As the daughter of the legendary Judy Garland and producer Sid Luft, and sister to Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft has been in the spotlight from the day she was born. And that was just the beginning of her repeat cycle of “fifteen minutes of fame.” In 1963, at the age of eleven, she made her debut on CBS TV, singing “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” on the Christmas episode of The Judy Garland Show. At sixteen, she played NYC’s Palace Theatre with her mother, and in 1971, made her Broadway debut as a replacement cast member in the musical Promises, Promises at the Shubert Theatre. Luft also became a regular presence with Andy Warhol and his circle at the renowned nightclub Studio 54 in the 1970s-80s, and had her portrait painted by the Pop artist in 1983.
The singer and recording artist, actress of the stage and screen, writer and producer has since gone on to make countless appearances around the world as a concert and cabaret artist, in such iconic venues as Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, The London Palladium, and L’Olympia in Paris; as a star and guest star in such popular films and television series as Grease 2 and Where the Boys Are, Murder She Wrote and Trapper John, MD; in the Broadway, Off-Broadway, international, touring, and regional productions of Snoopy the Musical, Extremities, They’re Playing Our Song, Pack of Lies, Gypsy, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Mame, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, and many others; and as co-executive producer of the five-time Emmy award-winning miniseries Life with Judy Garland, based on her best-selling memoir Me and My Shadows.
For the past several years, Luft has been starring in American and British stage productions of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas; her cabaret concert Songs My Mother Taught Me – The Judy Garland Songbook won two Ovation Awards and was released on CD by First Night Records; and she has performed many sold-out engagements at Feinstein’s/54 Below (downstairs from Studio 54). Next week, she’ll be returning to the premier supper club for three nights, March 31-April 2, to sing in The Joy of Spring – embracing change, perseverance through obstacles, and life, with selections from the Great American Songbook, songs made famous by her mother, and personal stories from her lifetime in show business.
Lorna kindly spoke to me from her home in California for a Pop-quiz interview of fifteen questions about the show, her career, and her fame.
- What is it about the Great American Songbook?
Lorna: We have been the start and the champions of musical theater in this country, with Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter . . . And Michael Feinstein coined the phrase. It’s an important part of our history, it’s what came before us, and we shouldn’t forget where we came from! A lot of schools aren’t teaching it, and that really upsets me, but now you can look it up online. It’s the fabric of who we are in American musical theater.
- Is there one song that’s your absolute favorite and you never tire of performing?
No, I don’t have one song. It depends on the show I’m doing and the mood of it. Plus, if you tell people your favorite, they think it means that the others aren’t. I have a trunkful of material and it’s nice to drag out a song that’s my favorite for the day!
- What three emotions do you feel when you take the stage?
Fear, number one. Excitement. And relief.
- What’s your first creative memory?
I came from such a creative family, so my mother was always rehearsing; it was always going on around me. But from about eight until my teens, I did know every song on the radio and that was a really big deal for me. Then in 1963, when The Beatles hit, those four guys were the door to heaven!
- What’s your single most cherished memory of your mother?
I had her for sixteen years of my life, so I don’t have one, I think of her every day. Physically she isn’t here but she’s always on my shoulder. How do you choose one memory? That’s why I wrote a book about her.
- Are you more like Paulette Rebchuck (Grease 2), Nurse Libby Kegler (Trapper John, MD), Martha Watson (Irving Berlin’s White Christmas), Peppermint Patty (Snoopy the Musical), or Miss Adelaide (Guys and Dolls) in real life?
I’m not like any of them but I have a love in my heart for all of them, because I was able to find those characters and to get inside their heads for quite a while. These weren’t one-night-only performances; I played Miss Adelaide for a very long time. And Guys and Dolls is a near-perfect show, so I love that.
- Which of the shows or roles you’ve done to date has been your favorite?
We had a pandemic and none of us were able to work for eighteen months, so when I went back I had the same feeling of fear that I did when I was 20, wondering what’s going to be out there, what’s gong to happen. I hate digital media, so going back to work brought the feeling of excitement and relief, to hear applause again. Singing at my daughter’s wedding is a moment I will always remember; it made me feel like I remember how to do this!
