Live.

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Chicago Tribune features 12 Dames

CHICAGO TRIBUNE FEATURES 12 DAMES

Singer brings '12 Dames of Christmas' to life at holiday show

Angela Ingersoll is bringing the golden age of Christmas music to Elgin this weekend. The Chicago-based singer and actress brings her show "The 12 Dames of Christmas" to the Blizzard Theater.

She premiered this show last year and since then has worked out the kinks — she nixed the backing tracks and is now supported by a six-piece band. Also, she took out some numbers that didn't quite "land" last year.

"I'll be sacrificing Mariah Carey this year. I'm not going to sing 'All I Want for Christmas is You,'" she said. "I sang it last year and I was like, 'Well, I don't think people like this song as much as I thought they did.' That song just didn't go over like I thought it would."

That hole just leaves more room for the classics, like songs by her muse, Judy Garland.

"This whole idea actually came from … wanting to do a Judy Christmas show of some sort," she said.

Once she hit upon the title — "12 Dames of Christmas" — she knew she had a winner.

"I've always been a mimic as a singer," she said. "As a kid, I learned to sing by singing along with records from the library. Sharing some of my favorite singers and what I've learned from them as women, as artists, and as vocalists is exciting for me. And what a wonderful way to celebrate my own personal family traditions for the holidays."

Some of the "dames" represented include Garland, Brenda Lee, Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf — "I do a French version of 'O Holy Night'" — Julie Andrews; and, as a curve ball, Janis Joplin.

"While she doesn't have a Christmas song, I give her one," she said. "I give her what I think she would sing for Christmas. So while some are recognizable hits, like Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,' others are a bit of fun with our imaginations — what if Janis had a Christmas song? We might be singing along with something that rocks."

She stands just short of calling herself an impressionist, she said, because there is no parody. The show is her homage to these singers, she said.

She noticed while going through the Christmas catalog that a majority of the classics are from men. That didn't feel like the right fit; she was looking for the female voices that spoke to her as a child.

"It became fun researching the music and finding more appreciation for these women's voices," she said. "Because I realized how unique they were in a sea of standard singing by men. What woman do you think of as a standard in your mind singing 'White Christmas?' Not many. Even though there are hundreds of versions of the song. How many are female voices? Not many. It makes me appreciate even more that I'm able to shine a light on the artists individually themselves."

While there isn't a narrative running throughout, Ingersoll does tell a lot of stories from her childhood.

"I grew up in the Midwest in the '80s, in a rather blue-collar family," she said. "It was fancy to go to Grandma's house on Christmas Eve. We would spend all night playing penny poker 'til we took all of Grandpa's money. I try to relate funny stories about my own family's Christmas traditions as well as tying them into my introductions to these artists and some fun facts about them and their lives."

For example, she talks about Judy Garland filming "Meet Me in St. Louis" — where the song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" comes from — and Garland's experiences on the set of that movie.

Speaking of songs, audiences will definitely hear that one, plus others like "Santa Baby," "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree," "My Favorite Things" and a group sing-along of "Silent Night."

"It's a lot of good, Christmassy fun," she said. "Hopefully as funny as it is tender. I certainly hope that audiences sing along. Christmas is the one time of year we all agree to listen to the same radio station, darn it. And we do have common songs in our heart. Christmas music is a great equalizer.

"We culturally all can sing along together to something like 'Jingle Bells.' Even though we're coming from different places and different points of view, this is our common heritage. That gets me really excited. I think people can experience a little bit of togetherness in a time where we've had a lot of focuses on our differences. We're all on the same team, so let's sing some Christmas songs."

