Liza Minnelli STEPPING OUT...: March 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Liza Minnelli to Receive 2010 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement

By: Andy Propst · Mar 30, 2010 · Boston Metro

Stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli will receive the 2010 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 14th annual Pell Awards Gala to be held on June 19 at the Sharpe Building at the Foundry Complex. The event raises funds for Trinity Repertory Company's ongoing work.
In addition to the honor for Minnelli, the evening will feature the presentation of the Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts to jazz impresario George Wein and artist Umberto "Bert" Crenca will receive the 2010 Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Minnelli's most recent Broadway show, Liza's at the Palace, won a 2009 Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event, and Minnelli has also won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for Flora the Red Menace and The Act. She also won a special Tony Award in 1974 "for adding lustre to the Broadway season." She was Tony- nominated for The Rink and additional Broadway credits include Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
For further information, visit: http://www.trinityrep.com/.

Monday, March 29, 2010

The SFGN Gayvine - March 29, 2010

Written by The NIte Owl
‘Straight for Equality’ Award to Liza
Citing her outstanding contributions as an artist to advancing equality for all, PFLAG National announced that Academy Award-winning actress and iconic straight ally Liza Minnelli will be honored with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment award for her lifelong support of LGBT people. The award will be presented at PFLAG’s second annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala on May 1 at the New York Marriott Marquis. Unknown if her former gay husbands will attend.
“Liza Minnelli is the quintessential straight ally – she has been an outspoken supporter of equality for LGBT for her whole life, and her tremendous and ongoing philanthropy in the fight against AIDS has made her a very public advocate of the many individuals and their families who have been affected by the disease,” said Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National’s executive director.

“As someone who has been supported and touched by the LGBT community for my entire life, I can’t imagine being anything but an out and proud straight ally who doesn’t fear speaking up to anyone,” said Minnelli.
The first award was presented in 2009 to actress Sigourney Weaver. Learn more about the 2010 Straight for Equality Awards Gala by visiting http://www.straightforequality.org/.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Perez gets LIZA!

Perez Hilton, at left, and Liza Minelli arrive at Perez Hilton's birthday party on Saturday March 27, 2010, in Los Angeles

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Liza ARTWORK by Tom Miro (2010)

Liza artwork by Tom Miro 2010 ~ click photo for full view!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Liza Minnelli on The Dame Edna Experience (1989)

pt2

Thursday, March 25, 2010

At 'Cast Party,' the mike is open and the party is on...

Liza singing at BIRDLAND "Cast Party" on her birthday.

Jim Caruso, the host for seven years, keeps things loose. His ultimate goal is to make "Cast Party" a reality TV show. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Check out http://www.jim-caruso.com/ or http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=adaumbellesquest.wordpress.com&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.castpartynyc.com%2F .

The distinctive New York show attracts the established and the wannabe, and they often share the stage. The show is coming to L.A.

