Rufus Wainwright Celebrates Judy Garland’s 100th Birthday and Why She’s a Gay Icon
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2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has shared Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios available now at all DSPs and streaming services.
Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios – an all-new performance of his groundbreaking tribute to Judy Garland, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall, recorded last year at Los Angeles’ famed Capitol Studios – arrives today via BMG, celebrating the legendary Garland’s 100th birthday. The album is available here.
First presented last year as a virtual livestream concert event, Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios sees Wainwright using the very microphone Garland herself used while making her own historic recordings at Capitol Studios, backed by a four-piece jazz ensemble before a micro-audience comprised entirely of 2x Academy Award-winning actress Renée Zellweger, winner of 2020’s “Best Actress” Oscar for her spectacular performance as Garland in 2019’s Judy.
Wainwright celebrated Garland’s centenary with the first exclusive live residency this past week at City Winery in New York City and will hold the other Rufus Does Judy at City Winery in Chicago June 16-17. Wainwright performs two shows each night. Early sets will cover songs from “When You’re Smiling” to “San Francisco,” while late shows will feature “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love” to “Chicago,” with additional surprise numbers during both sets. For complete details and remaining ticket availability, please visit rufuswainwright.com/tour.
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Leading up to Judy Garlands 100th birthday, Wainwright has been busy with a slate of events honoring the late legend. He recently sang at the Stonewall Inn at an event where Lorna Luft revealed a photo of Garland that will be permanently installed at the historical site. He also sang with Lorna Luft at a Garland birthday event at the Empire State Building, which will be lit up on June 10th for Garland’s birthday.
Rufus spoke to the New York Post about why she’s the ultimate gay icon.
Obviously Judy Garland has meant so much to you throughout your life. How did you first get exposed to Judy?
Well, The Wizard of Oz was a kind of yearly TV event that would occur around Easter usually. So the whole family would watch it. It started then, and then I sort of followed her entertainment yellow brick road. When I got to Hollywood and I saw her history — and also sort of the lore of the gay world — those things just kind of haunted me for many, many years.
Why do you think she has been the ultimate gay icon, that she has been so special to the gay community?
I think that she experienced a lot of the same traumas that a lot of gay men experience, whether it’s through battles with addiction or feeling really taken advantage of by society — or not respected, shall we say. Sometimes gay men, especially from that generation, were not allowed to express themselves, so there’s that kind of trapped feeling … And I think that a lot of gay men feel like there’s this inner Judy who wants to be known for who they are.
There’s also this connection between Judy and Stonewall, because she died right before the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
I was honored to be able to sing “Over the Rainbow” on Tuesday at Stonewall, where they unveiled this beautiful portrait of her that will be a permanent fixture of that space. It meant a lot to me as someone who’s been gay their whole life and also really known about Judy Garland their whole life.
There was “Over the Rainbow,” and then the rainbow became the symbol of the gay movement.
Yeah, I think it memorializes it. It very much kind of adds to the strength that, sadly, the gay community needs.
A gay man used to be called “a friend of Dorothy,” of course referencing her “Wizard of Oz” character. But it’s pretty incredible that she has remained in the fabric of the gay community for all these years, for generations really.
What’s nice about it is that at the end of the day — in spite of all of the symbolism and dramatic stories and so forth attached to her — in the end, it’s all connected to the fact that she was an incredible singer and a great musician. And anyone — be it gay, straight, bisexual or transgender — can listen to those records and be moved by them. And that’s the most important thing.
As we remember Judy and honor her on her 100th birthday, is there anything about her that you think is underappreciated?
Well, she was one of the great actresses too. Her sense of timing was impeccable in terms of acting. And it’s a pity that she never did anything on stage, in the sense that she was never in a Broadway show. I think that would have been an amazing turn of events.
What’s the Judy Garland song that speaks to you in the most personal way?
Well, I mean, at the end of the day one has to go with “Over the Rainbow.” I would say it’s probably the best song ever written. It’s the kind of song that, when you sing it, you have to become invested emotionally in it. You can’t just toss it off. You gotta go there.
If you had gotten to meet Judy, what would you have liked to say to her?
Oh, I don’t know … Wanna go to an AA meeting with me? [Laughs.]
