Monday, November 30, 2009
Liza flashback ~ 1964 interview
Interview of Liza Minnelli at age 18 years old, and at the end Liza's dancing and singing with her mother Judy Garland. "Chicago"
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
PHOTOFLASH: Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey at Paley Center's Liza's at the Palace Screening
Liza Minnelli was joined by former Cabaret co-star Joel Grey on Tuesday, November 25 at NYC's Paley Center for Media for a screening of the full cut of Liza's at the Palace, a recording of Minnelli's most recent show as it was performed at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre in Las Vegas, which will be broadcast on public television in December.
The screening was followed a discussion by Minnelli and Michael Feinstein. Other celebrities at the event included Billy Stritch and Arlene Dahl.
Minnelli opened her show at the Palace Theatre on December 3, 2008. In addition to songs that have long been associated with the performer, such as Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," the show featured a tribute to her godmother, singer, actress and vocal arranger Kay Thompson. A DVD version of the full two-hour production will be available on February 2, and a 60 minute version will be distributed by American Public Television to public television stations starting November 27.
Minnelli received a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event for Liza's at the Palace, as well as a Drama Desk Award for career achievement. She won additional Tony Awards for Flora the Red Menace and The Act, as well as a special Tony Award in 1974. She was also Tony-nominated for The Rink and has starred on Broadway in Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
The screening was followed a discussion by Minnelli and Michael Feinstein. Other celebrities at the event included Billy Stritch and Arlene Dahl.
Minnelli opened her show at the Palace Theatre on December 3, 2008. In addition to songs that have long been associated with the performer, such as Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," the show featured a tribute to her godmother, singer, actress and vocal arranger Kay Thompson. A DVD version of the full two-hour production will be available on February 2, and a 60 minute version will be distributed by American Public Television to public television stations starting November 27.
Minnelli received a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event for Liza's at the Palace, as well as a Drama Desk Award for career achievement. She won additional Tony Awards for Flora the Red Menace and The Act, as well as a special Tony Award in 1974. She was also Tony-nominated for The Rink and has starred on Broadway in Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
Always another stage on Liza Minnelli's horizon
Performer Liza Minnelli arrives for a screening of "Liza's at the Palace" in New York November 24, 2009. 
By Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Does a pure entertainer like Liza Minnelli, now 63 years old with 60 years of performing behind her, ever really retire?
"I'm a Minnelli, so there's always something to do," she said in an interview, adding that her career's greatest moment is yet to come. "I'll think of something. I always do."
Minnelli first took to the stage at age three. Her latest hit was the Broadway show "Liza's at the Palace...!", which won a Tony Award for best special theatrical event this year, and was filmed for television.
"To receive Tony Awards throughout your life and then at this stage to get one? Come on!" she said with her signature belly burst of laughter, hours before a recent screening of her show. "I really was surprised."
The daughter of generations of performers, Minnelli's singing and acting career has spanned film, television, theater and nightclubs. The award for "Liza's at the Palace...!" was more personal, she said, because it was a tribute in part to her god mother, the late actress Kay Thompson.
"It's hard when you have a whole lifetime of memories, to think of what stories to tell, and how to describe them," Minnelli said of Thompson, whose nightclub show inspired the second act of "Liza's at the Palace...!"
"I saw it when I was two. I remember the stage came up to here," she said of Thompson's nightclub act, peering out over her hand. "I remember the whole thing, I remember seeing these legs flying around, and her energy."
Having won Tonys in 1965 and 1984, and a special award in 1974, Minnelli is no stranger to Broadway. But ending up nearly a year ago at the Palace Theater, Broadway's vaudeville pillar, was a surprise, she said.
"Nobody thought we'd end up at the Palace, including me. But I was so passionate about this show, and my god mother, doing this," she said.
The entertainer who always has something to do can't talk about her next act -- a cameo on next year's Sex and the City film sequel -- offering only that the stars are "wonderful ladies, they really are talented, and generous."
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; editing by Patricia Reaney))
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Does a pure entertainer like Liza Minnelli, now 63 years old with 60 years of performing behind her, ever really retire?
"I'm a Minnelli, so there's always something to do," she said in an interview, adding that her career's greatest moment is yet to come. "I'll think of something. I always do."
Minnelli first took to the stage at age three. Her latest hit was the Broadway show "Liza's at the Palace...!", which won a Tony Award for best special theatrical event this year, and was filmed for television.
"To receive Tony Awards throughout your life and then at this stage to get one? Come on!" she said with her signature belly burst of laughter, hours before a recent screening of her show. "I really was surprised."
The daughter of generations of performers, Minnelli's singing and acting career has spanned film, television, theater and nightclubs. The award for "Liza's at the Palace...!" was more personal, she said, because it was a tribute in part to her god mother, the late actress Kay Thompson.
"It's hard when you have a whole lifetime of memories, to think of what stories to tell, and how to describe them," Minnelli said of Thompson, whose nightclub show inspired the second act of "Liza's at the Palace...!"
