Review: Debbie Wileman Presents a Festive JUDY GARLAND - WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS at Carnegie Hall

The super adorable Judy Garland illusionist Debbie Wileman returned to New York City AND Carnegie Hall this month to play a special Christmas show titled Judy Garland: WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS, and a huge audience of Wileman fans filled Zankel Hall, as they did the last time she brought her special talents to town.  On December 10th, the door to the festively lit stage opened up, and out she came in her floor-length burgundy brocade evening gown (clearly modeled after the one Judy Garland wore for the Christmas special episode of The Judy Garland Show, although Wileman’s had a little more bling, by way of some gorgeous beading).  And with a fantastic band and that delicious Wileman personality, she kept the audience cheering for more, for ninety straight minutes.  Like the gown, the program was modeled after The Judy Garland Show, with special guests, an interview segment, a chorus of dancing Santas, and a marvelous mixture of Christmas music, Garland hits, and (Debbie’s specialty) the songs that Judy never got to sing.  

Debbie Wileman had an impressive rise to fame when a simple quarantine creation called A SONG A DAY put her in the living rooms of the world and everyone’s collective consciousness.  Thanks to the prolific productive theatrical impresario Scott Stander, Debbie has done U.S. tours and, now, twice played Carnegie Hall, and this latest production was as glittery and starry as her original one, a celebration of the Judy Garland centenary.

The great thing about Debbie Wileman is that she is always being herself.  When the iconic Jim Bailey did his Judy Garland show, it was Judy who walked out on the stage and, two hours later, it was Judy who left the stage.  Ms. Wileman has no intentions of becoming Judy - she is always Debbie Wileman, a British wife and mother and singing actress.   She’s a bit cheeky, sometimes profane, always personable, and always respectful of the Garland legend.  While there are those who impersonate Judy Garland with some mean-spirited humor (and, speaking personally, I hate those acts and refuse, ever, to endorse them), Debbie Wileman leads with love, with deep, abiding love that never leaves the stage.  She is grateful for her audiences and glad to have a chance to deliver Judy Garland to them, acting as an entertainer and as a conduit that brings Judy, for a few happy moments, back to life, which she does wonderfully.  There are times when the recreation of Judy Garland’s voice and sound is actually a little scary, though Debbie does not sing the famous songs precisely as we have heard them before.  During her concert she performed the iconic “Get Happy” and the greatest torch song of all time, “The Man That Got Away,” and although the arrangements were the ones Garland used, Debbie did allow herself the essential luxury of taking liberties with her performance, which any actor will tell you is essential to their storytelling.  The reproductions were close, but they weren’t exact, which gives the audience equal parts Judy and Debbie, and THAT this writer does endorse.  It is vital that we get to know Debbie while enjoying her Judy.

And one of the things we got to know about Debbie Wileman is that she is a very good interviewer. 

One of the highlights of Debbie Wileman’s Christmas Garland show was a sit down with songwriter John Meyer, who penned the composition “After The Holidays,” and Debbie is a born natural in the interviewer’s seat.  She knew the topic at hand, she had done some research, she knew the questions she wanted to ask, and, once asked, she buttoned her lip so that the fascinating and fabulous Mr. Meyer could tell his stories.  Her respect and admiration for the man was palpable and their conversation wasn’t just informative, it was playful, laced with humor and honesty… Mr. Meyer even confessed that the song was NOT written for Judy Garland, though he was honored that she sang it.  He also had a few tidbits to share about his personal relationship with Judy, whom he dated and lost to Mickey Deans.  And, quite finally, Mr. Meyer admitted he was sad that by the time Judy Garland sang his song, her legendary voice had lost some of its power.  Having heard that from the gentleman, it was appropriate for Wileman to take on the number… and he was right.  You really don’t get how beautiful the melody is until you have heard it sung by a beautiful voice - and this is a beautiful voice.  Debbie Wileman’s performance of “After The Holidays” was lush and gorgeous, and a sure bet to be her next trip to the recording studio.

