It's almost an impossible task to put together a show that can do justice to as iconic a star as Judy Garland. Garland had that rare, mega-watt stardom on stage, television and in film, and is still revered by so many almost fifty years after her death. Producer David King has a fair stab at reflecting the vast range of Garland's output with The Songbook of Judy Garland, a show that doesn't pretend to be anything other than the songs of Judy Garland, mostly staged with some flair on a set that includes a large video screen backdrop featuring clips of the lady herself, alongside various film-related props. Licensed by the Judy Garland estate, the show’s company features West End star Louise Dearman and has Arlene Phillips on board as Creative Director. But it's the inclusion of Garland's daughter Lorna Luft that gives this show an air of authenticity and a real connection to the star that is at its centre.

Tonight’s show was the first since the announcement earlier this week that the tour has had to be curtailed in two weeks time in order for Luft to return to the US to receive treatment for breast cancer. Luft brings a genuine touch of Hollywood glamour to proceedings. Obviously delighted to be on stage for two short sets, Luft tells tales of staying at the Savoy Hotel in London with her mum and of life ‘in a trunk’. Luft’s portrait of Garland’s real-life persona gives way to still powerful vocals on numbers like ‘Swanee’ (performed with The Boyfriends, a young male quartet of singer/dancers) and ‘The Man That Got Away’. The latter is a number that her mother apparently tricked composer Harold Arlen into giving her a preview of, whilst he was writing it for the film A Star is Born.

But the real standout performance is from cheeky redhead Rachel Stanley, a great dancer and actress who is always totally in the moment of the scene and song she is creating on stage. Stanley's vocals in the style of Judy's Hollywood era bring the house down in ‘Get Happy’, and she also gives interesting detail to her smaller role in ‘The Trolley Song’. Darren Bennett is a real song-and-dance man and a fabulous entertainer in 'I love a piano', teaming up with Stanley for a well-judged ‘They’re a Couple of Swells'. These two really are.

Wicked star Louise Dearman gives the appropriate vocal gravitas to ‘Stormy Weather’, also duetting with Luft on the TV duet that Garland sang with a young Barbra Streisand. And Ray Quinn lends his naturally velvety tones to other numbers throughout. The film montage background to the set shows clips of Garland revealing the range of her work and films, how her star power endears itself to an audience and is timeless in quality and depth – the sign of a true star. It's left to Garland herself to sing her most iconic song ‘Over the Rainbow’ on screen – after all, her version can't be bettered.