Judy Garland concert headed for theaters

The Marquee Blog reports: Judy Garland's historic 1961 Carnegie Hall concert will be turned into a documentary courtesy of filmmakers Steven Lippman, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein. Though Garland's comeback performance earned critical raves, countless standing ovations, and spawned a chart-topping double album, no footage exists of the actual event.

"The concert is a cultural touchstone, something I remember vividly as a kid," Friedman tells the L.A. Times. "It's a magical moment in theatrical history. And yet there's almost no record of it."

Until now.

The filmmakers hope to re-create the Carnegie Hall experience with Stay All Night, a documentary that will combine music snippets and recently uncovered backstage footage of Garland with new interviews of people who witnessed the show. The movie will focus on the connection between Garland and her audience that evening, and the team hopes to evoke that same feeling for those seated in theaters.

"There's an opportunity to create what it's like to be in the presence of transcendent artistry," Friedman says. "The trick is to capture these unguarded moments and make the audience feel like they were there."

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