Friday, February 24, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Liza Minnelli presents Ben Vereen American Theatre Hall of Fame at the ceremony at the Gershwin Theatre in New York
One-man stage shows are often vanity productions.
But Ben Vereen's autobiographical one-man show, which he'll present Friday at the McCallum Theatre, got a little extra cred last month when he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame as one of the premier triple threats of the past half century.
Liza Minnelli, who presented Vereen at the ceremony at the Gershwin Theatre in New York, called the 65-year-old singer, dancer and actor “a man who changed my life.”
She recalled seeing him in the Broadway musical, “Pippin,” and said, “He was so specific and so sharp. That raised the bar in singing and dancing for everyone.”
For Vereen, who was inducted with fellow stage legend Tyne Daly, the evening made him feel accepted as a rightful heir of Sammy Davis Jr., who he was the understudy of in the international touring production of “Golden Boy” in 1968.
“You look around the walls at the Gershwin Theatre,” he said in a telephone interview. “My God, all these people. I'm now official.
“I told a story about the first time I was nominated for a Tony (for “Pippin” in 1973). I didn't know who Tony was. Then I realized my peers were saying, ‘Hey, kid, you've got something.'”
After winning a Tony for “Pippin,” Vereen received another nomination for his portrayal of Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar” and an Emmy nomination for his role as Chicken George in the mini-series, “Roots.”
He'll cover all that territory in his show, which he plans to take to Broadway later this year as an expansion of a production that yielded his recent album, “Stepping Out Live.”
He'll also pay tribute to the artists who influenced his life, including Davis, Frank Sinatra, Bob Fosse and Shirley MacLaine. He may even include material from his stage roles as Louis Armstrong and Lincoln Perry, who was best known as his infamously stereotypical screen character, Stepin Fetchit.
He's hoping to bring the stage production that featured him as Perry, “Fetch Clay, Make Man,” to a wider audience.
“It's important that we recognize and give homage to those who paved the way for so many,” said Vereen.
“It's a shame we don't recognize our heroes. At times we like to tear our heroes down before we lift them back up and that's so with such heroes as Bert Williams and Stepin Fetchit and Mantan Moreland and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Sammy Davis and even myself and Michael Jackson.”
Vereen is a staunch advocate of arts education, including a well-balanced history of the arts.
“People are ignorant of their history,” he said. “There was a time when black performers were not allowed on the American stage unless they wore black face. We don't teach that in schools. We don't understand where that came from. That was part of our history, our holocaust.”
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Bob Fosse's 1972 Oscar Winning Musical Classic Cabaret (40th Anniversary)! starrring Best Actress Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles!
Bob Fosse's 1972 Oscar Winning Musical Classic Cabaret (40th Anniversary)! starrring Best Actress Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles!
Whitney Houston ~ RIP (1963~2012)
Liza Minnelli said, "My friend Whitney sang better than anyone. She was magnificent. She gave us everything she had. May she rest in peace and may we let her memory rest in peace."
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Liza Minnelli Reveals Intimate Details On NJPAC Performance, 'Hot In Cleveland' Role And Judy Garland
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/liza-minnelli-njpac-performance-hot-in-cleveland_n_1248412.html#s646833&title=The_Muppet_Show
She's captivated standing-room-only audiences across the globe, nabbed an Oscar for her role in a celebrated Hollywood musical and held court amongst New York's famed glitterati at Studio 54.
However, one week before she is set to take the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Feb. 4, Liza Minnelli has something considerably less glamorous on her agenda: a visit to the dentist.
Calling just minutes following her appointment, Minnelli apologizes in advance if she is difficult to understand over the telephone. Of course, something as minor as dental anesthetics would never be able to numb this ever-shining star; after all, it's Minnelli's well-established survival skills -- not to mention her unique brand of wide-eyed, precocious spunk -- that helped make her a gay icon for multiple generations, with a legacy rivaling only her legendary (and similarly tenacious) mother, Judy Garland.
Busy as ever, the 65-year-old singer-actress who Joy Behar once jokingly introduced as having "entertained more gay men than Larry Craig" will be whisked off to rehearsal shortly after the phone call. Still, she speaks enthusiastically and at length about her highly-anticipated NJPAC performance as well as her forthcoming guest-starring turn opposite Betty White on the hit series "Hot In Cleveland," while sharing memories of working with famed Broadway and film choreographer Bob Fosse and, of course, the beloved Judy.
HuffPost Gay Voices: Congratulations on your upcoming NJPAC performance. What sorts of surprises do you have in store for us?
Liza Minnelli: My show is called "Confessions," and it's really a collection of various songs about how I feel about different things, what I believe in, people I've known -- some of whom nobody would ever know. "Confessions" is really all these different points of view; it's something I learned from [Armenian-French singer-songwriter] Charles Aznavour when I was 19. I saw him perform in Paris, and his show just killed me because each one of his songs was like a movie.
I knew I could dance and I knew I could act, but I never thought I could sing, so I went to Aznavour in Paris and I asked if I could be his student, and he said, "Sure." And he really taught me everything I know about singing -- how each song is a different movie.