"I saw it when I was two. I remember the stage came up to here," she said of Thompson's nightclub act, peering out over her hand. "I remember the whole thing, I remember seeing these legs flying around, and her energy."
Having won Tonys in 1965 and 1984, and a special award in 1974, Minnelli is no stranger to Broadway. But ending up nearly a year ago at the Palace Theater, Broadway's vaudeville pillar, was a surprise, she said.
"Nobody thought we'd end up at the Palace, including me. But I was so passionate about this show, and my god mother, doing this," she said.
The entertainer who always has something to do can't talk about her next act -- a cameo on next year's Sex and the City film sequel -- offering only that the stars are "wonderful ladies, they really are talented, and generous."
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; editing by Patricia Reaney))
Photo Coverage: LIZA'S AT THE PALACE.... Screening at The Paley Center
Kenneth Cole and Liza Minnelli
Johnny Rogers, Jim Caruso, Liza Minnelli, Tiger Martina and Billy Stritch
Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli
Pat Mitchell (President and CEO of the Paley Center for Media), Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein
,+Liza+Minnelli+and+Michael+Feinstein.bmp)
Liza Minnelli, and Billy Stritch
Liza Minnelli and Arlene Dahl
Michael Feinstein, Liza Minnelli and Neil Meron
Wednesday, November 25, 2009; Posted: 11:11 AM - by Linda Lenzi
Liza Minnelli's Tony Award-winning performance "LIZA'S AT THE PALACE...." has been recorded American Public Television (APT) will distribute the long awaited Special in December, 2009. Minnelli's unanimously acclaimed Broadway performances were sold out for five weeks in December last year and fans around the world have been eagerly anticipating news of the broadcast.
On Tuesday, November 24th The Paley Center for Media was thrilled to welcome the legendary Liza Minnelli to their stage for the New York premiere screening of her new special before it airs on public television. Liza also participated in a conversation moderated by entertainer Michael Feinstein after the screening.
The television event was directed by Matthew Diamond and Executive Produced by JoAnn Young, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. In addition to the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, Minnelli received a 2009 Drama Desk Award for her performances at the Palace.
Now in her fifth decade as an internationally celebrated entertainer, she has won every major show business honor including an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and four Tony Awards, making her part of a select group of performers who have won the entertainment industry's top four achievement awards.
LIZA'S AT THE PALACE.... was filmed in the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1, 2009 and will be released on DVD in early 2010 by MPI Home Video. All of the material performed during the New York engagement will be included. The program captures many of her greatest hits and includes an affectionate tribute to her godmother, the late Kay Thompson, who was a groundbreaking singer-dancer, songwriter, vocal arranger and musical director/vocal coach at MGM Studios.
She was joined on the program by her Broadway co-star and musical director, the legendary pianist, singer and composer Billy Stritch. Her quartet of dynamic singer/dancers, Cortes Alexander, Jim Caruso, Johnny Rodgers and Tiger Martina will recreate their roles as the Williams Brothers, which included the brilliant young Andy Williams and his talented siblings. The show will again be directed by Ron Lewis, the award-winning choreographer and director. Musical Conductor/Drummer is Michael Berkowitz, a well-known conductor of pop orchestras all over the world.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Johnny Rodgers Band ~ Feinstein's at the Regency, Mon., November 30, 8:30pm
Johnny Rodgers Band
Date/Time:Mon., November 30, 8:30pm
Price: $50.08-$71.86
Date/Time:Mon., November 30, 8:30pm
Price: $50.08-$71.86
Johnny Rodgers Band
BY DAVID FINKLE
A jack-of-all-musical-trades, this engaging lad sings, plays, writes songs that stick to the ribs, and dances. He even served through much of last year as one of Liza Minnelli's back-up men on her world tour. Now Rodgers, who's also an in-demand accompanist, leads his own band, and ought to rock the swanky venue with his limitless talent. It's a good bet that he'll live up to the show's title, "POP...with PizAZZ," whatever it means.
BY DAVID FINKLE
A jack-of-all-musical-trades, this engaging lad sings, plays, writes songs that stick to the ribs, and dances. He even served through much of last year as one of Liza Minnelli's back-up men on her world tour. Now Rodgers, who's also an in-demand accompanist, leads his own band, and ought to rock the swanky venue with his limitless talent. It's a good bet that he'll live up to the show's title, "POP...with PizAZZ," whatever it means.
Venue
Feinstein's at the Regency
540 Park Ave.
New York, NY
212-339-4095
http://www.loewshotels.com/
Large Map
Feinstein's at the Regency
540 Park Ave.
New York, NY
212-339-4095
http://www.loewshotels.com/
Large Map
Monday, November 23, 2009
‘Liza with a Z’ wows the crowd at UB’s Center for the Arts
‘Liza with a Z’ wows the crowd at UB’s Center for the Arts
By Colin Dabkowski
NEWS ARTS WRITER
Updated: November 23, 2009, 7:41 AM
NEWS ARTS WRITER
Updated: November 23, 2009, 7:41 AM
Western New Yorkers with a penchant for musical storytellers had their pick on Sunday night, with visits from two eminent American raconteurs.