By Josh Getlin

Reporting from New York - By the time Liza Minnelli took the stage at Birdland, just after midnight, the party was in full swing: Michael Feinstein hugged the Broadway legend and a bubbly, upbeat crowd sang happy birthday to her.Parker Posey performed a wild, gyrating dance to "Fever," as TV and movie stars Judith Light ( "Ugly Betty") and Corbin Bleu ("High School Musical") cheered from their tables. Miranda, the Internet singing sensation, closed out the three-hour bash with an atonal rendition of "Orange Colored Sky.""Good night, folks, it's just another night at 'Cast Party,' " said host Jim Caruso with a deadpan smile. "We'll do it all again next Monday."For the last seven years, Caruso -- a genial, wisecracking emcee -- has hosted "Cast Party," one of New York's most distinctive open-mike nights. His weekly show at the historic club presents a sparkling A-list of Broadway, jazz and cabaret talent, plus rising stars and a parade of wannabes whose cringe-worthy acts rival anything on "American Idol."It's a showbiz mecca, a place where the golden era of musical theater lives on. Once there were dozens of bars and after-hour parties in New York where singers schmoozed with friends, had a drink and swapped songs around a piano. The tradition continues at Birdland, where nobody cares if you miss a note or forget a lyric. This is a party, not an audition, and all are welcome:So what good is sitting alone in your room? Caruso's soiree has become a magnet for tourists and others lured by the unpredictability of the lineup and the $20 admission, a true New York bargain."Jim had a great idea, and he created something special here, he made it his own," said Minnelli, who belted out two songs at her party this month with piano player Billy Stritch. "This is another great night at Birdland."Now, Caruso is bringing the party to Los Angeles. On April 1, he and Stritch will host the West Coast debut of "Cast Party" at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Although the lineup is still being put together, sponsors hope to make the Southern California shows a monthly affair."There's obviously a tremendous amount of talent in Los Angeles, and we're trying to duplicate what we've been able to do in New York," said Caruso, 52, whose ultimate goal is to turn "Cast Party" into a reality TV show. "It makes sense to bring it to the West Coast, because we're going to be providing a showcase which is hard to find out there."For artists like Miranda, whose real name is Colleen Ballinger, Caruso's quest is a godsend. A serious, aspiring singer, she created an Internet persona -- an obnoxious, tone-deaf teenager who gives voice lessons -- and became an overnight star on YouTube. When Caruso sought her out, the Azusa Pacific University graduate flew to New York and gave her first live performance as Miranda at Birdland."Los Angeles has a musical theater community, and I know they crave something like 'Cast Party,' " said the 22-year-old Ballinger, who recently moved to New York. "There are so many artists in L.A. who would love a place to showcase their talent, to sing for each other."Partying with LizaOn a typical "Cast Party" night, Caruso is a blur of motion: He greets guests, signs up strangers who want to sing, dishes with celebrities, sings an opening number and entertains the crowd with often racy banter as the emcee. Each show is different, and a starry-eyed kid who just got off the bus from Oklahoma could be sharing the stage with Chita Rivera."Tonight you're going to see some of the most talented people in the world," Caruso says before each show. "Also other people."It all began in 1995 when he was getting out of TV work and moving back into singing. Caruso and Stritch, a close friend, had met Minnelli earlier during gigs at New York jazz clubs. She became a friend and mentor (both performed in her most recent show, "Liza's at the Palace"), and when Minnelli invited him to spend a weekend at her home in the Hollywood Hills, Caruso jumped at the chance. Not just because of their friendship but because he knew that Liza threw sensational parties.He wasn't disappointed; his weekend stay turned into a month and a half."People came over on Saturday night and sat around the piano singing songs," Caruso recalled. "There would be Kentucky Fried Chicken in big sterling silver bowls. You'd look over and you'd see Madonna talking to Esther Williams, and Quentin Tarantino talking to George Hamilton, and Sean Penn talking to everybody. You had Cy Coleman and Billy Stritch at the piano. My jaw was hanging out."Minnelli was continuing a showbiz tradition that reached its zenith during the 1940s and '50s: " Rosemary Clooney, Ira Gershwin, Burton Lane and many others used to talk about parties where Judy Garland would sing, Harold Arlen would play, Bogie would recite something, Eddie Cantor would do a routine, and Phil Silvers would improvise a comedy sketch," said Feinstein. " Frank Sinatra would break everybody's hearts with a torch song. Those gatherings were important in the togetherness and inspiration they gave to everyone who was present."The memory of these nights planted a seed, and Caruso gives Minnelli full credit for the idea that took root at Birdland. But the execution was his: He had a Rolodex with thousands of names, so why not put on an old-fashioned cast party?Caruso launched his shindig at a series of clubs, steadily attracting a growing clientele. His big break came in 2003 when Hilary Kole, a rising young jazz singer, urged him to call the owner of Birdland -- whom she was dating -- to see if the event could be staged there on Monday night. Gianni Valenti agreed, and the party got a permanent home."You never know who's going to drop in, and the idea is to take chances, because the audience is not full of critics," said Kole, who sang "I've Got the World on a String" for Tony Bennett when he came by a few months ago. On another night, Martin Short showed up with Paul Shaffer and sang a new song: "Summer Makes Me Want to Cheat on My Wife."Keeping it informalSometimes terrible is wonderful. Recently, Caruso was flummoxed by a young singer who mumbled garbled, monosyllabic answers to questions like "What are you going to be performing tonight?" When the urbane host could stand it no longer, he turned to the audience and said dryly: "I've lost my will to live."The party is kept humming by regulars, including folk singer and satirist Christine Lavin; Jenna Esposito, who sings Connie Francis tunes; cabaret legend Marilyn Maye and Klea Blackhurst, who is appearing in a one-woman show about Ethel Merman.It's all informal. The goal is to lift spirits (Caruso frowns on downbeat ballads -- no Edith Piaf, please) and to keep things moving. But sometimes lightning strikes when you least expect it. Several years ago William Blake, a shy young Texan with a powerful high tenor, began electrifying crowds at Birdland.He was working as floor manager this month when Feinstein -- a longtime "Cast Party" booster and mentor of young talent -- called Caruso and said he'd like Blake to perform with him in an upcoming concert. Within two weeks, Blake's name was on a poster at Carnegie Hall."I was shivering in my boots, I was beside myself when I got the news," the singer said. "My life has been changed."Caruso hopes the same magic takes place next month when "Cast Party" hits Los Angeles. The early signs are good, said Matt Patton, events manager at the Magic Castle, who recently launched a series of cabaret nights at the 101-year-old mansion."The cabaret and theater worlds in Los Angeles are somewhat disconnected, and the news about 'Cast Party' is already bringing people together who normally would not be together," he said. "There are people who have never been to my cabaret or me to theirs, but we'll all be there for 'Cast Party.' We're looking forward to a great night."calendar@latimes.com
Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

