GET HAPPY! Tribute To Judy Garland Returns To Bucks County For One-Night-Only Event

Jenna Pastuszek and Joshua Zecher-Ross will bring GET HAPPY!: A Tribute to the World's Greatest Entertainer, Judy Garland, to the Zlock Performing Arts Center in Newtown, PA. It's been 85 years since the world first heard Judy Garland sing about a place "somewhere over the rainbow," and her star power is just as potent as it was then. Why? What is it about Judy that continues to build new generations of infatuated admirers? What can we learn from her resilience and determination to forget her troubles?

Join Swarthmore native Jenna Pastuszek and Music Director Joshua Zecher-Ross in this 101st birthday celebration of the world's greatest entertainer. With "lavishly clever arrangements", and "witty, endearing personal stories", this isn't a traditional Judy Garland tribute - there will be no impersonation here. Instead, lifelong Judy fans will love the cleverly curated playlist of beloved classics and forgotten gems while millennials and Gen Zers will discover an artist who transcends time.

As a Bucks County exclusive, this one-night-only event will also feature nationally acclaimed Philadelphia performer, Will Stephan Connell, as Jenna's special guest. One thing is for certain, Judy loved a duet! As fans enjoy some of Judy's favorite pairings, they may recognize Connell and Pastuszek's on-stage chemistry and harmony from their performances with The Summer Club, Pennsylvania's beloved Big Band. It's time to celebrate live entertainment again, and "forget your troubles, come on, GET HAPPY!"

Pastuszek and Zecher-Ross originally planned a May, 2020 Manhattan debut of GET HAPPY! at The Green Room 42. Pivoting, as many performers did throughout the industry shut down, the duo began performing the show in a variety of settings, including outdoor, masked, BYO Lawn Chair subscriber events, donor fundraisers in parking lots, special concert series, pre-recorded virtual screenings, and live ZOOM shows, to support theaters and non-profit organizations attempting to keep the arts afloat. In 2020 and 2021 alone, GET HAPPY! performances helped raise approximately twenty thousand dollars through ticket sales and attendee contributions.

As the pandemic evolved, the show did as well, and eventually made its Manhattan debut in April, 2022. "Judy Garland fought to rise above a plethora of trauma during her lifetime. How fortunate I was and am to get to sing through her catalog while healing my own over the past few years," Pastuszek said. "She was a fighter, and the stories I share throughout the evening honor her fight and center on navigating many, unfortunately all too common, pandemic experiences, including losing loved ones to COVID-19, eviction, moving, and more."

Patrick Parker, Associate Artistic Director of Paper Mill Playhouse, called the show "a musical treat from start to finish." He said, "The lavishly clever arrangements bring a fresh perspective to every familiar tune in an evening that is also filled with some unexpected rare musical moments and endearing stories told with wit and humor that had our audiences cheering for encores." And Associate Producer Jeremy Ehlinger of Bucks County's own Bucks County Playhouse claims that the show is "an absolute delight! Our patrons fell in love with Jenna's gorgeous voice and her wonderful stage presence, and relished the stories she told that complimented her curated repertoire."

Pastuszek is thrilled to bring this show home to the Philadelphia area and to return to the Zlock Performing Arts Center after a wildly successful presentation of her ME, MYSELF & BARBRA show last season. "I've performed all over the country, but I can proudly say that singing in the Philadelphia area has been the highlight of my career." Last fall, Pastuszek represented The Walnut Street Theatre's production of Elvis: A Musical Revolution by singing the National Anthem at the Phillies v. Diamondbacks NLCS Championship Game 6. "Nothing beats the energy exchange when you're singing for fellow Wawa loving jabronis, you know? Except for maybe getting to meet the Phanatic. That was awesome!"

Additional recent performances of GET HAPPY! include Jim Carouso's Pajama Cast Party, Paper Mill Playhouse, Bucks County Playhouse, Delaware Theatre Company, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, East Lynne Theatre Company, CCAE Theatricals, EndStation Theatre Company, Haddonfield Plays & Players, and the Surflight Theatre.

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