You've also signed on for an episode of "Hot In Cleveland," set to air later this season. What's your character going to be like?
They haven't told me a thing! I'll be out there Feb. 12, so I'll just see what they tell me and I'll do it, kind of like what I did with "Arrested Development" -- everybody was just so excellent on that show; I just respected everybody on that set so much. Of course having the chance to do anything with Betty White is great.
Two living legends, united on the small screen...
What the hell is a "living legend"? (laughs)
Well, in my opinion, a living legend is someone whose work and career are immensely respected across multiple generations and in various industries.
Well, thank you -- I guess as long as it's a living one, it's OK! (laughs) But I always think of myself as a gypsy, a Broadway performer who travels from show to show.
You're one of the few entertainers who has won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Grammy, not to mention four Tony Awards. Is there anything you're dying to do, either personally or professionally, that you haven't already?
I won't know until it happens -- that's it. I love it because things just come up! I rarely plan anything unless it's a tour or a show I'm working on, and in the meantime, all of these mad, wonderful things have happened, like My Chemical Romance calling me up and asking me to sing with them.
2012 marks 40 years since the release of "Cabaret," for which you won the Academy Award. What comes to mind when you look back on that film?
Bob Fosse. And just how extraordinary it all was. Bob took immense risks in terms of how he depicted sensuality in the choreography, the photography. It was so fun. We were away in Germany and we were doing this kind of outrageous, wonderful film. We wanted to make a musical about Nazis, so we could really kind of do anything we wanted. And our cinematographer, Geoffrey Unsworth, was just so great. At one point they sent him a letter that said there was too much smoke in the cabaret...Bob took the letter from him and tore it up.
What Bob did was just extraordinary. I came on before Bob, as you know...[his work] really reminded me so much of a film called "The Damned," which was just so dark and wonderful and bizarre. I remember seeing that film with my dad [director Vincente Minnelli], who was always there for me. He helped me so much all of the time.
Your mother, Judy Garland, remains one of most fascinating stars in Hollywood history. Even though there's been a tremendous amount of research into her work and analysis of her life, what do you think is the biggest misconception audiences still have about her?
The biggest misconception people have about my mother is that she was so unhappy. I think people enjoy thinking that -- some of them, anyway. They see the tragedy as opposed to the fact that she understood how to play tragedy.
I remember somebody at school once said something really mean about her: "Oh, Judy does too much of this or that, she drinks too much." And I came home from school crying; my mother asked me what was wrong and I told her. And then she said, "You know what? You let everybody say what they're gonna say, and we'll go get a hamburger."
Liza Minnelli performs at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Feb. 4. For more information click here.
However, one week before she is set to take the stage at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on Feb. 4, Liza Minnelli has something considerably less glamorous on her agenda: a visit to the dentist.
Calling just minutes following her appointment, Minnelli apologizes in advance if she is difficult to understand over the telephone. Of course, something as minor as dental anesthetics would never be able to numb this ever-shining star; after all, it's Minnelli's well-established survival skills -- not to mention her unique brand of wide-eyed, precocious spunk -- that helped make her a gay icon for multiple generations, with a legacy rivaling only her legendary (and similarly tenacious) mother, Judy Garland.
Busy as ever, the 65-year-old singer-actress who Joy Behar once jokingly introduced as having "entertained more gay men than Larry Craig" will be whisked off to rehearsal shortly after the phone call. Still, she speaks enthusiastically and at length about her highly-anticipated NJPAC performance as well as her forthcoming guest-starring turn opposite Betty White on the hit series "Hot In Cleveland," while sharing memories of working with famed Broadway and film choreographer Bob Fosse and, of course, the beloved Judy.
HuffPost Gay Voices: Congratulations on your upcoming NJPAC performance. What sorts of surprises do you have in store for us?
Liza Minnelli: My show is called "Confessions," and it's really a collection of various songs about how I feel about different things, what I believe in, people I've known -- some of whom nobody would ever know. "Confessions" is really all these different points of view; it's something I learned from [Armenian-French singer-songwriter] Charles Aznavour when I was 19. I saw him perform in Paris, and his show just killed me because each one of his songs was like a movie.
I knew I could dance and I knew I could act, but I never thought I could sing, so I went to Aznavour in Paris and I asked if I could be his student, and he said, "Sure." And he really taught me everything I know about singing -- how each song is a different movie.
You've also signed on for an episode of "Hot In Cleveland," set to air later this season. What's your character going to be like?
They haven't told me a thing! I'll be out there Feb. 12, so I'll just see what they tell me and I'll do it, kind of like what I did with "Arrested Development" -- everybody was just so excellent on that show; I just respected everybody on that set so much. Of course having the chance to do anything with Betty White is great.
Two living legends, united on the small screen...
What the hell is a "living legend"? (laughs)
Well, in my opinion, a living legend is someone whose work and career are immensely respected across multiple generations and in various industries.
Well, thank you -- I guess as long as it's a living one, it's OK! (laughs) But I always think of myself as a gypsy, a Broadway performer who travels from show to show.