Over at HSBC Arena, Buffalo hosted perhaps the final concert from Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.
But out in University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts in Amherst, we had no less than Liza Minnelli, who has been regaling audiences with a litany of heart-wrenching stories — her own and others — for going on 60 years.
The concert, which raised $30,000 for Buffalo’s Ronald McDonald House, was a master class in storytelling through song.
Minnelli — her smoke-cured voice still bursting with verve, her body still vibrating with energy — took audiences on a spirited tour through a scintillating career. From musical theater obscurities to trademark numbers from “Cabaret,” “Liza With a Z” and “Maybe This Time,” Minnelli, backed by a 12-piece orchestra, held nothing back.
In an evening strung with anecdotes and well-worn but endearing staged bits, Minnelli packed the first half of the show with songs of solitude, revenge and longing. The requisite yell of “I love you, Liza!” uttered without exception from some overwhelmed member of the audience at every Minnelli show, came early in the show from a man in the middle of the orchestra.
Minnelli responded with ebullient thanks and then, tellingly, launched into Charles Aznavour’s heartbreaking “What Makes a Man a Man,” which she clearly intended as a tribute to her legions of gay fans. She followed that up with a breathless medley from her recent show “Liza’s at the Palace” and finished the first half off with a rousing rendition of the title song from “Cabaret.”
That flutter of vulnerability that endeared so many to Minnelli’s voice in her early performances is still there, as is the performer’s inimitable spirit and commanding stage presence. Arranger and pianist Billy Stritch has expertly surrounded some of Minnelli’s higher-register vocals with blazing brass in a way that renders them powerful without overpowering them. This is what they did in the days before auto-tuning, and it’s much more graceful and effective.
Things picked up considerably in the second act, with “Liza with a Z” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and a razzle-dazzle version of “New York, New York,” for which Minnelli pulled out every stop she had left.
And she has a heck of a lot left.
Concert Review
Liza Minnelli
Sunday night in the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
cdabkowski@buffnews.com
Over at HSBC Arena, Buffalo hosted perhaps the final concert from Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.
But out in University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts in Amherst, we had no less than Liza Minnelli, who has been regaling audiences with a litany of heart-wrenching stories — her own and others — for going on 60 years.
The concert, which raised $30,000 for Buffalo’s Ronald McDonald House, was a master class in storytelling through song.
Minnelli — her smoke-cured voice still bursting with verve, her body still vibrating with energy — took audiences on a spirited tour through a scintillating career. From musical theater obscurities to trademark numbers from “Cabaret,” “Liza With a Z” and “Maybe This Time,” Minnelli, backed by a 12-piece orchestra, held nothing back.
In an evening strung with anecdotes and well-worn but endearing staged bits, Minnelli packed the first half of the show with songs of solitude, revenge and longing. The requisite yell of “I love you, Liza!” uttered without exception from some overwhelmed member of the audience at every Minnelli show, came early in the show from a man in the middle of the orchestra.
Minnelli responded with ebullient thanks and then, tellingly, launched into Charles Aznavour’s heartbreaking “What Makes a Man a Man,” which she clearly intended as a tribute to her legions of gay fans. She followed that up with a breathless medley from her recent show “Liza’s at the Palace” and finished the first half off with a rousing rendition of the title song from “Cabaret.”
That flutter of vulnerability that endeared so many to Minnelli’s voice in her early performances is still there, as is the performer’s inimitable spirit and commanding stage presence. Arranger and pianist Billy Stritch has expertly surrounded some of Minnelli’s higher-register vocals with blazing brass in a way that renders them powerful without overpowering them. This is what they did in the days before auto-tuning, and it’s much more graceful and effective.
Things picked up considerably in the second act, with “Liza with a Z” and “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” and a razzle-dazzle version of “New York, New York,” for which Minnelli pulled out every stop she had left.
And she has a heck of a lot left.
Concert Review
Liza Minnelli
Sunday night in the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
cdabkowski@buffnews.com
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Liza, Judy, & Michael Feinstein by our own Gary Smiler...
Michael Feinstein
Liza with Jerry Herman & Michael Feinstein
Liza with Jerry Herman & Michael Feinstein
Judy
Cant wait to see this show On PBS and on DVD. Did you know that the first time I met Liza was when Michael Feinstein appeared on Braodway for the first time back in the early 80's and that Liza was his mentor?? Well I have always said that if I could have been any famous pianist and singer it would have been Michael. He optimizes all I love dear since I am also a pianist and singer but alas not famous. Ive toldthis story before but when I went to see Michael in his first Broadway concert I decided to go out into the theatre lobby during the intermission. Who should be across the other side of the lobby but none other than our darling Liza who I had already fallen in love with for many years. Well NEVER been accusedof being SHY I confidently walked over to Ms. Minnelli and said excuse me but I have enjoyed your work for years yadda yadda yadda, she was so sweet and charming to me I could hardly stand it. When I told her I was a pianist and singer and music teacher in the school system and how much I was enjoying Mr. Feinstein's performance she made a big deal out of the work I DID and made me feel so special I will never forget it!! Ya know its ironic because Lizas mom Judy Garland in the film A Star Is Born was the primary reason that I chose my musical career. So both women have had a pronounced affect on me. Hope I havent bored anyone who has heard all this before, all my love, Gary S fromTBA
Theater News ~ Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein Set for Post-Screening Discussion of Liza's at the Palace at Paley Center
Liza Minnelli will join Michael Feinstein in a conversation following the New York premiere screening of her upcoming television special based on the Tony Award-winning Liza's at the Palace... The event will be held at the Paley Center for Media on November 24 at 6:30pm. The special will be aired on public television stations beginning November 27, and also released on DVD.