- What do you enjoy most about playing at Feinstein’s/54 Below?
I love the physicality of the room. It’s laid out with no bad sightlines; it’s designed brilliantly. I also love where it’s located; it’s great for people who live in New York and everyone who doesn’t. It’s where I started, and there’s no place to hide when you’re there; there’s no character, it’s just you and a piano, so you have to be honest. I’ve had a lot of other famous people say they could never do that. But it’s what we do, and we can’t say we didn’t write it, because yes, we did! And I love everyone who runs that room. They make it so easy and always say, “Welcome home.”
- Is there one menu item there that you always order and would recommend to patrons?
It’s funny because I’ve never eaten there. I don’t like to eat before a show and then we have to leave when it’s over, for the next show to come in. But I know all the chefs, and my musicians have eaten there and they say it’s all fantastic!
- What three things do you always have in your dressing room?
Make-up (a lot of it). Costumes (a lot of them). And pictures of my grandchildren and children; those are the only personal things, the rest is the regular show stuff.
- If you weren’t a performer, what would you be?
Something in the creative arts; I’m not sure exactly what. I would never want to be a producer because money terrifies me. I don’t know if I’d want the responsibility of being a director, but I do like the interaction with young artists, to teach them the history, what I know, and what I’ve learned, to carry it on.
- What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve ever gotten from an audience member?
I’ve had so many audiences – good, bad, and indifferent. One time when I was performing at the St. Regis, a couple started to dance before I came out, and I thought, “No! You can’t do that! Sit down!” That’s the wonderful thing about playing live – you never know. In Sacramento, I was doing White Christmas, and someone went after my wig and grabbed it so fast I couldn’t get it back. So when I was on stage, I was hiding behind the others, using them like a human shield so I couldn’t be seen.
- What three things do you value most in life?
Number one is my health, because I’ve been battling breast cancer for eight years now and I’m blessed to have amazing doctors. Second is my children, grandkids, husband, and family; that’s reality. And the third thing that I treasure is doing something for someone else each day. I feel like we’ve lost being human to each other and it shouldn’t be all about “me, me, me, me, me,” like a singing lesson! So I value being selfless, not selfish.
- What’s the most challenging aspect of fame?
I was born famous, I didn’t become famous, so I don’t know how not to be famous, but I never equate fame with talent, or work, or art. It’s addictive, like a drug, and it’s also fleeting and fickle; it’s a double-edged sword. One minute you can be on top, the next minute on the what-happened-to-her list.
When I was young, there was a mystery around movie stars, they were protected by the studios, their agents, and managers. We were always taught to control our lives. Now with all the electronic devices, we have no privacy, so you have to make the choice to keep your private life private. I admire people like Keanu Reeves, who do that. He’s a brilliant actor, he does publicity events when he has to promote his work, but we don’t know anything else about him; he’s not out there for the wrong reasons. Once you’ve given up your privacy, you can’t go back. You shook hands, you made a deal. The thought of having cameras in my house, like reality TV, is horrible; so I guess I’m good being a dinosaur! What’s reality is your family, friends, and the people who say no.
- What’s the most rewarding thing about fame?
I guess the fact that it does have its perks, but I don’t take it for granted. For example, if I make a reservation at a restaurant and they know my name, it’s nice. But I would never cut in line in front of anyone else.
I was very close friends with Andy Warhol and he was one of the smartest people I ever knew. He was smart enough to see the future, to be aware of where it was going; he watched it all and recorded it. When he said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes,” nobody believed it, but he was right. It’s happened with social media. So that’s another thing that was rewarding; I was very lucky to have known Andy, I loved him and the people from The Factory, like Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, Bob Colacello, and Fred Hughes. They were important and innovative; they started it all. I’m glad I was born when I was.
Thanks, Lorna, for a fabulous conversation and for doing something nice today for our readers and me! It was a pleasure to talk to you.
Lorna Luft: The Joy of Spring plays Thursday, March 31-Saturday, April 2, 2022, at Feinstein’s/54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, cellar, NYC. For tickets (priced at $65-130, plus fees and a $25 per person food and beverage minimum), call (646) 476-3551, or go online. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and a photo ID are required to enter the building.
