March 21, 2022
The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts (VRCFA) at Shawnee State University will host the Springfield Symphony with Joan Ellison for a performance of “Get Happy: A Judy Garland Celebration” on Tuesday, Apr. 19. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the Eloise Covert Smith Theater of the VRCFA.
In celebration of Judy Garland’s centennial, Joan Ellison and the Springfield Symphony will take the audience on a nostalgic trip from technicolor Hollywood to Carnegie Hall in a hit parade of songs including “The Trolley Song,” “The Man That Got Away,” “Get Happy,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” “Almost Like Being in Love/This Can’t Be Love” “The Palace Medley,” “Stormy Weather,” “The Boy Next Door,” “Chicago,” “That’s Entertainment,” “You Go to My Head” and, of course, “Over the Rainbow.”
Ohio native Joan Ellison has made a specialty of reviving Judy Garland’s repertoire, from the Hollywood years to her Carnegie Hall concert and television show, restoring Ms. Garland’s glorious orchestrations from the original sources.
Tickets for “Get Happy: A Judy Garland Celebration” are available online at vrcfa.com or at the McKinley Box Office in the VRCFA, Monday through Friday. Tickets can also be purchased via telephone call at (740) 351-3600. Ticket prices for the show are $35 for standard, $30 for seniors, and $15 for those 18 years of age and under. Handicap accessible seating is available upon request.
For more information on upcoming shows at the Vern Riffe Center for the Arts, visit vrcfa.com or call the McKinley Box Office at (740) 351-3600.