Minnelli opened her show at the Palace Theatre on December 3, 2008. In addition to songs that have long been associated with the performer, such as Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," the show featured a tribute to her godmother, singer, actress and vocal arranger Kay Thompson. Minnelli and Feinstein will discuss Minnelli's career, the production, the special, and Thompson.For further information, visit http://www.paleycenter.org/.
Minnelli opened her show at the Palace Theatre on December 3, 2008. In addition to songs that have long been associated with the performer, such as Kander and Ebb's "New York, New York," the show featured a tribute to her godmother, singer, actress and vocal arranger Kay Thompson. Minnelli and Feinstein will discuss Minnelli's career, the production, the special, and Thompson.For further information, visit http://www.paleycenter.org/.
By: Andy Propst · Nov 18, 2009 · New York
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Liza Minnelli at 63 brings the magic back
by Colin Dabkowski
News Arts Writer
Updated: November 14, 2009, 12:04 PM /
It is no secret that Liza Minnelli began her life in the spotlight. On March 12, 1946, the star was born to Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, then a happily married Hollywood couple at the height of their celebrity. Liza's screen debut came at the age of 3, when she starred alongside her mother in the movie musical "In the Good Old Summertime." By the time she was 17, Minnelli was beguiling audiences in New York and London, prompting jealousy from her mother and adulation from a small but growing legion of fans.
PreviewLiza Minnelli performs a holiday concert in the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts (UB North Campus, Amherst) at 8 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $85 to $125, with proceeds to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo. For more information, call 645-2787 or visit www.ubcfa.org.
But the Liza Minnelli we know today — the energetic 63-year-old performer who divides her time between the tabloids and the stage — wasn't really born until 1965. That's when she starred in the Broadway musical "Flora the Red Menace," by Broadway songwriting team John Kander and Fred Ebb. "I feel like they invented me," Minnelli said of Kander and Ebb in a phone interview with The News, given between rehearsals in New York for her new show. Minnelli will perform a concert in the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts next Sunday, with part of the proceeds to benefit Ronald McDonald House.
By 1972, when Minnelli appeared in the famed televised concert "Liza With a Z" and the film version of "Cabaret," both conceived and largely written by Kander and Ebb, her name became synonymous with stardom.
If Minnelli's life belongs to the concert hall stage — and few would argue that it doesn't — her famous parents seem to matter less at this point than those two mild-mannered songwriters who penned "Liza With a Z" and the prophetic lyrics in the title song to "Cabaret." With the song, which extols a life that rotates on the axis of entertainment and shrugs off the perceived evils of pills, liquor and promiscuity, the duo essentially wrote into existance the modern Liza, with all her flair, flaws and mystique.
Asked what she owes to the songwriting team, Minnelli said, simply, "Everything. Literally everything."
She continued: "Fred was so brilliant, and John's music is inspiring. Everything they've ever written I'm crazy about."
Next Sunday's concert, the first act of which mirrors her recent Broadway show, "Liza's at the Palace," is sure to contain its share of Kander and Ebb tunes. The second half, Minnelli said, will be comprised of a brand-new assortment of songs. "I kind of talked to all my friends and said, 'What do you like to hear?,'" she said.
The concert will mark Minnelli's second visit to the region in the last three years. A 2007 concert at the Niagara Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ont., preceded her successful Broadway run, which ended in January. Her career has been on a steady rebound since 2003, after she emerged from a bout with life-threatening viral encephalitis, a lifelong struggle with addiction and the unfortunate tabloid spectacle that was her brief marriage to producer David Gest.
Minnelli's story of alternating sordidness and glamour has led many to view her as one of the last, grand, old-fashioned celebrities. Her most devoted fans view her as someone whose lineage is so strong, her struggles so public, her name so threaded through the annals of American culture that she has become a force far greater than the sum of its parts.
Locally, Minnelli certainly has plenty of acolytes.
Marc Sacco, a familiar face and voice on Buffalo's theater scene, recently performed a cabaret act titled "Marc With a C" at Buffalo United Artists, a show that took its inspiration and title song from Minnelli's seminal concert. Sacco rewrote the rapid-fire lyrics of Kander and Ebb's tune to fit his own name and disposition: "I'm Marc with a C / Not Marc with a K..." The reaction from the crowd — many a Minnelli follower among them — was overwhelming.