You're one of the few entertainers who has won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Grammy, not to mention four Tony Awards. Is there anything you're dying to do, either personally or professionally, that you haven't already?
I won't know until it happens -- that's it. I love it because things just come up! I rarely plan anything unless it's a tour or a show I'm working on, and in the meantime, all of these mad, wonderful things have happened, like My Chemical Romance calling me up and asking me to sing with them.
2012 marks 40 years since the release of "Cabaret," for which you won the Academy Award. What comes to mind when you look back on that film?
Bob Fosse. And just how extraordinary it all was. Bob took immense risks in terms of how he depicted sensuality in the choreography, the photography. It was so fun. We were away in Germany and we were doing this kind of outrageous, wonderful film. We wanted to make a musical about Nazis, so we could really kind of do anything we wanted. And our cinematographer, Geoffrey Unsworth, was just so great. At one point they sent him a letter that said there was too much smoke in the cabaret...Bob took the letter from him and tore it up.
What Bob did was just extraordinary. I came on before Bob, as you know...[his work] really reminded me so much of a film called "The Damned," which was just so dark and wonderful and bizarre. I remember seeing that film with my dad [director Vincente Minnelli], who was always there for me. He helped me so much all of the time.
Your mother, Judy Garland, remains one of most fascinating stars in Hollywood history. Even though there's been a tremendous amount of research into her work and analysis of her life, what do you think is the biggest misconception audiences still have about her?
The biggest misconception people have about my mother is that she was so unhappy. I think people enjoy thinking that -- some of them, anyway. They see the tragedy as opposed to the fact that she understood how to play tragedy.
I remember somebody at school once said something really mean about her: "Oh, Judy does too much of this or that, she drinks too much." And I came home from school crying; my mother asked me what was wrong and I told her. And then she said, "You know what? You let everybody say what they're gonna say, and we'll go get a hamburger."
Liza Minnelli performs at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Feb. 4. For more information click here.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey and Debbie Reynolds Set for TCM Classic Film Festival
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/liza-minnelli-joel-grey-debbie-286201
Liza Minnelli
Third annual event also adds Renoir's "Grand Illusion" and a Cinerama Dome showing of wide-screen classic "How the West Was Won."
Silver-screen legends Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, Debbie Reynolds and Rhonda Fleming are scheduled to appear at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, it was announced Tuesday.
The third annual festival, set for April 12-15, will feature the North American premiere of a new 75th anniversary restoration of Jean Renoir’s powerful prisoner-of-war drama Grand Illusion (1937). And the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra will provide a live musical accompaniment for a screening of the silent Douglas Fairbanks fantasy-adventure The Thief of Bagdad (1924).
Minnelli and Grey are slated to join TCM host Robert Osborne to kick off the event with a gala opening-night, world-premiere screening of the 40th anniversary restoration of Cabaret, the 1972 film for which the stars took home two of the musical’s eight Oscars.
Reynolds will be on hand for the world-premiere screening of a new 60th anniversary restoration of Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and appear at a 50th anniversary showing of How the West Was Won (1962). That epic Western will screen in all its Cinerama glory at the Arclight Cinema’s Cinerama Dome.
Also, actresses Peggy Cummins, Rhonda Fleming and Marsha Hunt will appear at screenings of film noir classics, presented as part of a celebration of “The Noir Style.” And Diana Serra Cary, 93, who as “Baby Peggy” was one of Hollywood’s top child stars during the Silent Era, will join filmmaker Vera Iwerebor for the U.S. premiere of the documentary Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room.
The festival’s celebration of Style in the Movies will include a tribute to Audrey Hepburn and screenings of Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957) and the world premiere of a new 45th anniversary restoration of Two for the Road (1967).
Other films to play at the festival include restored versions of classics including Wings (1927), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Swing Time (1936) and Casablanca (1942).
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first Oscar ceremony, serves as the official hotel for the festival.
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Minnelli and Grey are slated to join TCM host Robert Osborne to kick off the event with a gala opening-night, world-premiere screening of the 40th anniversary restoration of Cabaret, the 1972 film for which the stars took home two of the musical’s eight Oscars.
Reynolds will be on hand for the world-premiere screening of a new 60th anniversary restoration of Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and appear at a 50th anniversary showing of How the West Was Won (1962). That epic Western will screen in all its Cinerama glory at the Arclight Cinema’s Cinerama Dome.
Also, actresses Peggy Cummins, Rhonda Fleming and Marsha Hunt will appear at screenings of film noir classics, presented as part of a celebration of “The Noir Style.” And Diana Serra Cary, 93, who as “Baby Peggy” was one of Hollywood’s top child stars during the Silent Era, will join filmmaker Vera Iwerebor for the U.S. premiere of the documentary Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room.
The festival’s celebration of Style in the Movies will include a tribute to Audrey Hepburn and screenings of Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957) and the world premiere of a new 45th anniversary restoration of Two for the Road (1967).
Other films to play at the festival include restored versions of classics including Wings (1927), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Swing Time (1936) and Casablanca (1942).
The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the first Oscar ceremony, serves as the official hotel for the festival.
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