We were so impressed with Seth Sikes’ Judy Garland show (read our review) that we just couldn’t resist picking his brain about all things Judy!

Pick Your Top 5 Judy Garland songs:

One wants to not pick the obvious for this, but then one would be neglecting the greatest songs ever recorded. So...

“The Man That Got Away”
“Zing Went the Strings of My Heart”
“Come Rain or Come Shine”
“The Trolley Song”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Most obscure Judy song you wish people knew better.

"Don't Ever Leave Me."  She sang it on The Judy Garland Show, and it's clear how much she loves the song, which is very short, and also how deeply she feels it.

Pick your Top 5 Judy Garland film performances:

I'm not an expert on her movies, but these come to mind:

A Star is Born
Summer Stock
Meet Me in St. Louis
Judgement at Nuremberg
Easter Parade

Most obscure Judy performance you want people to pay more attention to (mine is A Child is Waiting)

I was just watching I Could Go On Singing this week. She is so great in it, and I think the movie is better than people give credit. She's playing a character much like herself, with similar demons, so it was brave of her to make it. The most amazing elements about it are the glimpses into what she must have been like during the concert years. It's worth watching just to see her in the wings, revving herself up to enter while the orchestra blasts out an overture. I hope it was really like that.

How do you select the songs for your shows given what an embarrassment of riches her catalogue is?

I usually choose songs that have somehow have gotten under my skin due to whatever emotional state I'm in. Sometimes it's surprisingly obverse: if I'm feeling really sad, it might be the most optimistic, hopeful song that gets me. Your question just made me happy because I realize how many more there are to tackle!

Have you heard from Judy's children and what they think about your show?

No, I haven't. I doubt that they've heard about it at all, or ever will. I know they must (understandably) be touchy about people "doing" Judy, but I truly believe that if they saw it they'd like it, because it's an unmitigated love letter to their mother and her music. And this may be naive, or sound obnoxious, but I doubt that anyone has ever done it like me, meaning free of cynicism, camp, drag, or impersonation. I do, though, sometimes daydream about doing a duet with Liza or Judy. Or Joey, why not?

What Judy Garland biography is absolutely indispensable?

Get Happy is thorough and moving and hard to put down. John Fricke's wonderful book about her film career is indispensable. John Meyer's thrilling book about their few months together reads like a fever dream, and makes you feel like you're with her.

You connected to Judy Garland probably before you even knew what "being gay" was. As someone with a similar experience, what is it about her that you think young gay boys are so enamored with? How would you explain Judy Garland being in the "gay genes" so to speak.

I keep getting this question, and it's almost impossible to answer, but allow me to work through it: she was the greatest entertainer the world has ever known and, for whatever reason, gay people have the best taste. Pretty simple.

And/or… there's a cry and a yearning and an ache in her voice, and “Over the Rainbow” (which is likely to be one's first exposure to it) is about yearning for a happier place. Maybe the song's familiar sentiment combined with that aching sound together tap into a young gay boy's particular well of emotions. It's hard for me to say this with great conviction, of course, because countless straight people have the same feelings, and the same reaction to her.

I don't really buy the tortured connection that people like to draw, but I can easily say that the romantic yearning that's especially in her voice on the heartbroken ballads is something that young gay men might feel a little more deeply than straight people do. But again, straight people feel that too, so how about this:

All that fabulousness. All that greatness. Maybe we really just wanted to possess that ourselves.

Dreamcast your very own Judy Garland biopic. Who plays some of the most important characters?

I have a real problem with people playing (or imitating) Judy. It's pointless. Nobody will ever have the performance skills she had and have her spark and resemble her. Even though her life story is amazing, it's a hopeless endeavor to try to portray her. So if I can't cast a Judy, there's no point in casting the others. Although, I must admit that the Ethel Gumm part would be very fun to cast. Bette Midler or Ethel Merman or Marjorie Maine would have done nicely.

Are you planning on recording a Judy album of your own?

People keep asking me this, which is flattering, and of course on some level I'd love to, but I keep wondering why anyone would bother to listen to mine instead of just listening to Judy herself.

Make sure to catch Seth Sikes Sings Mostly Judy Garland on November 24 at Feinstein’s/54 Below. For tickets click here.