A Valentine for the Desert! Lorna Luft SIngs THE JUDY GARLAND SONGBOOK at The McCallum Theatre

The McCallum Theatre presents "Lorna Luft Sings the Judy Garland Songbook" on Tuesday, February 14, at 8:00pm. Lorna Luft's career has encompassed virtually every area of entertainment. A celebrated live performer; stage, film and television actress; best-selling author; recording artist and Emmy-nominated producer, she triumphs in every medium.Born to Judy Garland and producer Sid Luft, music and entertainment were part of her childhood. At age 11, she made her television debut singing on her mother's series, "The Judy Garland Show." At 16, already a seasoned performer, she shared the bill with her mother on Broadway in a month long concert engagement at New York's Palace Theater.

By 19, she was starring on Broadway in Neil Simon's musical Promises, Promises. She continued on the New York stage as "Peppermint Patty" in the musical Snoopy and then took a dramatic turn alongside Farrah Fawcett in Extremities. In addition to regional Theater Productions of Grease, Carnival, Little Shop of Horrors, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Girl Crazy, Mame and Gypsy, she starred in national tours of They're Playing Our Song and as "Miss Adelaide" for two years in the world tour of Guys & Dolls.

Lorna toured the U.K. in the musical revues Hollywood & Broadway and The Magical World of Musicals. Following the 2004 West End debut of her one woman show Songs My Mother Taught Me, Lorna starred in the 2006 U.K. premiere production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical. She followed with the 2007 revival of Babes in Arms at the Chichester Festival Theatre then returned to her role in White Christmas: The Musical for the 2007 winter season at the Edinburgh Playhouse and the Wales Millennium Centre.

Lorna is an acclaimed live performer frequently featured as a concert artist at venues including The Hollywood Bowl, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, The London Palladium, and L'Olympia in Paris. She performed for the Royal Family at London's Royal Albert Hall in concerts celebrating Sammy Davis, Jr. and Ira Gershwin. In 2006 and 2007, she made duet appearances with singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright at his tribute concerts to Judy Garland.

In 2007, Lorna joined Alan Cumming and Margaret Cho as part of the voice cast of Logo Network's animated series "Rick & Steve." A U.K. television favorite, she frequently appears on ITV's popular "Loose Women." In 2004, she was the subject of a BBC documentary titled"Somebody's Daughter, Somebody's Son." In the U.S., she's appeared on virtually every talk and variety program and had featured roles on television series including "Murder She Wrote" and "The Nanny,"and was a regular on "Trapper John M.D." She joined her sister, Liza Minnelli, for a duet on a Tony Awards showand performed on PBS's "Jerry Herman's Broadway at the Bowl." In films, she was Pink Lady "Paulette Rebchuck" in Grease 2.

In 1998, Lorna became a New York Times best-selling author with the release of her memoir Me and My Shadows. It was optioned by ABC-TV and broadcast as a 4 hour miniseries starring Judy Davis in 2001. Lorna served as Co-Executive Producer on "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" which won 5 Emmy Awards.

One of her most ambitious projects is the multi-media production Songs My Mother Taught Me - A Celebration of the Music of Judy Garland, melding one of the world's most familiar songbooks with personal memories of a loving daughter. Songs My Mother Taught Me was awarded two Los Angeles Theatre Alliance Ovation Awards (Best World Premiere Musical and Best Musical Direction.) A CD based on the concert, produced by Barry Manilow and Lorna's husband, musician Colin R. Freeman, was released in 2007.

In 2009, Lorna completed a U.K. tour of Hugh Whitemore's play Pack of Lies, in which she played the role of Helen Kroger. In July 2009, she appeared at the Mermaid Theatre in London to record for the radio series "Friday Night is Music Night. Lorna Luft and Friends - A Tribute to Judy Garland."

In 2015, Lorna toured the U.K. in Judy - The Songbook of Judy Garland, a show highlighting her mother's life and music. The show featured Judy's signature songs and recreations of film scenes from her MGM years.

From her work with her mother to concert performances and from Broadway to television, Lorna proves that she's a stellar entertainer, proudly carrying the torch of her family's show business legacy.

Tickets for this performance are $97, $77, $57 and $37. Tickets are available at the Theatre's website at www.mccallumtheatre.com or by calling the McCallum Theatre Box Office at (760) 340-ARTS.

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