Liza Minnelli joins Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein for the Broadway opening of All About Me.

The Me Generation
Liza Minnelli, Elaine Stritch, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Neil Sedaka, Barbara Walters, Jane Powell, Celeste Holm, and more stars join Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein for the Broadway opening of All About Me.
By: Tristan Fuge and Brian Scott Lipton · Mar 19, 2010 · New York

Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli attended the opening of the new Broadway show All About Me at the Henry Miller's Theater on Thursday, March 18. She first introduced audiences to the show's co-star, Michael Feinstein.

LIZA FLASHBACK! STUDIO ONE...

Photo byJack Wheeler, manager of Studio One: with Liza Minnelli (1975) ~ Jack Wheeler Manager of Studio One With Liza Minnelli at the Backlot showroom during the opening night of Chita Rivera. 1975

Photo of Gary Mortimer tending bar at the Backlot of Stuio One with Liza Minnelli the night she bought out the room for Chita Rivera. (submitted by Gary Mortimer)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

PFLAG National will honor Academy and Tony-winning actress Liza Minnelli with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award

"As someone who has been supported and touched by the LGBT community for my entire life, I can't imagine being anything but an out and proud straight ally who doesn't fear speaking up to anyone," said Minnelli. "The Straight for Equality award means so much to me - it helps me know that what I've done and said has changed things for people." Liza Minnelli.

By Andrew Gans24 Mar 2010
PFLAG National will honor Academy and Tony-winning actress Liza Minnelli with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award for her "lifelong support of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people."
The award will be presented at PFLAG's second annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala, which will be held May 1 at the New York Marriott Marquis.
Jody M. Huckaby, PFLAG National's executive director, said in a statement, "Liza Minnelli is the quintessential straight ally – she has been an outspoken supporter of equality for LGBT for her whole life, and her tremendous and ongoing philanthropy in the fight against AIDS has made her a very public advocate of the many individuals and their families who have been affected by the disease. Her enormous talent makes her iconic, and her steadfast support for the LGBT community makes her an ally. We are so honored to be able to present her with the 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award."

