Previews: END OF THE RAINBOW at Gulfport Community Players

Onstage tonight through June 21 is End of the Rainbow at the Catherine Hickman Theater in Gulfport, a fierce, funny, and heart‑rending look at Judy Garland in the final year of her life. Gulfport Community Players brings the story to the stage with Tammy Lukas stepping into the role of the legendary performer - a role she has, in many ways, been preparing for since childhood.

“The Wizard of Oz when I was 3,” she says. “Watching that movie for the first time is one of my earliest memories. That started my lifelong love and obsession with all things Oz and Judy Garland.” Her first time onstage was as Dorothy, and in her twenties she worked in New York as a Judy Garland/Liza Minnelli impersonator. When the show appeared in the GCP season, she immediately began preparing for “older Judy.”

Lukas is quick to lift up the people surrounding her in this production. “My fellow castmates are all marvelous in their roles: Brian Jacoby as Mickey Deans, Phillip Hubler as Anthony, and Bill Shideler as the Radio Interviewer, Porter & ASM,” she says. She also extends gratitude to director Myles Thoroughgood “for this amazing opportunity to play my icon,” and to the crew—Rose Gillespie, Donnette Romero, Kathleen Hall, Alicia Merel, Bob Rowand, Eileen Navarro, Jay Gendron, Peter Villa, Rachel Fennell, Stacie Steinke, John Herrick, and Jeff Lukas - "for all of your contributions to making this show a success.”

To inhabit Garland in 1968, Lukas immersed herself in the era. “I did a deep dive into her last years,” she says. “I have repeatedly watched every interview, performance and recording available on YouTube… now I was watching in a new way - her facial expressions, how she moves, vocal and speech patterns.”

Her castmate Billy Shideler helped unlock Judy’s humor. “He pointed out that Judy has drag queen sarcasm and wit and that was a game changer,” she says. “Now I knew how to play it.”

The contrast between Garland’s public radiance and private exhaustion feels familiar to Lukas. “No imitation required. I can totally relate,” she says. “It’s exhausting, but you still must go out and shine onstage like you’ve got all the energy in the world. I need the stage just like Judy did.”

Studying Garland’s voice reshaped her own. “I have learned SO MUCH about phrasing, breath support, and song acting from Judy,” she says. “I was very surprised to discover how strong my lower register is… now I think this role has revealed my true wheelhouse.”

Her understanding of Garland’s relationship with Mickey Deans also deepened. “To Judy, he was her miracle,” she says. “The knight in shining armor who would fix everything in her life. Judy longed to be loved as herself, not the persona of ‘Judy Garland.’”

A comment outside rehearsal sharpened her sense of Garland’s emotional cost. “She was tired of being pushed and controlled,” Lukas says. “She was overworked, overwhelmed, and exhausted… Judy wanted to do things on her own terms.”

Physicality came from intense study. “I intensely studied her gestures, so now I just let Judy take over my body,” she says. “The emotional connection running underneath prevents any overshadowing.”

Performing Garland’s most iconic songs carries its own weight. “It is equally thrilling and a great responsibility to do my best to honor her memory,” she says. The final number, “Over the Rainbow,” is the hardest. “Reminds me of my mother who also died at 47. She introduced me to Oz and encouraged my love for the stage.”

What she hopes audiences notice are the quietest shifts. “The stillness. Judy’s humanity,” she says. “The little girl who just wanted to be loved for her and not just the icon onstage… History views Judy as this tragic figure but she didn’t see herself that way. She was a fighter and gave everything she had to the world.”

Leaving the stage doesn’t fully release her from the role. “Exhaustion!” she says. “However, I don’t know if I ever truly step away from Judy.” Her director, Myles Thoroughgood, once told her, “You ARE Judy Garland.” She calls it the greatest compliment she could receive.