 

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Tis the Season

TIS THE SEASON

The 12 Dames of Christmas, starring Angela Ingersoll

Emmy nominee Angela Ingersoll captures the festive sounds of a dozen divas. Ingersoll is known for her outstanding Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow (Los Angeles, Chicago) and Get Happy Angela Ingersoll Sings Judy Garland on PBS. “The actress with the astonishing voice"  (Chicago Sun-Times) joyfully shares her holiday bag of tricks with a haunting Judy Garland, a rockin’ Brenda Lee, a purr-fect Eartha Kitt, a proper Julie Andrews, a soulful Edith Piaf, a sultry Marilyn Monroe, and plenty of surprises! Holiday favorites include “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Santa Baby,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Presented by Artists Lounge Live.

EXPLORE THE SHOW

 

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Chicago Tribune Shout Out

CHICAGO TRIBUNE SHOUT OUT

ANGELA INGERSOLL: ENTERTAINER, ACTRESS, SINGER, COMEDIENNE

Skokie resident Angela Ingersoll is currently playing Hedy LaRue in the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Ingersoll bills herself as an entertainer, actress, singer and comedienne.

Q: What kind of work do you do?
A: I enjoy doing plays and musicals as a member of Actors Equity Association. I also love to do concert work. Occasionally, I get on-screen gigs as well. When I'm not performing, my husband Michael and I produce a concert series called Artists Lounge Live.

Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Indianapolis not far from the famous racetrack. I always wanted to escape. I don't think that's a comment on Indy, it was just my nature.

Q: How long have you lived in Skokie?
A: My husband and I just celebrated our first anniversary as happy first-time home owners in Skokie. We love it.

Q: Pets?
A: I am very much a cat person. We have three cats, all rescues adopted from shelters along our travels.

Q: What book are you currently reading, and what book would you like to read next?
A: I love biographies. I have an Eartha Kitt and a Barbra Streisand sitting on my bedside table. For a change of pace, I'd like to revisit a classic next — "The Divine Comedy" by Dante.

Q: First job?
A: At 15, I was convinced I'd hit the big time when I was cast as Mary Warren in a semi-professional production of "The Crucible."

Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I began performing onstage at age 5 and knew then that I wanted to be a singing actress.

Q: A movie you'd recommend?
A: I like the classics. "His Girl Friday" with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant is always a winner.

Q: Favorite charity?
A: Animal shelters are close to my heart, like The Anti-Cruelty Society and Felines and Canines. I'm also an avid fan and supporter of public television.

Q: Words of wisdom?
A: You're enough as you are right now.

Q: What song best sums up Skokie for you?
A: Glenn Miller's "Elmer's Tune" describes an ambient little world where all sorts of folks enjoy the same simple melody.

Q: Favorite local restaurant?
A: My favorite local restaurant in Skokie, always and forever, every time, is Annie's Pancake House.

Q: What is an interesting factoid about yourself?
A: I never really learned my right from my left. I have a decent sense of direction but not left and right. Secretly, I always rub my index and middle fingers together, to feel for the pencil bump callus that I built up in grade school to help me find my right hand.

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How to Succeed at Marriott Theatre

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING, AT MARRIOTT THEATRE

Summer/Fall, 2016: Marriott Theatre presents the Pulitzer Prize winning musical comedy, directed by Broadway veteran and brilliant comedian Don Stephenson. Emily Loesser, married to Stephenson and the daughter of H2$ composer Frank Loesser, makes a cameo appearance in Marriott’s production as the voice of the book. Bolstering a hilarious supporting cast, Angela Ingersoll “steals the show” in a “brilliant,” “delicious,” and “dynamite” portrayal of sexy Hedy LaRue.*

*Update: Ingersoll nominated for Chicago's Jeff Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical

READ MORE RAVE REVIEWS / VISIT MARRIOTT THEATRE

 

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The People vs Friar Laurence

THE PEOPLE VS FRIAR LAURENCE

Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Second City Theatricals present the mercurial musical comedy THE PEOPLE VS FRIAR LAURENCE, OR THE MAN WHO KILLED ROMEO AND JULIET for Chicago’s Shakespeare 400 celebration. Second City veteran and writer Ron West directs and appears as as Lord Capulet, with Bruce Green (Friar Laurence), Devin Desantis (Romeo), Lauren Creel Sauer (Juliet), Jonathan Wagner (Mercutio), Angela Ingersoll (Benvolio), Roberta Duchak (Lady Capulet), Nathan Hosner (Prince Escalus), Greg Anderson (Tybalt), and Lisa McQueen at the piano.