Gay Support Group Honors Liza Minnelli

By PATRICK HEALY
Pflag National, a group for parents, families, and supporters of gay people, is naming Liza Minnelli the second recipient of its Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award, which recognizes an ally of gay rights who is not herself gay.
Ms. Minnelli, who has been honored for her acting and singing with Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards, has spoken out for decades in favor of causes like gay marriage and in support for gay men and lesbians, and has donated money to AIDS research. Both she and her mother, Judy Garland, have been cultural touchstones for generations of many gay artists and others by dint of their talent and their own personal struggles.
The award will be presented at a gala at the New York Marriott Marquis on May 1. The first recipient of the award, in 2009, was the actress Sigourney Weaver.

Liza Minnelli to Receive PFLAG's 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award
By: Andy Propst · Mar 24, 2010 · New York
Liza Minnelli(© Rick Day)Stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli will receive PFLAG's 2010 Straight for Equality in Entertainment Award. The honor recognizes the entertainer's lifelong support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and will be presented as part of the organization's Straight for Equality Awards Gala to be held on May 1 at the New York Marriott Marquis.
Minnelli's most recent Broadway show, Liza's at the Palace, won a 2009 Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event, and Minnelli has also won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for Flora the Red Menace and The Act. She also won a special Tony Award in 1974 "for adding lustre to the Broadway season." She was Tony- nominated for The Rink and additional Broadway credits include Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
Straight for Equality is a project of PFLAG National that was launched in 2007 to invite, educate, and empower straight allies to demonstrate their support for their LGBT friends and family.
For further information, visit: www.straightforequality.org.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Kay Thompson: The Singer Has Ended But the Great Arrangements Linger On

David Finkle is a New York-based writer who concentrates on the arts. He's currently the chief drama critic for TheaterMania.com and writes regularly on music for The Village Voice and Back Stage. He's contributed to many publications, including The New York Times, The New York Post, The Nation, The New Yorker, New York, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and American Theatre.

When Liza Minnelli talks about her performing style and the woman who's had the most influence on it, she doesn't mention mom Judy Garland -- even though it's clear the mater helped shape her powerful techniques. No, she cites Kay Thompson, who is probably remembered today, if and when she is, for creating Eloise, the lovably spoiled brat who ran wild in the Plaza Hotel long before it was turned into the residential edifice it is now.But Thompson was more than the lady who dreamed up Eloise, giving the tyke a name taken from Catherine Louise Fink, the moniker Thompson was born with and dropped when she skipped her St. Louis birthplace and headed for Hollywood to make a reputation -- not as the classically trained musician she was but in the world of popular singing.
And did she make that reputation! By 1943, she was heading the vocal department at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she remained until 1947, when she left to put together a night-club act so ground-breaking that entertainers are still modeling their outings after her without realizing to whom they owe credit.One who does know from where she gets her "bazazz" -- a word Thompson coined for a song she wrote with Ralph "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Trolley Song" Blane -- is the above-mentioned Minnelli, whose recent world tour culminated in Liza's at the Palace. The breathlessly ebullient singer devoted the second half of her show to recreating Thompson arrangements. And she surrounded herself with four men (Jim Caruso, Johnny Rodgers, Cortés Alexander, Tiger Martina) standing in for Thompson's accomplices, The Williams Brothers (Dick, Don, Bob and, yes, Andy).
The act -- which received wide-spread coverage, including Life at a time when everyone read the mag -- demonstrated to ring-siders what movie-goers may not have realized from Thompson's work with MGM stars like Garland, June Allyson, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and many others (some dubbed): The inventive lady was -- and remains -- one of the greatest vocal arrangers who ever took on a standard and revitalized it or an incipient standard and vitalized it.
Thompson died in 1998 and so isn't here to recreate the act, and Minnelli wasn't able to run though everything Thompson ever recorded. Never mind. Much of what Thompson did record from the late thirties on has been collected by Sepia for a three-CD collection, Think Pink! -- the tag a reference most fans of movie musicals will instantly recognize as the title song long-time associates Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe wrote for her to give a typically exhilarating lift in the 1955 Funny Face, where she shared screen-time with Astaire and Audrey Hepburn (doing her own warbling.)
The release is a must-have for anyone claiming to be interested in first-rate singing, first-rate songs and first-rate arrangements. It may be the last of the three elements for which Thompson most deserves to be cherished. A familiar voice in the 30's, Thompson infused her interpretations with cheer and passion -- listen to her take on "These Are the Things I Love," which seems to be plucked from a radio performance--but it is what she does when she's upbeat that electrifies. As if to underscore the brass in her, there are almost always busy brass flourishes.
If there is one quintessential Thompson arrangement, it may be the one she and the Williams Brothers blare on Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" -- which has to be heard to be believed. The liberties Thompson takes with the words and the music are presumptuous, cheeky. Where Porter writes "just one of those fabulous flights," Thompson -- always happy to throw in some franglais and even something Latinate -- sings, "oh, quelle fabuli nights." Behind her, the Williamses have been strenuously intoning "things, things, things." At one and the same time, the bongo-driven cut is -- like so many of the cuts here -- outrageous, irresistible, bracing, hilarious.(If Porter's reaction when he heard it--and he surely did--is logged anywhere, it's not available to me, but he had to love it.)
Of the 71 -- count 'em, 71 -- tracks that Sepia incorporates (much of it from, apparently, the collections of Michael Feinstein and Sam Irvin), there are any number that cause ears to sit up and say howdy. There's Thompson auditioning "Think Pink" with Roger Edens at the piano. There's Thompson singing "The Trolley Song" with Conrad Salinger's movie arrangement on a 1944 Texaco Star Theater radio edition. There's Thompson singing "In the Valley (Where the Evening Sun Goes Down)" with Garland, a Harry Warren-Johnny Mercer song used in The Harvey Girls (1946). Other guests vibrating are Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Tony Martin, Peter Lorre and Ann Miller singing and tapping out "Madame Crematante," the Garland turn from the 1946 Ziegfeld Follies.How influential was Kay Thompson? Try imagining MGM musicals without her? Can't be done.

