- Charlotte Coliseum -

Judy Garland Sings - Standing Crowd Cheers
 By Dick Banks, The Charlotte Observer

Young voiced Judy Garland got two standing ovations at her concert Saturday night in Charlotte's Coliseum. 

This is unheard of in Charlotte - but she deserved it.

Coliseum manager Paul Buck estimated the crowd at from 3,500 to 4,000. A misty night hurt the box office.

Judy is stout. At the beginning of her two-hour, one woman show, her voice was husky. But her face has the child-like quality expression you remember from years ago. She still has every ounce of the showmanship she picked up in three decades of experience in entertainment.

This woman (of about 40) can sing! How she can sing! Her delivery ranges from the trombone rasp of La Verne Baker to the gentleness of a child on Sunday school rally day.

There are so many Judy Garlands! This multiplicity of personality makes a success of her one-woman performance. This plus the orchestration and music direction that back her up.

There was a sob in her voice in "A Dixie Melody." Gaiety for "The Bells Are Ringing." Snap verging on frenetic energy for "San Francisco." Faultless rhythm for "That's Entertainment." Tenderness and magnificent timing for "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby."

That's one of the secrets of the success of Judy Garland - she's in no hurry to get to the end of a song. She sings as if she means it.

The sadness in this woman comes out in her melody. The funny songs have overtones of poignance.

Judy Garland Still can hold a high note with the bravura of an operatic prima donna. She can turn on the power until our Coliseum seems hardly large enough for her voice. She dances a bit. Tells whimsical stories. Helps shove things around the stage. Stops for a drink of water. Laughs at a whistle from the last row up, holds her audience in the palm of her hand.

Ovations came before and after "Over the Rainbow." She said good night with a double-tempo version of "Swanee River."

Some show!