Bringing "Get Happy!" to the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer is not just a regular performance for Jenna Pastuszek — it is a homecoming.
“As I was building my own professional career … I always thought about Charlottesville,” she said. “That is every U.Va. alum’s constant question of like, how can I get back there?”
Pastuszek, an alumna from Class of 2010, will be paying homage to Judy Garland July 24-27 at the Ruth Caplin Theatre, singing the iconic performer’s uptempo medleys & ingénue ballads while also incorporating personal stories in a cabaret performance she has taken to over 10 states and 20 regional theatres.
In this Virginia Theatre Festival iteration, guest performer Will Connell will join Pastuzek on stage for several duets. Additionally, Class of 2005 alumnus Nate Patten — a Broadway music director who was the accompanist in Pastuszek’s first class in the drama department — will be accompanying the performances on piano.
Pastuszek began work on the show in 2019 after receiving a call from East Lynne Theater Company — a theatre she had never performed for before — in Cape May, New Jersey.
“[East Lynne Theater Company] called me and said, ‘We're doing our annual gala, and it's a tribute to Judy Garland… we'd love for you to put together this show. As long as you sing some songs that are iconic to Judy's catalog, you can really do whatever you want,’” Pastuszek said.
For Pastuszek, performing songs from her catalogue has allowed her to explore the life of an iconic creative woman. Judy Garland spent her entire life in the limelight — her first stage appearance was at age two. She is most famous for her role in “The Wizard of Oz,” but went on to have a successful career on stage and screen as a cabaret singer.
“The thing that is interesting about the show, and what I love to do about it, is it's paying tribute to one of the original American Idols,” Pastuszek said.
Having studied history at the University, Pastuszek was keen to research Garland’s life and career. She combed through everything from television recordings to concert performances — forming a personal understanding of her subject beyond the familiar highs and lows of her career.
“I kind of approached it like writing a history paper,” Pastuszek said. “I collected all of the data and collected all of the research, and then thought to myself, ‘Okay, what's the thesis? And what do I want to say about this?’”
Pastuszek, however, is not only performing a “greatest hits” compilation. She wants to tell audiences a story — one that is uniquely hers.
“The music brings people back, but the stories and the jokes and the things that I talk about during the show are all from my life, it’s my COVID story,” Pastuszek said. “People are interested again in hearing what happened to an artist living in New York when [the pandemic] was happening.”
Becoming a musical theatre performer was not always Pastuszek’s plan. While at the University, she balanced a double major in history and elementary education with a cappella and theatre performances. She then went on to become an elementary school teacher, until she came to a realization.
“I had a quarter life crisis at 22, while I was teaching, and realized, ‘Wait a second. I don't want to be an elementary school teacher — I want to perform!” Pastuszek said.
Pastuszek moved to New York City to get a second master's degree from New York University in vocal performance and voice teaching — marrying her two loves of teaching and singing.
Once she then began embarking on musical theatre auditions, Pastuszek credited her a capella background with the Virginia Sil'hooettes as surprisingly useful.
“The songs that they ask for the most in auditions are pop rock songs,” Pastuszek said. “They're not musical theater. I got an education on pop rock just by singing in [the Sil’s].”
Since then, Pastuszek has built a successful career in theatre and performance — appearing in Off-Broadway shows and singing the national anthem at the Dodgers v. Giants game last year. Additionally, she works as a voice teacher and co-founded Innovative Voice Studio — in which she gives voice lessons in New York City, Los Angeles and online — in 2016.
When performing “Get Happy!” in particular, her career has taken her everywhere from The Yale Club, in New York City, to Bucks County Playhouse, in Pennsylvania. The show, she says, was designed to be flexible — Pastuszek can modify it to fit both the venue and current world events.
No two performances of "Get Happy!" are exactly the same — following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pastuszek wanted to pay homage to her Ukrainian family members by discussing their stories during her moments of personal asides.
“My grandmother immigrated over from Ukraine in 1948, right after World War Two, and she had all of these incredible stories,” Pastuszek said. “Now here I am, up here on the stage singing songs that they heard Judy Garland sing at the Palace [Theatre] in 1957.”
Pastuszek hopes that "Get Happy!" will not only resonate with longtime Judy Garland fans, but inspire a newfound appreciation for Garland’s career in younger generations.
“It's a great way to get to know [me] through a household name's music and catalog, but also get to walk away with a new appreciation of something classic,” Pastuszek said.
As Pastuszek takes the stage at the Virginia Theatre Festival this summer, she is sure to bring a unique version of the show. “Get Happy!” will run July 24-27 at Ruth Caplin Theatre. Tickets are available at the Virginia Theatre Festival website starting April 22.
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