Books & More From David Finkle

Monday, March 22, 2010

OFFBEAT: Star Plaza's Charlie Blum lands Liza for exclusive Chicago Theatre concert

Off Beat with Philip Potempa

By Philip Potempa - philip.potempa@nwi.com, (219) 852-4327 Posted: Sunday, March 21, 2010 12:00 am

It was in March 2006 that I last wrote about the legendary Liza Minnelli returning to Chicago.
That's Chicago the city, not "Chicago" the musical.
Most people still recall how Minnelli, who turned 64 on March 12, stepped into the lead role in Bob Fosse's hit musical in 1975 opposite Chita Rivera after Fosse's ex-wife Gwen Verdon dropped out of the Broadway production.
That last time during her stop in the Windy City, Minnelli was here to do a rare personal appearance and autograph session for fans signing only the DVD release of her popular 1972 television special "Liza with a 'Z'" at the Borders on Michigan Avenue.
Minnelli did a one-night concert in August 2008 as one of the first big headliners also booked at The Venue, when that new stage space opened at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond.
Star Plaza CEO and Talent Buyer Charlie Blum has scored a major booking, by just inking a deal for Minnelli to headline a special one-night concert at 7:30 p.m. June 6 at the historic Chicago Theatre.
Presented by Blum and his Star Productions, he tells me Minnelli will sing sensational American standards in "a glamorous and intimate concert."
He said the show "will feature some of the greatest songs of all time performed in their purest, most intimate form" with Minnelli and her quartet. She will be accompanied by Billy Stritch.
"This one-night-only performance showcases Minnelli at her best, singing these classic American standards as only she can," Blum told me Thursday, when he called me with his exclusive announcement.
Among the more interesting bits of interviews I've caught about Minnelli, she says she doesn't like to watch old footage of her mother Judy Garland because she still misses her too much, and when asked if she will marry for a fifth time, she replies: "Are you crazy?"
You can bet she'll have plenty to say to her fans from the stage, when this four-time Tony Award winner, two-time Golden Globe winner and recipient of an Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award, hits the spotlight.
Tickets just went on sale Saturday. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com or (800) 745-3000. They range from $52 to $122. FYI: thechicagotheatre.com.
Minnelli is true Hollywood royalty, as the daughter of actress/singer Garland and Vincente Minnelli, the film director responsible for such classics as "Meet Me in St. Louis" and "An American in Paris."
She began her career at an early age, appearing with her mother in the movie "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1949. By the time she was 19, she had landed the lead role in the Broadway musical "Flora, the Red Menace," a performance that won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
But it was in 1972 that she really won acclaim for several film performances, especially when her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." That film won eight Oscars, including Best Actress for Minnelli. The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award.
Up next was that first concert ever filmed live for television in 1972.
In the 1980s, she starred opposite Dudley Moore in the "Arthur" movies.
As busy as ever, in 2008, she finally returned to Broadway with "Liza's at the Palace ..." which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event.
She then recreated the show at the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas where her performance was filmed for a PBS special and a DVD. The show's cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award.
We're very lucky Blum managed to get her for this one Chicago date, since she's been busy in the studio working on recording her new album.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at philip.potempa@nwi.com or 219.852.4327.
