Judy is based on Patricia "Trish" Garland, and she is a funny, gawky, and nervous/scatterbrained, but ultimately a warm and hopeful woman.
Trish and her sister, Jacki (who was also a Broadway dancer) were both involved with ACL from the beginning tape sessions. Trish was the ballerina, and Jacki the gymnast/tapper. (In the song At the Ballet, the "Steep and narrow stairway" was actually from their childhood) They grew up on a farm in a small town. Their mom was very supportive of them and would
consistantly send them out all summer to dance camps. Eventually, when their father died, their mom wouldn't even let them come home for the funeral. Trish said "our mom just wanted us to have more than she had and have a better life." This doesn't entirely gel with Judy's bio in the play, but it could be complementary. You know, mix and match as you choose.
So, both girls were at the workshops, but Jacki did not get cast in the play (Even people who originally were involoved had to audition to play themselves, such as Diana, Bobby, Sheila, Judy, Val, and Cassie). Apparently Jacki and Trish had a huge sibling rivalry. You could use this for characterization in your monologue as well as perhaps your sister got cut
earlier in the audition. Also, in the alternatives scene when Judy wants to be "more than just the second redhead on the end," maybe she's trying to create a stronger identity for herself and not just one of the "Garland girls"
Judy is an experienced gypsy, but is not as confident as some of the other gypsies like Sheila, Diana, and Val. So, she expresses this through nervousness and comes off as a flake.ie forgetting her number, 44?, etc. Play these for laughs--she's quite endearing. Also hilarious is the absolute assumption that every girl practices kissing with their best friend. The total mortification when she learns not everyone does this can only be topped but sheer joy when a few girls *do* admit to the same experience.
Ideally, Judy should be somewhat gawky or unusual physically. Even if you're not, she should have an off-kilter angular sensibility. Shifting weight, possibly hair twilrling, adjusting straps etc. Trish supposedly never felt extremely comfortable in her body, despite the fact that she was a talented and beautiful dancer!. Also, you might use this as an excuse for overly careful or stylized make up, as she has a delicate self-image.
The Judy in the film is not really like the play Judy. Janet Jones played her more like a sexpot. However, I liked how she played Judy as thinking she was a real laugh-riot. Grabbing herself and laughing at her own jokes. Most Judys I've seen do this to some degree. In fact, the reason that the Judy monologue is so non-sequitar is that Trish Garland was so adept at making lines funny, if it didn't work for person A, they'd say "Give it to Trish, she can make it funny." So, her true story isn't as fully realized, but she has snippets from a lot of different people.
Other facts: She is just left of center, wears a purple square cut leotard and t-strap heels. This helped her look more angular. The purple is perfect for her: you know how people who love purple are often obsessive about it--I think Judy is one of them (my opinion.) Trish Garland was also a Buddihst, so if you use that for Judy, could use that for a funny bit here and there. In fact when she makes it at the end, original Judy reached up to the sky as if she was thanking a higher deity.
Finally, like many of the others, she dreams of being a big star. However, she knows she's not the physical ideal like Val. The alternative scene helps her deal with that, see where you can find wistfulness: maybe she comes to some sort of realization in this scene
