Diva with a ‘Z’
Liza Minnelli to headline charity performance in Baltimore
http://www.washblade.com/2007/10-26/out ... /11472.cfm
Liza May Minnelli
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Terence Lee
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Diva with a ‘Z’
Last edited by Terence Lee on Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Terence Lee
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Minnelli a Bit Unsteady as She Goes
by Mike Giuliano
Baltimore Sun, October 29, 2007
It was "Liza with a Z," but without 34 pounds, at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Saturday night. Liza Minnelli announced the weight loss during an occasionally wobbly performance showcasing her determination to overcome her problems with health and husbands.
Minnelli looked thinner than she has in decades. Her face is no longer puffy and, if anything, verges on gaunt. One costume showed off slender legs, and a shimmering black blouse exposing one shoulder cast the 61-year-old Broadway baby in a rather sexy light.
Her balance was a concern throughout the show. Minnelli's movement was unsteady, and she joked about needing the director's chair she sat in for a few numbers. Truth be told, her hands did more dancing than her feet. Hip replacement surgery will do that to you.
During her autobiographical patter, Minnelli often seemed out of breath. The situation affected her breath control during many songs, but she also had enough lung power to get through them.
"I gotta catch my breath," Minnelli said at one point during the 75-minute show, whose brevity was matched by an eagerness to deliver the goods.
The delivery of her trademark tune, "New York, New York," did not pack the same knockout punch of her 1970s razzle-dazzle heyday, but it certainly was more confident than a 1998 Kennedy Center performance in which she reached for high notes and produced so little sound that she looked like Marcel Marceau doing Minnelli. She's been better, but goodness knows she's been worse.
By local standards, the Meyerhoff offered an opportunity to see the showbiz legend reasonably up close and personal. Those who saw her at the then-Baltimore Arena in 1993 will remember that even her outsized talent was swallowed up by that cavernous space.
When Minnelli took the Meyerhoff audience into her confidence Saturday night and told stories about her mother, Judy Garland, and her father, film director Vincente Minnelli, it was the sort of trip down memory lane that her devoted fans relish.
The Meyerhoff obviously is a rather large living room, and the seemingly spontaneous confessions have been confessed before, but that doesn't detract from the emotional appeal of a performer who seems to need us as much as we need her.
The concert got off to an unpromising start. The 12-piece orchestra raced through the opening songs with so much muscle and speed that it threatened to overwhelm the star vocalist. At this stage in her career, Minnelli is not going to be heard above a surging band, so it was a relief when the orchestra eventually settled down.
When the musicians gently supported her in "Our Love Is Here to Stay," it allowed us to enjoy a voice that still knows how to take an audience on an emotional journey. As this stretch of the concert showed, Minnelli truly possesses the ability to tell a story in song.
Indeed, her lines initially may be spoken, then softly sung and finally shouted with all the ferocity of the MGM lion logo.
In the second half of the concert, a benefit for the Chimes School, Minnelli paid tribute to her godmother, Kay Thompson, a vocal arranger best known as the author of the Eloise children's books. This musical material will be featured in a TV special and CD.
If Minnelli seemed particularly energized during this segment, it's partly because of the obvious pleasure she takes in conceiving new stage routines. Also perking things up was the presence of four male singers and dancers, who supported her as she gingerly did a few dance steps.
She clearly enjoyed the choreography in such numbers as "I Love a Violin," and her rapport with the chorus engendered a relaxed mood on stage. Have fun, Liza, but just don't marry any of them.
by Mike Giuliano
Baltimore Sun, October 29, 2007
It was "Liza with a Z," but without 34 pounds, at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Saturday night. Liza Minnelli announced the weight loss during an occasionally wobbly performance showcasing her determination to overcome her problems with health and husbands.
Minnelli looked thinner than she has in decades. Her face is no longer puffy and, if anything, verges on gaunt. One costume showed off slender legs, and a shimmering black blouse exposing one shoulder cast the 61-year-old Broadway baby in a rather sexy light.
Her balance was a concern throughout the show. Minnelli's movement was unsteady, and she joked about needing the director's chair she sat in for a few numbers. Truth be told, her hands did more dancing than her feet. Hip replacement surgery will do that to you.
During her autobiographical patter, Minnelli often seemed out of breath. The situation affected her breath control during many songs, but she also had enough lung power to get through them.
"I gotta catch my breath," Minnelli said at one point during the 75-minute show, whose brevity was matched by an eagerness to deliver the goods.
The delivery of her trademark tune, "New York, New York," did not pack the same knockout punch of her 1970s razzle-dazzle heyday, but it certainly was more confident than a 1998 Kennedy Center performance in which she reached for high notes and produced so little sound that she looked like Marcel Marceau doing Minnelli. She's been better, but goodness knows she's been worse.