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actor Al Freeman Jr. is 79. Actress Kathleen Widdoes ("As the World Turns") is 71. Singer Solomon Burke is 70. Singer-keyboardist Rose Stone of Sly and the Family Stone is 65. Actor Timothy Dalton is 64. Singer Eddie Money is 61. Singer-guitarist Rodger Hodgson (Supertramp) is 60. Bassist Conrad Lozano of Los Lobos and singer Russell Thompkins Jr. of the Stylistics are 59. Actress Sabrina LeBeauf ("The Cosby Show") and actor Gary Oldman and Brad Hall (Saturday Night Live) are 52. Actor Matthew Broderick and actress-comedian Rosie O'Donnell are 48. MC Maxim of Prodigy and keyboardist Jonas "Joker" Berggren of Ace of Base are 43. Guitarist Andrew Copeland of Sister Hazel is 42. DJ Premier of Gang Starr is 41.
Posted in Offbeat on Sunday, March 21, 2010 12:00 am Updated: 10:07 pm. Tags: Commentary, Arts And Theatre, Celebrities, Chicago, Columnists, Entertainment, Merrillville, Movies, Music, Radio, Television, Theater

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Jim Caruso’s “Cast Party” With Billy Stritch

Posted by Tommy Garrett on Mar 21, 2010 - 8:11:33 PM
—Jim Caruso recently made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit “Liza’s At The Palace!” The show was honored with a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Event and the recording is a Grammy nominee. For his nightclub work, Caruso has won six MAC Awards and two BackStage Magazine Bistro Awards for sold-out shows at Birdland, Arci’s Place, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel and The Russian Tea Room. His series of weekly podcasts called “Here! On Broadway” was honored with a Summit Award. Please visit Jim-Caruso.com or CastPartyNYC.com for more information.

Billy Stritch is one of the premier singer-pianists on the New York and national jazz and cabaret scene. His most recent nightclub act “Billy Stritch sings the Mel Tormé Songbook” earned rave reviews from the New York music critics. Stritch has appeared in cabaret venues across the nation as well as concert performances at the London Palladium, NHK Hall in Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro's Municipale Auditorium. In New York, he has performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and completed 688 performances as Oscar the rehearsal pianist in the 2001 Broadway revival of 42nd Street. He is the winner of the Nashville Music City News Award, a BMI Song of the Year Award and four awards from the Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets. As a songwriter and arranger, Reba McEntire and Linda Davis recorded his Grammy Award winning composition “Does He Love You.” He has arranged for many top performers including Liza Minnelli, having written the arrangements for Minnelli On Minnelli, Liza's Christmas at Town Hall, and was musical supervisor and pianist for the Tony Award-winning, “Liza’s At The Palace.”
WHAT/WHO: Billy Stritch is one of the premier singer-pianists on the New York and national jazz and cabaret scene. "Broadway mainstay Jim Caruso’s always-packed showcase for the theater-world A-list,” says New York Magazine. Well now the popular New York open mic is headed to Los Angeles for its West Coast premiere at the Magic Castle's Cabaret at the Castle. Jim Caruso's Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that has brought Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night for the past seven years. It's a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars such as Michael Feinstein, Elaine Stritch and Liza Minnelli have hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle. Cast Party is the ultimate spot to mix and mingle with talented show folk and their fans. The buoyant, sharp and charming Caruso guides the entire affair like a bubbly cruise director, musical genius Billy Stritch holds court at the ivories, and the audience is invited to participate in the festivities so bring your music (in the right key)! WHEN: Thursday, April 1 - Doors 6 p.m. - Show 8 p.m.WHERE: The Inner Circle at the Magic Castle, 7001 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, Calif. 90028TICKETS: $20 for non-members, Call 323-851-3313 x434 for more information
The Magic Castle is the world's most famous private club for magicians and magic enthusiasts and home to The Academy of Magical Arts, Inc.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Liza Minnelli to Play Chicago Theatre June 6

