END OF THE RAINBOW Begins Previews at Broadway's Belasco

The Broadway premiere of End of the Rainbow, a new play with music, begins previews tonight at the Belasco Theatre.Opening night is set for Monday, April 2. Michael Cumpsty, Tom Pelphrey and Jay Russell join two-time Oliver Award-winner Tracie Bennett in Peter Quilter's acclaimed play about the legendary Judy Garland, directed by the Tony® Award winning Terry Johnson.

Starring Olivier® Award-winner Tracie Bennett in a bravura performance as Judy Garland, End of the Rainbow received rave reviews and four Olivier® Award nominations in London. The setting is December 1968, and Judy Garland is about to make her comeback... again. In a London hotel room preparing for a series of concerts, with both her new young fiancé and her adoring accompanist, Garland struggles to get "beyond the rainbow" with her signature cocktail of talent, tenacity, and razor-sharp wit. This savagely funny drama offers unique insight into the inner conflict that inspired and consumed one of the most beloved figures in American popular culture. End of the Rainbow features some of Garland's most memorable songs, performed with the show-stopping gusto for which she will always be remembered. -

Prior to its Broadway run, End of the Rainbow was performed at Minneapolis's Guthrie Theater, with the full Broadway cast.

End of the Rainbow recently played a run in London's West End, produced by Lee Dean, Jenny Topper, Laurence Myers, Charles Diamond, Hilary Williams, David Bailey in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

Tracie Bennett (Judy Garland). West End theatre: Jacqueline in La Cage Aux Folles (Playhouse Theatre, for which she received the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical); Velma von Tussle in Hairspray (Shaftesbury Theatre, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance and the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical); Madame Thenardier in Les Misérables (Queen's Theatre, London); Ray Cooney's Cash on Delivery (Whitehall Theatre, London); and She Loves Me (Savoy Theatre, London, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Performance). Television: Tracie has played leading roles in numerous programs, most recently: "Candy Cabs," "Doctors," "Dalziel and Pascoe," "Casualty," "Northern Lights," "Vincent" with Ray Winstone, "The Royal," "The Court," Judy Garland in "The Long Firm," "MIT," "The Bill," "Heroes and Villains," "Keen Eddie," "Burn It," "Mersey Beat," "Where the Heart Is," "The Ambassador," "Verdict," "Heartburn Hotel," "Heartbeat," "Next of Kin," "Joking Apart," "Making Out," "The Gingerbread Girl," "Rich Tea and Sympathy," "Ruth Rendell Mysteries," "Made in Heaven," "The Bretts," "The Ritz," "The Refuge," "Unnatural Causes," "The Rector of Stiffkey," "Boon," "The Courtroom," "Brush Strokes," "Coronation Street," "The Upper Hand," "Alias Smith and Jones," "Black Silk," "Relative Strangers," "Going Out," "Educating Marmalade" and "Jackanory." Tracie also won "Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes" as Judy Garland and played God in "Harley's Angels." Presenting: Anchorwoman for "Soap Fever," "The Bombing of Manchester" (Documentary), OKTV for Carlton and had her own show called "Tracie Goes to Hollywood." Film: Shirley Valentine (Paramount); Knights and Emeralds for David Puttnam; Deep Red Instant Love; Lofty Life (animated short) and F2.8. Tracie also produced a short - French Fries on the Golden Front - which won "Best Short" at the Miami Film Festival. Concerts: An Evening With Cy Coleman (St David's Hall, Cardiff); An Evening of Gershwin (Royal Albert Hall); and An Evening With Tommy Steele (tour). Recordings: Forever England, People Like Us and The Snowfield. Tracie is the recorded voice of Bridget Jones for both books of Bridget Jones' Diary and The Edge of Reason for which she received the International Audi Award for Comedy Best Actress. Tracie has a Green Card and splits her time between London and Los Angeles.

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