Grey Garrett can still remember being in high school, decorating the family Christmas tree, when a song came on the radio.
“It was ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ and I thought, ‘Who is this? She sounds just like me,’” says Garrett. The singer was Judy Garland, who famously covered the holiday classic in the movie “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
“It wasn’t like I wanted to be her, I never worked at sounding like her,” Garrett says. “I could just immediately feel where it fit for me, the timbre of her voice, the vibrato.”
Steeped in the performing arts growing up outside of Richmond, Garrett left for New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. Though aware of her ability to emulate a classic Hollywood musical sound, she didn’t immediately capitalize on it. After graduating, she would pull it out as a party trick.
“My friends and I were all working together in restaurants and, sometimes after some adult beverages, they’d say things like, ‘Sing Bohemian Rhapsody as Judy Garland,’” Garrett remembers.
Now, some 20 years later, Garrett is developing that striking vocal similarity into a launching pad for what she sees as the next stage of her career. The launch starts with her performance of “Garrett Does Garland” at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) on Jan. 9 and 10.
Over the past 15 years, Garrett has gained significant acclaim on local stages, nominated nine times for Richmond Community Circle (RTCC) Awards, winning four of them, most recently for her lead performance in Virginia Rep’s 2023 production of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.” But the RTP show will be a new experience.
“People have approached me about doing a Judy Garland cabaret before and I said no,” says Garrett. “My thought has always been that I’m only doing it if there is a major opportunity in front of me. This is my ace and I can’t just give it away.”
The major opportunity lies in her relationship with Baez Theatrical, an agency based in the Netherlands, that is guiding Garrett as she packages her portrayal of Garland into an act that can play on cruise ships around the world.
“Grey did a show called ‘Beyond the Rainbow’ many years ago,” says Brian Baez, the founder of Baez Theatrical and a member of the RTP board. “I remember seeing that and being completely blown away. If I closed my eyes, you couldn’t convince me that it wasn’t Judy.”
But having a specific talent isn’t enough to successfully market a headliner for cruise lines. An act has to have all production aspects – music, lighting, sound engineering – fully developed and ready to go. Most importantly, all of those components have to be both flexible and scalable.
“Not every venue is going to have the same technical capabilities,” says Baez. “You have to create something where a small nutshell version of the show is just as good an experience for the audience as a big, flashy version.” Sometimes performers will play with a band, sometimes with recorded tracks; their show might run as short as 30 minutes or as long as 90.
Developing that kind of package takes talent, time and, of course, money. Garrett has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the costs. “The whole package has to have polish and several things I need are quite pricey,” says Garrett. “All the music has to be arranged with every instrument notated so musicians can just step in and go. We need lighting plots and projections. We’ll need a press kit with videography.”
Once the show is fully packaged, it will likely be 2027 before Garrett is belting on a boat somewhere: Baez says cruise lines usually book at least a year in advance. Beyond the professional autonomy creating this act will provide her, Garrett is also looking forward to the opportunity to share Garland’s unique voice with a larger audience.
“Judy Garland is a symbol to so many of hope and dreams,” Garrett says. “I remember my uncle, who hated musical theater, when he would hear me sing ‘Over the Rainbow,’ he would tear up. It’s amazing that a voice can have so much power.”
“She was a woman with deep troubles blessed with the power of something out of this world,” she continues. “She was so funny and approachable and her concerts were very personal experiences. That’s what I’m trying to create now.”
“Garrett As Garland” will be playing Jan. 9 and 10 at Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Ave. Tickets and more information available at https://rtriangle.org/.
Update: A third performance has been added for Sunday, Jan. 11. at 4 p.m. Tickets are www.rtriangle.org.