Liza Minnelli will play the Chicago Theatre on June 6 in a show billed as "Liza Minnelli and Friends" and showcasing American standards.
Minnelli will be accompanied for her Sunday night appearance by Billy Stritch. Tickets are $52-$122 and go on sale noon, March 20, at 800-745-3000 and http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

Liza Minnelli to Play Chicago Theatre June 6

Theater News

By: Dan Bacalzo · Mar 16, 2010 · Chicago
(© Rick Day)" src="http://www.theatermania.com/news/images/25804a.jpg">
Liza Minnelli(© Rick Day)Four-time Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli will perform in Liza Minnelli and Friends at the Chicago Theatre, on Sunday, June 6 at 7:30pm.
The evening, presented by Star Productions, will feature Minnelli singing American standards in an intimate concert. Billy Stritch will accompany her.
Minnelli's most recent Broadway show, Liza's at the Palace, won a 2009 Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event, and Minnelli has also won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for Flora the Red Menace and The Act. She also won a special Tony Award in 1974 "for adding lustre to the Broadway season." She was Tony- nominated for The Rink and additional Broadway credits include Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
Tickets range from $55 to $125, and will be available beginning March 20. For more information, visit http://www.thechicagotheatre.com/.

PHOTO CALL: Liza Minnelli Celebrates Birthday at Birdland

Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff

By Krissie Fullerton16 Mar 2010
Liza Minnelli celebrated her 64th birthday party at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland March 15.
Minnelli, best known for her work in Chicago, The Rink, The Act, and Flora The Red Menace on Broadway, turned 64 on March 12 and celebrated the occasion March 15 during Jim Caruso's weekly Monday night Cast Party at Birdland Jazz.
According to the official website, "Jim Caruso's Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It's a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle."
Here's a look at the birthday celebration:
Photo's by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Friday, March 12, 2010

Happy Birthday wishes from Liza's fans...

Liza's Birthday (Liza 3-23-06) photo by Mark Leoni

Happy Birthday

LIZA!

Love YOU!!
Angie

Happppppppppppy Birthday LIza wooooohoooooo and loads of peanuts and the world goes round love Gary S from TBA.

happy bday liza and many MANY more HEALTHY ones.....
Nadine

Happy Bday Liza!!!!! We wish you the best and your dreams can come true!
Love You!!
From Argentina,
Silvana & Macarena

Happy, happy birthday to our dearest Liza! I will celebrate your day today, I baked a cake and will have a piece while watching "Steppin' Out", then later have another piece of cake and watch your Palace concert and then Liza with a Z and if it isn't midnight, I'll watch Radio City too!

Hope that Liza's has a wonderful and successful year, she's the best and so sorry to see her Boston Symphony Hall concert was taken off her website! But maybe I can get to Philly!

Mary Lou

Happy Birthday Liza
Hope you have a wonderful day, and may 2010 see all your dreams come true.
Please come back to see us in the UK soon. Steve

P.S. The attached photo is one which I took almost 4 years ago. Ciao!

