By Paul Horsley

They battled addiction, domineering lovers, pigeonholing Hollywood studios, and a music industry controlled by men who feared strong women. They suffered defeats, but more often they triumphed by placing a distinctive mark on everything they did. And it is their very struggle that makes us love them. Judy Garland (1922-1969), Barbra Streisand (b. 1942) and Liza Minnelli (b. 1946) were/are all larger-than-life icons of a big, glorious belted-out vocal style that has changed the way we think about women singers, and about women. These three inexorable life-forces form the content of Quality Hill Playhouse’s brand-new, song-centered “Judy Barbra Liza,” the final production of the company’s 2014-2015 season, which opens on May 29th.

“I wanted to do a show about women who were recognized by their first names only, and who really worked to expand people’s knowledge of the kind of music they sang, each in a different way,” said J. Kent Barnhart, QHP’s founding director, who has put together a collection of familiar songs (“Over the Rainbow,” “Evergreen,” “People,” “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” “Cabaret,” “New York, New York”) and of songs that you might have forgotten were made famous by these three. “None of them knew how to do anything less than 100 percent. … Audiences admire that, and the people that wrote for them admire that.”

If there’s one thing the three have in common it’s that “they all felt like they had something to prove,” Kent said. “They all, in different ways, share difficult personal lives that informs their musicianship, and they all have a commitment to their fans that is unlike a lot of performers today. Saying ‘I love you’ to the audience, instead of ‘Love me!’ Every time Judy went out she gave everything, which is why she became such an icon. A lot of gay men associate with them because they see their own struggles in these women’s struggles.” But it’s not just a gay thing: Women connect with the tribulations this trio endured, Kent added, “and straight men admire them for their beauty.”

Judy fought to buck her studio “Dorothy” image, Barbra wanted to direct and take control, Liza wanted to emerge from the shadow of her mother and, partly with the help of Kander & Ebb, become her own person. “Each of them had a ‘canon’ that became theirs, and as time has passed we can look at some of their songs in different ways,” Kent added, “as a thank-you to them for introducing the songs to us.”

All three “had breakout moments,” he said, “where they did things that people did not think they were capable of doing, that expanded our view of them.” Plus, he added, there’s a “pathos about them that is cathartic for listeners. You lived for Judy to go to that deep emotional moment in her show. Part of what’s so appealing is that they are survivors who triumphed over adversity, and that’s something everybody can relate to, or at least respect.” It’s “strength with vulnerability,” he said, that makes these women who they are. “They’re huge stars, but they’re still underdogs. You want Judy to overcome her man, Liza her addiction, Barbra her stage fright.”

“Judy Barbra Liza,” QHP’s final production of the 2014-2015 season, runs from May 29th through June 28th at Quality Hill Playhouse downtown. It features vocalists Lauren Braton, Christina Burton and Ashley Pankow, pianist/emcee J. Kent Barnhart, Brian Wilson on bass and Ken Remmert on drums. For tickets call 816-421-1700 or go to qualityhillplayhouse.com (also for information about QHP’s 2015-2016 season).

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net or find him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or Twitter (@phorsleycritic).

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