John Meyer was not Debbie’s only guest for the evening (that is, John and the Dancing Santas).  Tony Award-winning actor and film/television star Barry Bostwick joined in on the festivities (a previously announced Margaret O’Brien was unable to travel) and the playful twosome did an appropriate duet of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” mashed up with “Baby It’s Cold Outside” (after the hysterical Mr. Bostwick got down on his hands and knees with a towel and mopped up some water that had been spilled from Debbie’s water bottle), and while it is true that Mr. Bostwick has no discernible connections to Judy Garland, it was very generous of him to add the celebrity element to the evening after Ms. O’Brien had to drop out.  It was a real holiday treat… but there were several holiday treats at the Wileman/Garland show, especially hearing Wileman’s take on what it would have sounded like, had Judy Garland recorded the Karen Carpenter Christmas classic “Merry Christmas, Darling” (it was luscious) or the ubiquitous Mariah Carey hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”  Well, the Carey song was out of the world, thanks to Steve Orich’s arrangement (and Jason Loffredo’s piano playing) of the song, very clearly based on Judy’s own performance of “The Joint Is Really Jumpin’ In Carnegie Hall.”  It was simply marvelous.

The truth is that all of WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS was marvelous, if a tiny bit under-rehearsed, but that’s to be expected when dealing with artists and musicians on two continents, and it really didn’t matter because the vibe was straight-out holiday party, and that lent the evening an air of the more casual, which works for Debbie Wileman, in the extreme.  She is a most down-to-earth person and her attitude regarding her success is so grateful and gracious that her good humor is infectious.  The one and only thing this writer would have liked to have seen done differently was that, when the time came to introduce each of the amazing musicians sharing the stage with Debbie, there was no follow spot to illuminate each artist being introduced.  This is easily corrected, the next time around, but to make up for it, this writer would like to put their names in print:

Jason Loffredo, Piano

Leo Huppert, Bass

Jon Berger, Drums

Jack Cavari, Guitar

Simon Hutchings, Reeds

Evan Zavada, Synthesizer

Mike Ponella, Trumpet

And the Dancing Santas were Jules Geiss, Mallorie Mendoza, Nick Nazzaro, Maci Terry, Brad Weatherford, and Yoyo Zhou.

And while we are on the subject of naming names, Debbie Wileman’s gown was by Eric Winterling, and her styling was done by Michael Todd Belasco.

Now that all the names have been named, the one name that remains to say, over and over, is Debbie Wileman, for without her inimitable charm and immeasurable talent, the phenomenon that has been created would not exist.  Twice this writer has sat in the room at Zankel Hall and watched Debbie Wileman present herself and her version of Judy Garland, watching standing ovation after standing ovation, hearing the tumultuous applause, and also listening to nearby audience members say, “WOW” and other words of praise that Debbie fully deserves, for she is special, not just for the Garland impression, but for herself - although the Garland illusion is pretty eerie at times.  All of us Judy Garland fans can really lean into that because it is a thing of joy, which is what Debbie Wileman wants to give with her creation, a mission at which she is succeeding, in big ways.  And this is, after all, the season of joy, isn’t it?  So, Scott Stander, thank you for bringing Manhattan and the Judyphiles a little additional joy this holiday season, courtesy of that musical marvel, Debbie Wileman, who is welcome back in our burg anytime, as Judy or as herself, for both are magical.

Visit the Debbie Wileman Facebook page HERE.

Visit the website for The Stander Group HERE.

Find great shows to see on the Carnegie Hall website HERE.

Editor's note:  I was only given permission to photograph the first three numbers of the show, and only from the back of the room, hence the absence of photos of John Meyer, Barry Bostwick, and the Dancing Santas (although I grabbed a couple of snaps of the curtain call.  Apologies to all.  -- SM

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