At 31, Sacco is too young to have lived through Minnelli's legendary performances. He allowed that he is not as devoted to the singer as many from prior generations, but called her performances in "Cabaret" and "Liza with a Z" inspiring.
"I really liked the format of it," Sacco said of the 1972 concert, which was released on DVD in 2006. "I liked that it was sort of this large-scale experience. Just to watch her energy was incredible."
Minnelli said she has no immediate plans to return to the Broadway stage in a musical. Her last appearance in a straight-ahead Broadway show was in 1997, when she played the title role in "Victor/Victoria." It's clear that Minnelli is far more comfortable in the concert setting, and not just because she gets that comfortable spot-lit glow all to herself.
"The wonderful thing about [being] in concert is you get to play so many different characters. That's what I look forward to," Minnelli said. "It's literally becoming the person who is singing, so you have to do back story, or I do. I treat it like a scene, and I try and make every song different."
Asked about favorite characters, Minnelli immediately brought up the song "If," by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, in which a woman at the end of her rope murders her no-good rascal of a lover.
"At this time in my life, I find I am particularly drawn to songs about falling out of love," Minnelli told a concert audience earlier this year before launching into the piece. "The choice made by the woman in this next song, I find to be careful, reasonable, emotionally honest and profoundly admirable."
Away from the concert stage, Minnelli has had a habit of popping up in unexpected places that have introduced her to new generations of fans — stints on "The Muppet Show" in the '70s and '80s, a guest appearance on the cult cable comedy "Arrested Development," and an upcoming appearance in "Sex and the City II," in which she dances to Beyonce's hit "All the Single Ladies."
"They were wonderful," Minnelli said of the "Sex and the City" cast. "We became quite close."
Minnelli, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a favorite subject of YouTube-dwellers, one of whom has memorialized her legendary laugh with a video compilation cut together from her 2006 interview with CNN's Larry King.
Does Minnelli have even the slightest idea of the infectious appeal of her laugh?
"No, I don't. Except I find a lot of things funny," the singer said, seeming genuinely surprised at the question and then issuing that unmistakable chuckle.
Minnelli, like many celebrities, speaks of her fans as family. But you get the sense that, whereas the likes of Usher or Taylor Swift make the comment hyperbolically, she genuinely means it.
In her 2007 concert in Niagara Falls, Ont., Minnelli told the audience, "The only people I'm ever married to are you." The crowd, already caught up in the throes of ecstasy, practically swooned itself unconscious. Such is Minnelli's appeal, her innate ability to move masses of people — who knows how? — to unbridled paroxysms of fandom.
Asked about the audience's reaction to that statement, Minnelli laughed her trademark laugh, a throaty projection that seemed to require the energy of her entire body, and said, "You know, we're really a family. I mean, when they come into that theater, we have two hours to really get to know each other, and that's so important to me."
News Arts Writer
Updated: November 14, 2009, 12:04 PM /
It is no secret that Liza Minnelli began her life in the spotlight. On March 12, 1946, the star was born to Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, then a happily married Hollywood couple at the height of their celebrity. Liza's screen debut came at the age of 3, when she starred alongside her mother in the movie musical "In the Good Old Summertime." By the time she was 17, Minnelli was beguiling audiences in New York and London, prompting jealousy from her mother and adulation from a small but growing legion of fans.
PreviewLiza Minnelli performs a holiday concert in the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts (UB North Campus, Amherst) at 8 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $85 to $125, with proceeds to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo. For more information, call 645-2787 or visit www.ubcfa.org.
But the Liza Minnelli we know today — the energetic 63-year-old performer who divides her time between the tabloids and the stage — wasn't really born until 1965. That's when she starred in the Broadway musical "Flora the Red Menace," by Broadway songwriting team John Kander and Fred Ebb. "I feel like they invented me," Minnelli said of Kander and Ebb in a phone interview with The News, given between rehearsals in New York for her new show. Minnelli will perform a concert in the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts next Sunday, with part of the proceeds to benefit Ronald McDonald House.
By 1972, when Minnelli appeared in the famed televised concert "Liza With a Z" and the film version of "Cabaret," both conceived and largely written by Kander and Ebb, her name became synonymous with stardom.
If Minnelli's life belongs to the concert hall stage — and few would argue that it doesn't — her famous parents seem to matter less at this point than those two mild-mannered songwriters who penned "Liza With a Z" and the prophetic lyrics in the title song to "Cabaret." With the song, which extols a life that rotates on the axis of entertainment and shrugs off the perceived evils of pills, liquor and promiscuity, the duo essentially wrote into existance the modern Liza, with all her flair, flaws and mystique.
Asked what she owes to the songwriting team, Minnelli said, simply, "Everything. Literally everything."
She continued: "Fred was so brilliant, and John's music is inspiring. Everything they've ever written I'm crazy about."
Next Sunday's concert, the first act of which mirrors her recent Broadway show, "Liza's at the Palace," is sure to contain its share of Kander and Ebb tunes. The second half, Minnelli said, will be comprised of a brand-new assortment of songs. "I kind of talked to all my friends and said, 'What do you like to hear?,'" she said.
