When Liza Minnelli appeared on the cover of Time in 1972, she was the twenty-seven-year-old star of “Cabaret”; the magazine dubbed her “The New Miss Show Biz.” Has there ever been a more accurate headline? Before she was even in kindergarten, Minnelli was in front of the cameras; being on a movie set was like going home. Her parents were Mama Judy, of course, and the brilliant film director Vincente, each of whom imparted to their only child a great understanding of the audience: trust them to love you if you give them your all. Minnelli’s second home has always been Broadway, and she returns to the Palace on Dec. 3 for almost four weeks in her best role: herself. Inspired by the intimate yet flamboyant stage shows that her godmother and idol, Kay Thompson, put on in the forties, Minnelli will showcase her voice, which is as big as Mama’s but less sentimental. Meryl Streep has described Minnelli’s desire to communicate something deep and true to the audience, all the way up to the balcony, as astonishing. The neophyte took what she could from a master. ♦
ILLUSTRATION: HOPE GANGLOFF
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