VISIT SHAKESPEARE 400 CHICAGO

 

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Leading Ladies Belt for a Cause

LEADING LADIES BELT FOR A CAUSE AT CHRIS' BIRTHDAY BELT-FEST

Angela Ingersoll is once again among the stunning line-up of Chicago leading ladies lending their voices to the extraordinary cause of Chris' Birthday Belt-fest. Jeff Award-winner and HIV+ director/producer Christopher Pazdernik returns with his benefit concert for Howard Brown Health on Monday, May 16, 8:00 PM at Uptown Underground, 4707 N. Broadway, Chicago.

Pazdernik created this extraordinary showcase as a way to give back to Howard Brown Health, where he has received his medical care since being diagnosed HIV+ in 2009. Once again, leading ladies from every theater in town, including numerous Jeff Award winners and nominees, will join together to belt for a cause! Currently scheduled to perform are Missy Aguilar (Porchlight Revisits City of Angels), Charissa Armon (Porchlight's Ragtime), Neala Barron (Hypocrite's Adding Machine), Elya Bottiger (Porchlight Revisits Applause), Lillian Castillo (Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Ride the Cyclone), Liz Chidester (Refuge Theatre Project's High Fidelity), Broadway veteran Katherine Condit (original cast, Chess), Kyrie Courter (Porchlight's Dreamgirls), Candace Edwards (Porchlight's Dreamgirls), Landree Fleming (American Theatre Company's Xanadu), Kristen Freilich (Second City's Jewsical!), Veronica Garza (Kokandy's Heathers), Britain Gebhart (Refuge Theatre Project's High Fidelity), Sophie Grimm (Paramount's Les Miserables), Sarah Hayes (Mercury Theatre's Addams Family), Amanda Horvath (Porchlight's Far From Heaven), Angela Ingersoll (Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow), Callie Johnson (Drury Lane's Next to Normal), Jessica Kingsdale (Paramount's Grease), Donica Lynn (Porchlight's Dreamgirls), Emilie Lynn (world tour, Phantom of the Opera), Courtney Mack (Kokandy's Heathers), Hillary Marren (Paramount's Tommy), Samantha Pauly (Marriott's Evita), Lauren Paris (Underscore's The Story of a Story), Camille Robinson (American Blues Theatre's Little Shop of Horrors), Laura Savage (Paramount's 42nd Street), Colette Todd (Theatre at the Center's Big Fish), Janelle Villas (Porchlight Revisits Applause), and Wisconsin actress Amanda Petersen Fails, one of Christopher's life-long best friends. (Line-up subject to change.)

Founded in 1974, Howard Brown Health is one of the nation's largest health care and research organizations, primarily serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) community and its allies. It is the largest such organization in the Midwest and serves adults youth and children throughout the region. An innovative and patient-centered health home, Howard Brown provides primary medical care, behavioral health services, and specialty chronic and infectious disease services, and conducts nationally-renowned clinical and behavioral research.

 

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Ingersoll returns to host Metropolis Gala

INGERSOLL RETURNS TO HOST METROPOLIS GALA

April, 2016. Metropolis' Annual Gala, Rolling Green Country Club. Michael and Angela Ingersoll, the husband and wife team behind the successful Artists Lounge Live concert series, led last year's bash, raising generous dollars for vital arts and education programming. Angela flies solo as this year's Celebrity Emcee and Auctioneer, with Michael currently touring with his hit PBS band Under the Streetlamp.

VISIT METROPOLIS

 

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