Mark Leoni

Dear Liza May, Happy Birthday, all the best to you and most of all keep Stepping Out!, love Sammy

Happy Birthday Liza May!! John Bassey

Thursday, March 11, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZA MAY! ~ MARCH 12, 1946

Liza collage by samymiro, CLICK PHOTO FOR FULL VIEW

Corey Haim: Roles We'll Remember ~ From ''Lucas'' and ''The Lost Boys'' to ''The Two Coreys ''

A Time to Live (1985)
Liza Minnelli won a Golden Globe for her performance in this TV movie based on the true story of Mary-Lou Weisman and her son Peter (Corey Haim), confined to a wheelchair by muscular dystrophy. —Mandi Bierly

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Liza Minnelli, Harvey Fierstein to Host Kennedy Center Gala

Theater News

By: Dan Bacalzo · Mar 9, 2010 · DC Metro
Liza Minnelli(© Tristan Fuge)Harvey Fierstein and Liza Minnelli will host the Kennedy Center's 18th annual spring gala, entitled A Man for All Seasons, to be presented in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on Sunday, May 2.
The evening will celebrate Roger L. Stevens, founding chairman of the Kennedy Center, founding chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, and executive producer of over 200 Broadway shows. The event will feature performances from some of his contributions to Broadway, with casting to be announced at a later date.
The black-tie evening will begin with a reception on the River Terrace at 5pm followed by dinner on the Roof Terrace level at 6pm, and the gala performance at 8:30pm. The evening concludes with a cocktails and dancing party, in the Roof Terrace Restaurant.
Concert-only tickets are $35-$125, and can be purchased by calling 202-467-4600. For VIP packages, e-mail springgala@kennedy-center.org. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Photos: Vineyard, Minnelli, Rivera, Chenoweth et al. Honor John Kander

Tuesday, March 9, 2010; Posted: 10:03 AM - by Walter McBride

Stars including Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli, Mario Cantone, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Danieley, Norm Lewis, Debra Monk, Julia Murney, Karen Ziemba, Heidi Blickenstaff celebrated all things Kander and Ebb last night at the Vineyard Theatre's Annual Gala yesterday evening, March 8. Lead by Tony Award-winning host David Hyde Pierce (Kander & Ebb's CURTAINS), the crowd paid tribute to the work of Kander and his late collaborator Fred Ebb.
Vineyard Theatre honored John Kander in conjunction with its world premiere of the musical THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS -- with music and lyrics by John Kander &Fred Ebb, book by David Thompson, and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman - currently in previews and opening officially on March 10 at Vineyard Theatre.
John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote some of the most beloved and enduring musicals in theatre history during their four decade-long partnership, the longest of its kind in musical theatre history. Their works include: FLORA, THE RED MENACE; CABARET (two Tony Awards - Best Musical and Best Composer and Lyricist); ZORBA; CHICAGO (Olivier Award); WOMAN OF THE YEAR (Tony Award, Best Original Score); KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (Tony Award, Best Original Score); CURTAINS; THE VISIT and ALL ABOUT US. Kander and Ebb also collaborated for film and television on such memorable works as LIZA WITH A Z (Emmy Award); HBO's Liza Minnelli'S STEPPING OUT (Emmy Award); the films FUNNY LADY (Oscar nominated for "How Lucky Can You Get"); LUCKY LADY; NEW YORK, NEW YORK; STEPPING OUT and CHICAGO (Oscar nominated for Best Song). They are the recipients of two Grammy Awards - for the Original Cast Album of CABARET and for the Musical Show Album of CHICAGO, and in 1998, they received the Kennedy Center Honors award for Lifetime Achievement.
The 2010 Gala tribute performance was directed by Jen Bender, with musical direction and accompaniment by Paul Masse.
Vineyard Theatre opened its 2009-10 season with the critically acclaimed A BOY AND HIS SOUL, written and performed by Colman Domingo. This spring, in addition to the aforementioned production of THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS, The Vineyard will produce the world premiere of Adam Rapp's THE METAL CHILDREN, starring Billy Crudup and the new musical THE BURNT PART BOYS, by Mariana Elder, Nathan Tysen and Chris Miller, directed by Joe Calarco; which will be a co-production with Playwrights Horizons.
Vineyard Theatre is under the guidance of Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director, and Jennifer Garvey-Blackwell, Executive Director. For more information, visit www.vineyardtheatre.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.