UTAH SYMPHONY with LORNA LUFT at Abravanel Hall, March 10, 8 p.m. Additional performance Saturday, March 11, 8 p.m. Tickets available through ArtTix at 355-ARTS (2787).
The moment Lorna Luft stepped on the Abravanel Hall stage and opened her mouth to sing, her resemblance to her mother both in looks and in song became immediately apparent.
Her mother: Judy Garland.
Garland's second and less-well-known daughter was in town to celebrate her famous mother's life in words, song, film and other media, with the Utah Symphony as backup.
In a smooth presentation entitled "Songs My Mother Taught Me," Luft sang, it seemed, a hundred songs her mother was famous for and snippets of a hundred more. "Hello Bluebird," "Smile," "Through the Years," "Over the Rainbow" and many, many others were all included.
In addition to the songs, Luft made a musical presentation of her mother's life including all the well-known high points: "The Wizard of Oz," her films with Mickey Rooney, her Carnegie Hall comeback — she seemed determined to do a thorough review for Garland's fans and a thorough introduction for those who know her only as Dorothy.
Luft has a fine singing voice of her own as well as a fun, energetic stage presence. Often one wondered how she could keeping singing without breathing heavy into the microphone the way she was running around the stage.
But Garland was the real star. The high points of the concert were when Garland's voice was heard or her image was seen on the screen. Luft used that to her advantage, mixing her own voice with Garland's in songs reminiscent of Natalie Cole's video duet with her late father Nat King Cole in "Unforgettable."
Turning one's own life, including some normally very private moments, into mass entertainment has some dangers, and at times the show became a bit maudlin. For the most part, however, Luft avoided overt sentimentality, preferring the brassy tone her mother favored.
Spontaneity was not the show's forte. It was packaged, even slick, and the diminished-size orchestra was amplified, giving it a sound unfamiliar to frequent attenders of the Utah Symphony. To Luft's credit, however, she exerted herself wholly to the effort, personalizing the show to this audience more than many other performers would have. She wasn't just going through the motions.
"Songs My Mother Taught Me" will be repeated Saturday night.