The concert will mark Minnelli's second visit to the region in the last three years. A 2007 concert at the Niagara Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, Ont., preceded her successful Broadway run, which ended in January. Her career has been on a steady rebound since 2003, after she emerged from a bout with life-threatening viral encephalitis, a lifelong struggle with addiction and the unfortunate tabloid spectacle that was her brief marriage to producer David Gest.
Minnelli's story of alternating sordidness and glamour has led many to view her as one of the last, grand, old-fashioned celebrities. Her most devoted fans view her as someone whose lineage is so strong, her struggles so public, her name so threaded through the annals of American culture that she has become a force far greater than the sum of its parts.
Locally, Minnelli certainly has plenty of acolytes.
Marc Sacco, a familiar face and voice on Buffalo's theater scene, recently performed a cabaret act titled "Marc With a C" at Buffalo United Artists, a show that took its inspiration and title song from Minnelli's seminal concert. Sacco rewrote the rapid-fire lyrics of Kander and Ebb's tune to fit his own name and disposition: "I'm Marc with a C / Not Marc with a K..." The reaction from the crowd — many a Minnelli follower among them — was overwhelming.
At 31, Sacco is too young to have lived through Minnelli's legendary performances. He allowed that he is not as devoted to the singer as many from prior generations, but called her performances in "Cabaret" and "Liza with a Z" inspiring.
"I really liked the format of it," Sacco said of the 1972 concert, which was released on DVD in 2006. "I liked that it was sort of this large-scale experience. Just to watch her energy was incredible."
Minnelli said she has no immediate plans to return to the Broadway stage in a musical. Her last appearance in a straight-ahead Broadway show was in 1997, when she played the title role in "Victor/Victoria." It's clear that Minnelli is far more comfortable in the concert setting, and not just because she gets that comfortable spot-lit glow all to herself.
"The wonderful thing about [being] in concert is you get to play so many different characters. That's what I look forward to," Minnelli said. "It's literally becoming the person who is singing, so you have to do back story, or I do. I treat it like a scene, and I try and make every song different."
Asked about favorite characters, Minnelli immediately brought up the song "If," by Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, in which a woman at the end of her rope murders her no-good rascal of a lover.
"At this time in my life, I find I am particularly drawn to songs about falling out of love," Minnelli told a concert audience earlier this year before launching into the piece. "The choice made by the woman in this next song, I find to be careful, reasonable, emotionally honest and profoundly admirable."
Away from the concert stage, Minnelli has had a habit of popping up in unexpected places that have introduced her to new generations of fans — stints on "The Muppet Show" in the '70s and '80s, a guest appearance on the cult cable comedy "Arrested Development," and an upcoming appearance in "Sex and the City II," in which she dances to Beyonce's hit "All the Single Ladies."
"They were wonderful," Minnelli said of the "Sex and the City" cast. "We became quite close."
Minnelli, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a favorite subject of YouTube-dwellers, one of whom has memorialized her legendary laugh with a video compilation cut together from her 2006 interview with CNN's Larry King.
Does Minnelli have even the slightest idea of the infectious appeal of her laugh?
"No, I don't. Except I find a lot of things funny," the singer said, seeming genuinely surprised at the question and then issuing that unmistakable chuckle.
Minnelli, like many celebrities, speaks of her fans as family. But you get the sense that, whereas the likes of Usher or Taylor Swift make the comment hyperbolically, she genuinely means it.
In her 2007 concert in Niagara Falls, Ont., Minnelli told the audience, "The only people I'm ever married to are you." The crowd, already caught up in the throes of ecstasy, practically swooned itself unconscious. Such is Minnelli's appeal, her innate ability to move masses of people — who knows how? — to unbridled paroxysms of fandom.
Asked about the audience's reaction to that statement, Minnelli laughed her trademark laugh, a throaty projection that seemed to require the energy of her entire body, and said, "You know, we're really a family. I mean, when they come into that theater, we have two hours to really get to know each other, and that's so important to me."
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Liza Minnelli in the Myer marquee during the AAMI Victoria Derby Day (2009)
Ms. Minnelli looking divinely decedent!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Emma gets mail from Liza!
Hey everybody,
I have a great story that happened about a week ago...I got mail from Liza! You see 7 months ago I went to see Liza in Virginia and I had sent a note backstage along with a present and a pic of me with all my Liza stuff ( I have a pretty good sized collection for a 14 year old!) so anyway my goal was to meet her..still is my goal...gonna keep on trying! So I was out the past two weeks with the flu and bronchitis...so my dad brought the mail in and then showed me something...it was an envelope from NYC!!! So I opened it and inside was the picture of me I had sent her in VA and it had hearts drawn on it and was autographed and said "To Emma, Love and Thanks! Liza Minnelli" and then there was another envelope from her stationary with my name on it and inside was a notecard that said "To Emma, Thank you for your love and support! Liza" Isn't that so awesome and amazing?!?!? Everytime I look at it, it's like opening the mail all over again!
