Review: Midnight Company's YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU at The Blue Strawberry Showroom And Lounge

The Midnight Company is once again collaborating with The Blue Strawberry, the premier cabaret club in the St. Louis Area, to produce another narrative driven cabaret performance. YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU is a nostalgic look back at the life and career of Judy Garland. Jennelle Gilreath Owens sings the song catalog of Garland while narrating a story on the life of the troubled superstar. Owens is backed by a spectacular quartet led by Music Director John Gerdes. He is joined by Paul Cereghino on Piano, Clarence “Clancy” Newell on drums/percussion, and Lea Gerdes playing a variety of woodwind instruments.

YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU is an delightful evening of Judy Garland songs that were performed in live concerts or that were recorded for the movies that she starred in for MGM and other studios. Owens is comfortable being front and center for a cabaret style musical performance. One can sense the enjoyment she gets from sharing this music with her audience. She is a lovely storyteller, and the script works best when she is narrating the career and life of Garland. While Owens shares that her college voice teacher thought she had vocal qualities similar to Garland, this performance is not an impersonation of Judy Garland. This is an artist putting her own spin on the standards that are loved by Garland’s fans.

There were many moments where Owens delivered a pleasant vocal performance with music that was arranged in a slightly different style than may be expected. Of note was her unique performances of “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe,” and “Over the Rainbow.” She opened her set with a sincere rendition of “(Dear Mr. Gable) You Made Me Love You,“ and it was a special moment when she tugged on the heartstrings of civic pride with “The Trolley Song” from the movie MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS. Not every song was delivered perfectly, and one big miss was her duet with Jeffrey Wright. Wright joined her on stage to sing “Me and My Gal” and on this particular evening he unfortunately struggled in his performance and that had an effect on Owen’s delivery of the song as well. The highlight of the night was when Owens was joined on stage by the dynamic and talented Kimmie Kidd-Booker to sing the duet of “Get Happy /Happy Days are Here Again” that Garland sang on a television special with Barbra Streisand. Owens and Kidd-Booker knocked it out of the park.

The band and the sound mixing were exceptional. Not only did the band sound spectacular, but at no point did they overpower Owen’s vocal performance. One big highlight was the spontaneous applause for Lea Gerdes following one of her solos on woodwinds. Her playing was simply exquisite. The Blue Strawberry is the perfect venue for an intimate narrative-driven cabaret shows with a small band. It is not surprising that this venue continues to sell out shows, especially when they collaborate with Hanrahan and Midnight Company on entertaining productions.

The show was written and directed by Joe Hanrahan. He gave Owens plenty of material to work with when it came to the life and career of Garland. The script addressed her start as one of The Gumm Sisters family singing group, her Hollywood audition, the early days of her career at MGM, and the concerts she performed later in life. While Hanrahan paid tribute to Garland’s talent, he did not avoid the more troublesome parts of Garland’s life including her struggles with addiction and her accidental death from an overdose. YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU was at its best when telling Garland’s story. The scripted part of the show was less effective when attempting to draw parallels between Owens' and Garland’s life.

Fans of Judy Garland will love Midnight Company’s production of YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU for three reasons. First, because Hanrahan’s script about Garland’s life and career is compelling. Second, because Owens is relatable when she is sharing Garland’s story with the audience. Finally, because hearing some of Garland’s most loved songs makes for an evening of delightful nostalgia. YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU has one additional performance at The Blue Strawberry on Wednesday, August 9th at 7:30 PM.

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