The Judy Garland of the future tells it like she sees it

The year is 2050, and, contrary to popular belief, Judy Garland did not die in 1969. At the grand old age of 138, she’s re-embraced her real name, Frances Gumm; she’s a feminist scholar, working on her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto; and she’s writing her thesis on a little-known gay Canadian playwright and drag queen, Dash King, whose rather dismal career ended in a plethora of drugs and promiscuous sex. Obsessed with King’s antiquated notion of gay politics, Frances’s own meditations on addiction are triggered by his tragic story. Will she go back to drugs, or will she finish her thesis?

Framed in an intense communication between Frances and her Ph.D. advisor, Come Back explores a dystopian future and muses on everything from the merits and demerits of post-structuralism to the future of queer theory. Sky Gilbert’s Judy Garland is angry, profane, funny, and very, very smart.

Sky Gilbert is a writer, director, and drag queen extraordinaire. He was co-founder and artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (North Americaâ??s largest gay and lesbian theatre) for 18 years. His hit plays include The Dressing Gown, Drag Queens on Trial, Play Murder, The Emotionalists, and the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning The Whoreâ??s Revenge. His first three novels: Guilty (1998), St. Stephenâ??s, (1999) and I Am Kasper Klotz (2001) were critically acclaimed. ECW Press published Skyâ??s first collection of poetry, Digressions of a Naked Party Girl, in 1998, and his theatre memoir, Ejaculations from the Charm Factory, in 2000. His second book of collected poems, Temptations for a Juvenile Delinquent, was published by ECW in 2003. He was recently the recipient of the Margo Bindhardt Award (from the Toronto Arts Foundation), the Silver Ticket Award (from the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts), and the ReLit Award (for his fourth novel, An English Gentleman), and also recently received a PhD from the University of Toronto. By day, Sky holds a University Research Chair in Drama and Creative Writing at the University of Guelph.

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“This one’s recommended highly for Hollywood and stage buffs, queerness and feminist theorists, and anyone who has ever wondered about the singularity (yeah, that’s right; it goes cyber-queer. Awesomely).” — The Sacramento News and Review

“A crackling psychosexual satire.” — Toronto Star

“Featuring a unique narrative voice and rich character development, Come Back is a clever, thoughtful, and thoroughly imaginative read.” — Quill & Quire