Luminato marks milestone with revival of Rufus Wainwright’s Judy Garland tribute

TORONTO – As the Luminato Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary, the Toronto multi-arts event will see Rufus Wainwright mark a milestone of his own as he revives his musical tribute to Judy Garland.

The Canadian singer-songwriter will honour the late screen and stage icon with “Rufus Does Judy” on June 23 and 24.

For two nights in 2006, Wainwright performed Garland’s famed 1961 Carnegie Hall concert in its entirety at the famed New York venue.

“Judy at Carnegie Hall,” Garland’s Grammy-winning album from the comeback concert, became her bestselling recording, featuring hit songs like “Over the Rainbow” and “The Man That Got Away.”

Wainwright is slated to return to Carnegie Hall June 16-17 for an encore performance of “Rufus Does Judy” before staging the Toronto shows with the backing of a 35-piece orchestra.

“He thought it would be a good thing to revisit that material and see what has happened in the past 10 years,” said Luminato artistic director Jorn Weisbrodt, who is married to Wainwright.

“Obviously, Judy Garland was a huge gay icon, and to have a gay man basically take over that material in a non-camp kind of a way is a really interesting kind of statement, and it’s a wonderful spectacle.”

Wainwright’s concerts will be one of the events staged at the Hearn Generating Station. Located minutes from the downtown core on Toronto’s waterfront in the Port Lands, the decommissioned power plant will be the hub for Luminato, which runs through June 26.

Luminato has constructed a multi-venue installation within the Hearn, including a 1,200-seat theatre, a standing-room music hall, art gallery, restaurant and beer garden.

“What we’re really trying to do there this year is to fully sketch out what the future of this place could be in terms of being the largest community and cultural centre in the world,” said Weisbrodt, describing the Hearn as “one of the biggest gifts” to Toronto’s cultural landscape.

There will be no charge for access to the facility throughout the 17 days of the festival, with several free events such as tours, evening concerts and visual art installations from homegrown artists Scott McFarland, Michel de Broin, Stan Douglas and works from the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Ticketed events include performances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and “The James Plays” trilogy. The plays explore three generations of Stuart kings who ruled 15th-century Scotland, and has been dubbed that nation’s answer to “Game of Thrones.”

“All of these different art forms, all of these different institutions have their own audiences. Some are considered more underground, some are considered high art, but we’re not making any distinction because everyone is in the same space,” said Weisbrodt.

“Audiences mix, artists mix and cultures mix, and I think that’s really the exciting thing about the space that you can actually really reflect the diversity of the city.”

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