Emma
I have a great story that happened about a week ago...I got mail from Liza! You see 7 months ago I went to see Liza in Virginia and I had sent a note backstage along with a present and a pic of me with all my Liza stuff ( I have a pretty good sized collection for a 14 year old!) so anyway my goal was to meet her..still is my goal...gonna keep on trying! So I was out the past two weeks with the flu and bronchitis...so my dad brought the mail in and then showed me something...it was an envelope from NYC!!! So I opened it and inside was the picture of me I had sent her in VA and it had hearts drawn on it and was autographed and said "To Emma, Love and Thanks! Liza Minnelli" and then there was another envelope from her stationary with my name on it and inside was a notecard that said "To Emma, Thank you for your love and support! Liza" Isn't that so awesome and amazing?!?!? Everytime I look at it, it's like opening the mail all over again!
Emma
Hey
Yes I will attach the pictures of what I got in the mail! And I am soo looking forward to March! 122 days!!! It's going to be a trip for me and my friend and my dad. My seats are left side second row and seats 15 16 and 17 so I will be looking for ya with my "L" :) LOL That would be SOOO cool to stick together and try to get backstage that sounds like so much fun! It would be a dream come true! So it sounds like an awesome plan! What do ya think? LOL
Yes I will attach the pictures of what I got in the mail! And I am soo looking forward to March! 122 days!!! It's going to be a trip for me and my friend and my dad. My seats are left side second row and seats 15 16 and 17 so I will be looking for ya with my "L" :) LOL That would be SOOO cool to stick together and try to get backstage that sounds like so much fun! It would be a dream come true! So it sounds like an awesome plan! What do ya think? LOL
"Hollywood Bowl Poster Art": posters created for the Bowl's 2009 summer season...
Who can forget Liza Minnelli's encore at the Hollywood Bowl this year when she came out and sang "Every Time We Say Good Bye" a cappella (or, as my mom called it, "al dente")? How much do we revere our Hollywood Bowl? This year's season was so fantastic that the L.A. Phil is commemorating highlights with the first-ever Hollywood Bowl Poster Art Show . Commissioned posters by Stanley Mouse, Camille Rose Garcia, Shag, Gary Taxali, Niagara and Chris Reccardi for shows by Aretha Franklin, Death Cab for Cutie, Adele and Ray LaMontagne will be on display through January at the ArcLight, and the opening reception is, intriguingly, sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon and features a performance by Moonrats.
"Hollywood Bowl Poster Art": posters created for the Bowl's 2009 summer season by Camille Rose Garcia, Shag, Gary Taxali and others, in addition to vintage posters and programs
Date/Time:Every week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from Tue., November 17 until Tue., January 5
Price: free, resv. required: hbposter@gmail.com
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Liza Minnelli to perform holiday concert at UB
Liza Minnelli to perform holiday concert at UB
Jessica Bennett, Staff Writer
Legendary entertainment icon Liza Minnelli is coming back to Buffalo.
Minnelli is set to perform a holiday concert on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theater in the Center for Arts.
Liza Minnelli is the daughter of actress/singer Judy Garland and film director Vincent Minnelli. She started her career at an early age when she co-starred in the movie “In the Good Old Summertime” with her mother in 1949. An icon to screen and stage, she has won virtually every major award from an Emmy to an Oscar. Currently on tour, she is no stranger to the city of Buffalo, but this will be her first performance at UB.
“I’ve never seen her in person,” Alana Jagodzinski, assistant concert manager in Slee Hall, said. “It’s pretty good that she is still performing.”
The Derico Corporation and its employees are sponsoring the concert. The corporation owns 12 McDonalds restaurants and the proceeds for the concert will benefit the families of the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo, which provides affordable and comfortable lodging to families of seriously ill or injured children.
Tickets for the fundraising concert range in price from $86.50 to $126.50.
“It’s a higher ticket price for an event like this, but we found people are willing to pay because of what the whole event is and what it means,” said David Wedekindt, director of marketing for the Center for Arts.
“[Fans] know they’re supporting a worthy cause by purchasing tickets and you’re getting to see a legendry performer in our Mainstage Theater,” Wedekindt said. “Last year was the 25th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo, so [we] want to do something really good. [The owner] got the idea that he wanted to start an annual concert to benefit the House, so he started it two years ago with the country singer BJ Thomas.”
This concert is not the first UB has held to help raise money and benefit the families of the Ronald McDonald House. According to Wedekindt, Tony Bennett performed to a sold out crowd last year. Proceeds from that concert also went to the Ronald McDonald House.
The CFA has been working side by side with the Derico Corporation to help give the event a home.
“We’ve been really working with them; we are helping them promote [the concert],” Wedekindt said. “We treat them more as a partnership than just a group renting the theater.”
This is a big night for UB with big entertainment. According to Wedekindt, there aren’t too many people still around today from Minnelli’s generation with this type of legendary star power.
Minelli will dish out more than enough entertainment for the night. Besides being a movie star, she also is a talented singer and has performed on Broadway.
“When she’s on the stage, she owns the stage and she is an entertainer. I think what people love about her is that she gives her all,” Wedekindt said. “She’s a show business survivor.”
