INTERVIEW: At her New Jersey concert, Lorna Luft plans to honor and protect her mother's legacy - Hollywood Soapbox

Lorna Luft has had quite a career — and more than that. The daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft, the entertainer was basically born into Hollywood royalty and appeared on stage, television, and film from an early age. Today, she often sings songs honoring (and protecting) her mother's legacy. Of course, Garland is known for many other credits, from The Wizard of Oz to Meet Me in St. Louis to Easter Parade.

Luft will pay tribute to her mother, and Hollywood in general, at the Bell Theatre in Holmdel, New Jersey. On Sunday, Sept. 15, she will appear in her double bill with Broadway performer Julie Benko (Funny Girl) in the show Two of a Guy: From Hollywood to Broadway. The 15 p.m. show will feature many memorable moments, with Luft singing classic Hollywood songs, many of them associated with her mother, and Benko singing Broadway standards.

Hollywood Soapbox recently spoke with Luft about her career and perspective on her family's legacy. As a performer, Luft can be seen in numerous TV specials and movies, including Grease 2, My Giant, and Where the Boys Are '84. On stage she was called Promises, Promises; White Christmas; and Folly, among many others. Here's what she said... What it's like working with Julie Benko... “It's a special show, I'm looking forward to working with Julie.

We're friends, and I met Julie when she was in the Broadway show Harmony, which my husband was the assistant music director for. But I also saw her do Fanny Brice [in Funny Girl] and I was completely mesmerized and amazed by her singing ability and her incredible acting choices, and then when we met, she came up to me, said, 'I'm the biggest Grease 2 fan item.' And I started laughing, and then we had this wonderful bond of being real, genuine fans of each other."

What the show at the Bell Theatre will be about... "It's really about the Hollywood musicals, which I not only grew up with, but the stories I have from them. Then I have a lot of them, this cool special written for me called 'Not Even Nominated,' and it's every song that was never nominated for Academy Awards and so I was in Hollywood, and then Julie was on Broadway. Then the two of us got together, and we were Hollywood and Broadway. Having a mother who was a role model for so many people...

"Julie and I did the 'Hooray for Love' medley at the end of the show, which is what my mom did with Barbra Streisand, because, of course, Julie had an incredible love for Funny Girl and, of course, I'm her daughter. And the truth is that when Barbra was on my mom's television show, she was 19 years old. ...There's a thread to all of this. It’s not like two people come on stage and don’t know each other and don’t have a connection. These songs are really personal to us because of our connection to Broadway theater and, of course, because of her amazing talent, and also because of my heritage. The bottom line is that we really like each other.

“I grew up with a person who was my mother, but to the world she was their legend, their idol, their everything in the movies. And I only knew her as my mother, and I looked up to her from a real protective and personal standpoint, not only because of her name and likeness, but also because of the music that was written for her in the movies. Everybody looks up to her, and only God knows how many different stories they make out of The Wizard of Oz. It’s just that I really care. … [I’m] adamant about how she’s viewed, how the public views her now. I have to tell you, I’ve had very few instances where I’ve been outspoken in that sense. People just love him, and people just love his movies. And I do nothing but thank them and thank them, and they always have a story when they see a movie and what it means in their life. And I'm grateful to hear that."

"It was like, 'Don't ruin the song,' We both practiced it yesterday, Julie and I, and at one point we both stopped. And we both started laughing because we were both looking at each other like two deer in headlights. Listen, that's the wonderful thing about live theater. We're still nervous."