Liza's star still shines bright...Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, 8 p.m. Friday

By David Nicholson 247-4794
April 19, 2009

However you define superstardom, Liza Minnelli fits the description.Along with Madonna, Barbra or Paris, mention her first name and everyone knows whom you're talking about. Her string of marriages, hip replacements, near-fatal illness and bouts with drugs and alcohol have kept gossip columnists in business for decades. And her indomitable spirit and almost old-fashioned passion for performing always seem to win out. On Friday, she'll offer an evening of old and new songs as the first big event of the 2009 Virginia Arts Festival.News of the latest comeback for the 63-year-old entertainer came out of New York in December when she played the legendary Palace Theatre on Broadway. In reviewing the show, Stephen Holden of The New York Times was blunt about her abilities: "I would love to report that Ms. Minnelli's voice and physical agility have been magically restored to their former glory, but those days are gone."Instead, Holden went on to write about a performer whose "force of will became a triumph of spirit over flesh" onstage.

"As the years pass, Ms. Minnelli seems increasingly aware that she is one of the last of a hardy vaudeville breed and the foremost custodian of that tradition," Holden went on to say. "A pure entertainer like Ms. Minnelli — and there is none purer — is at once voracious and extravagantly generous."Since her triumphant New York appearances, Minnelli seems set to conquer the world. In March, she performed in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil, then headed to Canada in early April. There are more New York appearances after Norfolk, and June takes her to Germany, Amsterdam and France."I love live performance," says Minnelli by telephone during a recent rehearsal break while preparing for the Norfolk show. "It's fun, and it's what I was meant to do."Even though my parents were in Hollywood, I wanted to be on Broadway," she recalls. "I got my start in an off-Broadway show called 'Best Foot Forward'." Minnelli's parents, of course, were singer-actress Judy Garland, no small superstar herself, and film director Vincent Minnelli. Her role in "Best Foot Forward" at age 17 was followed by concert appearances with her mother at the London Palladium that helped to launch her performing career. She retuned to Broadway in 1965 and became the youngest person ever to win a leading actress Tony Award for her work in "Flora the Red Menace." The musical's songwriting team, John Kander and Fred Ebb, went on to write the hit shows "Cabaret" and "Chicago" that Minnelli was involved in.Minnelli's superstar status can also be seen in the number of different worlds she has conquered. Following her Broadway success at an early age she started making films, including "The Sterile Cuckoo" in 1969 and "Tell Me That You Love Me, Julie Moon." Her breakthrough role came when she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The 1972 film directed by Bob Fosse earned her an Academy Award. That same year she collaborated again with Fosse on "Liza With a Z," a groundbreaking film concert that aired on television and has since been re-released on DVD.In recent years her life has been plagued with personal problems including a scare with viral encephalitis in 2000 and a headline-blazing disastrous marriage to concert promoter David Gest. But she's always found stability and inner strength in her work."I've always had a lot of energy, and there's always a way to make something work," she says. "I go to dance classes in the morning, then I come home and do things before going to rehearsal in the afternoon."Her Norfolk show is a blend of songs she sung at the Palace plus a second half of new material."I'm working with Ron Lewis, my director and choreographer, who has helped me win a couple of awards. There are no dancers, but I never stop moving."A rousing version of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" will be on the program. She'll also have the talents of her longtime musical director, Billy Stritch, and will sing his arrangement of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love.""It's a lot of things that I haven't done in a long time and some that I've never done," she says. "Some of the songs will be familiar and if they're not, they'll be entertaining."If anyone knows how to entertain, it's Liza Minnelli.
News to Use What: Liza Minnelli When: 8 p.m. FridayWhere: Chrysler Hall, NorfolkTickets: $75-$150 through Ticketmaster