It may be time to let Judy Garland rest in peace. The beloved entertainer has been a never-ending subject of fascination since her untimely death. Since then, she’s been portrayed on stage, film and a seemingly endless series of cabaret acts. The latest example of this biographical necrophilia is End of the Rainbow, a London import starring Tracie Bennett that has just opened for a Broadway run.

Peter Quilter’s musical drama, staged by Terry Johnson, is set in December, 1968, just a few months before Garland died. It takes place at London’s Ritz Hotel, where the entertainer is preparing for a series of nightclub concerts that was intended to be yet another comeback.

She’s accompanied by her fifth and much younger husband Mickey Deans (Tom Pelphrey), who is managing her career while attempting to keep her away from the booze and pills that are hastening her decline. Offering moral support is Anthony (a fine Michael Cumpsty), her deeply devoted, longtime pianist.

The portrait of Garland that the play paints is a by now familiar one. She cracks ribald jokes; curses like a longshoreman; and throws temper tantrums whenever she’s feeling deprived of the substances with which she’s been self-medicating for years.

Oh, and she sings. The rear wall of the lavish hotel room periodically disappears to reveal a five-piece band as Bennett bursts into such signature Garland numbers as “The Man That Got Away,” “Come Rain or Come Shine” and, of course, “Over the Rainbow.”

The Olivier Award-winning won well deserved acclaim across the pond for her performance. She bears a certain resemblance both physically and vocally to Garland—the singer’s late career hairstyle and onstage costuming have been faithfully recreated—and she inhabits Garland’s neurotic, wickedly funny personality in fully convincing fashion. It’s a bravura turn, even if the sheer number of Garland impersonators that have come along in the last few decades inevitably reduces it of some of its freshness.

Unfortunately, the evening’s one-note nature defeats her best efforts. Repetitive and plodding, the play feels like little more than an extended, morbid vignette interrupted by songs we’ve heard many times before. It ultimately reduces rather than sheds light on this complex personality and show business legend.  

Belasco Theatre, 111 W. 44th St. 212-239-6200. www.telecharge.com.