LIZA MINNELLI Rod Laver Arena Reviewer Kylie Northover
IT'S been 20 years since stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli performed in Australia and in that time she has survived life-threatening illness, two hip replacements, a couple of her four marriages and substance addiction.
So when the 63-year-old strolled on stage in a spangly black blouse at Rod Laver Arena last night to perform an incarnation of her Tony Award-winning Broadway show Liza's at the Palace, the rapturous applause of some 10,000 fans was no surprise.
Opening with Teach Me Tonight, La Minnelli's voice was as strong as ever from the outset. Sure, she may have wavered over a few notes, and her cabaret-style show, complete with anecdotes and banter, is more suited to a club than a stadium, but still the crowd lapped it up. This was Liza Minnelli, after all.
Her musical arrangements were as accomplished as the singing - Minnelli was backed by a 12-piece band led by drummer Michael Berkowitz and featuring jazz pianist Billy Stritch, who she has worked with for 18 years and with whom she performs a duet, I Can't Give You Anything But Love.
The show included a medley of songs, some of which had been performed by Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, at the Palace.
She doesn't move like she used to - pulling up a chair, she quipped that once she would only sit down in the second set - but Liza's still got it.
All showbiz timing, self-deprecating gags and jazz hands, the show was a mix of ballads, such as Charles Aznavour's What Makes a Man a Man and He's Funny that Way, and high-camp belting numbers including Cabaret - complete with a cheeky knowing pause as she delivered the line about ''pills and liquor'' - Liza With a Z, and, of course, New York New York.
The crowd - a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds - gave Minnelli more than one standing ovation and she made us feel as if she was completely taken aback. It was cheesy as hell, and everyone loved every minute of it.
IT'S been 20 years since stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli performed in Australia and in that time she has survived life-threatening illness, two hip replacements, a couple of her four marriages and substance addiction.
So when the 63-year-old strolled on stage in a spangly black blouse at Rod Laver Arena last night to perform an incarnation of her Tony Award-winning Broadway show Liza's at the Palace, the rapturous applause of some 10,000 fans was no surprise.
Opening with Teach Me Tonight, La Minnelli's voice was as strong as ever from the outset. Sure, she may have wavered over a few notes, and her cabaret-style show, complete with anecdotes and banter, is more suited to a club than a stadium, but still the crowd lapped it up. This was Liza Minnelli, after all.
Her musical arrangements were as accomplished as the singing - Minnelli was backed by a 12-piece band led by drummer Michael Berkowitz and featuring jazz pianist Billy Stritch, who she has worked with for 18 years and with whom she performs a duet, I Can't Give You Anything But Love.
The show included a medley of songs, some of which had been performed by Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, at the Palace.
She doesn't move like she used to - pulling up a chair, she quipped that once she would only sit down in the second set - but Liza's still got it.
All showbiz timing, self-deprecating gags and jazz hands, the show was a mix of ballads, such as Charles Aznavour's What Makes a Man a Man and He's Funny that Way, and high-camp belting numbers including Cabaret - complete with a cheeky knowing pause as she delivered the line about ''pills and liquor'' - Liza With a Z, and, of course, New York New York.
The crowd - a diverse mix of ages and backgrounds - gave Minnelli more than one standing ovation and she made us feel as if she was completely taken aback. It was cheesy as hell, and everyone loved every minute of it.
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