The Literazzi

Mickey & Judy
Tarragon Theatre Extra Space
Fringe Festival July 6-17, 2011
Best of the Fringe Uptown, July 20 – August 5, 2011
Created by/Starring: Michael Hughes
Musical Director: Chris Tsujiuchi

When viewing shows at the Fringe Festival, you can never be sure what exactly you will get. Most shows are widely experimental, and run the gamut from comedy, to drama, and some that are just plain bizarre. But Mickey & Judy was the delightfully surprising kind of show, where you emerge with a big smile and a spring in your step—and in this case, a few Broadway show tunes in your head. And obviously other audiences enjoyed it, because this show was one of twelve shows that were selected as “Best of the Fringe,” based on the attendance of the performances at each venue.

Mickey & Judy stars Michael Hughes as himself, telling the story of his life so far, starting with his childhood obsessions with musicals, and the one and only, Judy Garland. In his pseudo-memoir style, the one-man show begins in his early years, when all he wanted to do was dress up, sing songs, and play with female toys, like Barbie (and by the sounds of it, his Barbie was the most fabulous of all the others). Growing up between two sisters, there was a large female influence in the house, and Hughes took to it nicely. His family eventually began calling him Mickey, as in Mickey Rooney, who starred in numerous films with Garland, with the pair earning the moniker “Mickey & Judy” (very clever).

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