EXCLUSIVE Photos: New York Pops' The Great Judy Garland Rehearsal

Fifty years after her legendary Carnegie Hall debut, The New York Pops remembers Hollywood icon Judy Garland with a song-for-song re-creation of the 1961 performance that is referred to by so many as "the greatest night in show business history". Last night, under the baton of Music Director Steven Reineke, Broadway luminary Ashley Brown, Grammy Award winner Heather Headley and West Side Story star Karen Olivo take the stage in this vibrant revival of the historic concert, which features signature Garland favorites, such as "Over the Rainbow", "The Trolley Song", "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "The Man That Got Away".

Judy Garland attained international stardom as a master of every venue of show business: film, television, recordings, radio, the concert stage, and even vaudeville. A Grammy, Golden Globe, Tony, and Academy Award-winning artist, Garland was signed to MGM as a teenager - she would go on to star in 30 films with the studio, including the film with which she would be most identified, The Wizard of Oz. After her release from the studio, Garland gained renewed success through a well-regarded but short-lived television series, multiple concert appearances, and a return to the silver screen with critically acclaimed performances in A Star Is Born and Judgment at Nuremberg.

In 1959, Garland was hospitalized with Hepatitis, and told by doctors that she would never be able to perform again. Yet against all odds, Garland came back stronger than ever, and the 1961Carnegie Hall concert was described by The New York Times as "a tour de force for Garland", as it marked her remarkable comeback to show business - "(The concert) turned into something not too remote from a revival meeting" ... "the star-studded, wildly applauding crowd was in a transport of ecstasy". The performance became known to the world through the chart-topping live recordingJudy Garland at Carnegie Hall, which was certified gold, charting for 95 weeks on Billboard, including 13 weeks at number one. The album won an unprecedented five Grammys, including Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year, and has never been out of print.

Photos by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.

Program

The Program

The Program

Steven Reineke

Karen Olivo & Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley

As a 14 year old youth, Walter was transfixed by his first Broadway Show, the original production of 'GREASE'. His Journey to celebrity photojournalism began that fateful night. Meeting, photographing and getting to know the cast inspired him to spend his professional life doing what he loved. Walter moved to Manhattan and for a leading role as a Photographer & Photo Researcher. Currently headlining in New Jersey with his partner Richard and family members Dali (Jack Russell) & Gala (Schnoodle). Recently he made his Broadway debut sharing the stage with Hugh Jackman in 'Hugh Jackman on Broadway' as well as receiving the Actors' Equity Association Gypsy Spirit Award. Walter McBride Photography is syndicated worldwide by Corbis/AP.

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