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From the New Jersey Star-Ledger:
Sister act traces Judy Garland's Vaudeville roots
BY ALLISON FREEMAN
On stage they play the Gumm Sisters, Frances Ethel -- better known as Judy Garland -- and older siblings Mary Jane and Dorothy Virginia.
Offstage, they are three Jersey girls who share a love and appreciation of old music.
Laura Oseland, 13, of Basking Ridge; Ashley Birmingham, 10, of Vineland in Cumberland County, and Sofie Zamchick, 8, of Tenafly, appear in "Vaudeville Songs: A Tribute to Judy Garland's Musical Heritage."
They will perform the show at Don't Tell Mama on W. 46th Street in New York on Feb. 7 and 8. The girls will also sing a few songs Saturday at The Palace of Variety/Museum of Times Square in New York.
In addition, they have released a new CD, "Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining," featuring that song and "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street." The CD is available for $3.99 plus $2 for shipping and handling at www.vaudevillesongs.com.
During a rehearsal at the Elizabeth Playhouse last week, the girls donned straw boaters to sing "Wear a Hat with a Silver Lining." They also performed several other tunes from 1920-25 that were sung by the Gumm sisters including "Rememb'ring" and "Tie Me to Your Apron Strings Again."
Dressed in frilly dresses with ribbons and white patent leather shoes, the girls
sang, danced and had a great time on stage.
The cast of "Vaudeville Songs" also includes Sue Maskaleris of Short Hills on piano and violin. A narrator tells the story of the family between songs.
The girls were chosen for their roles by Michelle Russell, who wrote the script of "Vaudeville Songs." Russell, of Jersey City, began researching "Vaudeville Songs" in 1995 and finished the script last year.
"Vaudeville is something which has interested me since childhood," said Russell,
a former office worker at the Merrill Lynch office next to the World Trade Center.
"I'm always thrilled when I see those little girls on stage," Russell said. "I love doing the show, and I love seeing people's reaction to it. They are surprised at how much they enjoy the music."
Russell's goal is to see the show open off-Broadway. She also wishes more children could see it "and get inspired," she said. "Some kids have a preconceived notion of what old music is."
The three girls who play the Gumm Sisters have learned a lot about the music of the period.
Laura, who plays Mary Jane, said she has always been interested in history and people from the past. "I always watched old movies and listened to old music," she said. "I love Judy Garland and the group the Gumm Sisters she formed with her two older sisters."
The eighth grader at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit said she likes
Vaudeville songs. "The songs are so cheerful," she said.
Ashley, who plays Dorothy Virginia, considers singing Vaudeville songs to be "a gift."
"My grandma and my great grandma used to love singing old songs," she said. "I think they are in heaven looking down at me and smiling. I think they are angels
and they gave me the gift of singing old songs."
Ashley, who performs off-Broadway in the children's musical "The People Garden,"
sings the National Anthem for Atlantic City Surf and the Camden River Sharks baseball games. Ashley is a fifth grader at Notre Dame Regional School in Landisville, Atlantic County.
Sofie, who portrays the young Judy Garland, enjoys singing Broadway songs and has performed in several shows at the JCC in Tenafly. She also sang on a movie soundtrack for Matthew Barney's "Cremaster 5," plays piano and tap dances.
Sofie said she loves doing the show. "It feels like we are really sisters and we
are really doing the show," said Sofie, a third grader at the Maugham School in Tenafly. "I really feel like Judy Garland."
Laura is currently appearing as Hedwig, a troubled 11-year-old girl, in Henrik Ibsen's "The Wild Duck" at the Elizabeth Playhouse, 1100 East Jersey St. in Elizabeth. The play will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through March 9.
Laura got her start in musical theater in Minnesota, and then after moving to New Jersey, performed in several shows at Allegro Productions in Parsippany. She
has also participated in the Paper Mill Playhouse's Summer Musical Theatre Conservatory.
Besides the upcoming shows, the girls performed "Vaudeville Songs" last year at Don't Tell Mama, the Dunellen Theatre, and Brook Arts Center in Bound Brook last
year as well as at many retirement communities and nursing homes in New Jersey.
"I love performing for older people, especially at nursing homes," Laura said. "When we perform for them, they get so excited and it makes me feel so happy."
"The audience sings along with us," noted Sofie. "Sometimes they correct my mistakes."
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