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Jessica Bennett, Staff Writer
Legendary entertainment icon Liza Minnelli is coming back to Buffalo.
Minnelli is set to perform a holiday concert on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theater in the Center for Arts.
Liza Minnelli is the daughter of actress/singer Judy Garland and film director Vincent Minnelli. She started her career at an early age when she co-starred in the movie “In the Good Old Summertime” with her mother in 1949. An icon to screen and stage, she has won virtually every major award from an Emmy to an Oscar. Currently on tour, she is no stranger to the city of Buffalo, but this will be her first performance at UB.
“I’ve never seen her in person,” Alana Jagodzinski, assistant concert manager in Slee Hall, said. “It’s pretty good that she is still performing.”
The Derico Corporation and its employees are sponsoring the concert. The corporation owns 12 McDonalds restaurants and the proceeds for the concert will benefit the families of the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo, which provides affordable and comfortable lodging to families of seriously ill or injured children.
Tickets for the fundraising concert range in price from $86.50 to $126.50.
“It’s a higher ticket price for an event like this, but we found people are willing to pay because of what the whole event is and what it means,” said David Wedekindt, director of marketing for the Center for Arts.
“[Fans] know they’re supporting a worthy cause by purchasing tickets and you’re getting to see a legendry performer in our Mainstage Theater,” Wedekindt said. “Last year was the 25th anniversary of the Ronald McDonald House of Buffalo, so [we] want to do something really good. [The owner] got the idea that he wanted to start an annual concert to benefit the House, so he started it two years ago with the country singer BJ Thomas.”
This concert is not the first UB has held to help raise money and benefit the families of the Ronald McDonald House. According to Wedekindt, Tony Bennett performed to a sold out crowd last year. Proceeds from that concert also went to the Ronald McDonald House.
The CFA has been working side by side with the Derico Corporation to help give the event a home.
“We’ve been really working with them; we are helping them promote [the concert],” Wedekindt said. “We treat them more as a partnership than just a group renting the theater.”
This is a big night for UB with big entertainment. According to Wedekindt, there aren’t too many people still around today from Minnelli’s generation with this type of legendary star power.
Minelli will dish out more than enough entertainment for the night. Besides being a movie star, she also is a talented singer and has performed on Broadway.
“When she’s on the stage, she owns the stage and she is an entertainer. I think what people love about her is that she gives her all,” Wedekindt said. “She’s a show business survivor.”
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Kerri-Anne Kennerley manages to impress Liza Minnelli
The Daily Telegraph
November 05, 2009 12:00AM
November 05, 2009 12:00AM
LIZA Minnelli has left the country, but not without first falling in love with a certain Aussie lass with a bold personality, a sparkling wardrobe and a repertoire of Las Vegas show tunes.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Kerri-Anne Kennerley so captured Ms Minnelli's heart during her tour that the star acknowledged Kennerley from the stage during her sold-out final concert on Monday night.
"I want to thank Kerri-Anne Kennerley for the great friendship she's given while I've been here," is the roughly captured transcript of her cheerio.
Then, as though in a Kennerley dream sequence, a spotlight found the TV presenter in the crowd and illuminated an exuberant Kennerley, who stood up, waved her arms hysterically, and then sat down.
More Vegas than Vegas.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Kerri-Anne Kennerley so captured Ms Minnelli's heart during her tour that the star acknowledged Kennerley from the stage during her sold-out final concert on Monday night.
"I want to thank Kerri-Anne Kennerley for the great friendship she's given while I've been here," is the roughly captured transcript of her cheerio.
Then, as though in a Kennerley dream sequence, a spotlight found the TV presenter in the crowd and illuminated an exuberant Kennerley, who stood up, waved her arms hysterically, and then sat down.
More Vegas than Vegas.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Liza Minnelli still a dead-set legend
WOW! What a concert! We are splitting superlatives (but never infinitives) over the Liza Minnelli concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
We had heard various reports on how her vocal chords were scratchy and that she couldn't cut it any longer.
Rubbish! She gave the concert of a lifetime.
Opening with the old standard Teach Me Tonight, Minnelli appeared nervous and perhaps all the critics were right, but after a couple of numbers and hearing our deafening applause she relaxed, became warm and engaging and sang her heart out.
This woman with the most impeccable bloodlines in show business may have lost a little of the spring in her step, but baby does she know how to put on a show.
Liza, with a Z, is still a dead-set legend.
We had heard various reports on how her vocal chords were scratchy and that she couldn't cut it any longer.
Rubbish! She gave the concert of a lifetime.
Opening with the old standard Teach Me Tonight, Minnelli appeared nervous and perhaps all the critics were right, but after a couple of numbers and hearing our deafening applause she relaxed, became warm and engaging and sang her heart out.
This woman with the most impeccable bloodlines in show business may have lost a little of the spring in her step, but baby does she know how to put on a show.
Liza, with a Z, is still a dead-set legend.
by Regina King and Peter Flowers, Nov. 4th, 2009
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