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

By: Walter McBride Mar. 12, 2011

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

Steven Reineke

Karen Olivo & Ashley Brown

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown

Karen Olivo

Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Karen Olivo

Ashley Brown

Steven Reineke

Ashley Brown & Steven Reineke

Heather Headley

Heather Headley & Steven Reineke

Steven Reineke & Karen Olivo

Karen Olivo

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley & Karen Olivo & Steven Reineke

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley & Karen Olivo

Ashley Brown & Heather Headley & Karen Olivo & Steven Reineke

Karen Olivo and Lee Musiker

Karen Olivo

Steven Reineke

Karen Olivo & Steven Reineke

Karen Olivo signs an autograph

Heather Headley & son John David

Ashley Brown, Karen Olivo & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Karen Olivo & Heather Headley with Lee Musiker

Ashley Brown, Karen Olivo & Heather Headley

Ashley Brown & Karen Olivo & Heather Headley

Karen Olivo & Steven Reineke & Ashley Brown

Karen Olivo, Steven Reineke & Ashley Brown

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

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