By local standards, the Meyerhoff offered an opportunity to see the showbiz legend reasonably up close and personal. Those who saw her at the then-Baltimore Arena in 1993 will remember that even her outsized talent was swallowed up by that cavernous space.
When Minnelli took the Meyerhoff audience into her confidence Saturday night and told stories about her mother, Judy Garland, and her father, film director Vincente Minnelli, it was the sort of trip down memory lane that her devoted fans relish.
The Meyerhoff obviously is a rather large living room, and the seemingly spontaneous confessions have been confessed before, but that doesn't detract from the emotional appeal of a performer who seems to need us as much as we need her.
The concert got off to an unpromising start. The 12-piece orchestra raced through the opening songs with so much muscle and speed that it threatened to overwhelm the star vocalist. At this stage in her career, Minnelli is not going to be heard above a surging band, so it was a relief when the orchestra eventually settled down.
When the musicians gently supported her in "Our Love Is Here to Stay," it allowed us to enjoy a voice that still knows how to take an audience on an emotional journey. As this stretch of the concert showed, Minnelli truly possesses the ability to tell a story in song.
Indeed, her lines initially may be spoken, then softly sung and finally shouted with all the ferocity of the MGM lion logo.
In the second half of the concert, a benefit for the Chimes School, Minnelli paid tribute to her godmother, Kay Thompson, a vocal arranger best known as the author of the Eloise children's books. This musical material will be featured in a TV special and CD.
If Minnelli seemed particularly energized during this segment, it's partly because of the obvious pleasure she takes in conceiving new stage routines. Also perking things up was the presence of four male singers and dancers, who supported her as she gingerly did a few dance steps.
She clearly enjoyed the choreography in such numbers as "I Love a Violin," and her rapport with the chorus engendered a relaxed mood on stage. Have fun, Liza, but just don't marry any of them.
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Terence Lee
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:29 pm
- Location: Penang Island, Malaysia
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Liza To Sing In UK Next June
Liza's singing in London, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham & Glasgow next June!
http://www.seetickets.com/see/event.asp ... MINNELLI&n
http://www.seetickets.com/see/event.asp ... MINNELLI&n
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Terence Lee
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:29 pm
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Minnelli's a Road Warrior
Q. Many actors and musicians have said that their dream is to be able to have every song come across with the same kind of emotion and conviction that you bring to performing. How do you do it so well and so often?
A. "I treat each song as an acting piece. In other words, I know where the woman who is singing it lives, what colour her hair is, is she married, does she have decals on her fridge, does she live in a city or a town. The things that happen to her right up to the second that she sings the song and why she needs to is in my head and it keeps it fresh every time. It's an old acting trick I learned long ago from watching Charles Aznavour."
Q. The Armenian star Aznavour was more of an influence on your career choice than your mother was, wasn't he?
A. "It's funny, because I admired what mom, Frank, Sammy and Dean did with their voices, but it wasn't what I saw myself doing. I wanted to be on Broadway and watching Aznavour was what made me really decide that, 'Hey, I can do this.' I don't think I'm that great a singer, but I'm a good actor."
Q. Do you get tired of the constant travel that the acting and performing life entails? Why not just hole up in Vegas with a steady show for a while?
A. "Oh, not a chance. Vegas, never. I grew up always travelling and I love going to all the different places and then seeing friends I have there. The road is in my blood, very much so."
Q. What makes a great show?
A. "I come at it from the point of view of the audience member. If I go to the show, what do I want to see? Then I go from there and build in some special parts to notch it up a bit."
Q. Can you give us a sneak peek?
A. "I'm trying out parts from my Kay Thompson project and finding that people are really enjoying it."
Q. What was it about Thompson that made you want to do a show, album and TV special about her?
A. "She was the absolute best at everything she did. Whether it was writing the children's book series Eloise, singing with her backing band the Williams Brothers -- one of whom was Andy Williams -- or being a huge radio star, she was excellent at it. She was the head of the MGM music department at a time when women just didn't ever get jobs like that as well. The greatest gift my parents gave me was making her my godmother. She lived with me until she died."
Q. You almost died of encephalitis a few years back. Did that change you?
A. "When they told me that I'd never walk again, probably not talk properly or sing, but at least I was alive, I was like, 'You've got to be kidding.' But then I asked myself, 'What can I do? I can rehearse.' So I started reciting the alphabet until I'd done it enough times that I could speak again. Then I did the same thing with walking, one step at a time. When I went returned to dance classes with Luigi, I knew it would work out."
Q. A lot of us are bummed out that Arrested Development didn't work out. It's a shame it didn't last longer.
A. "Oh, I loved it. We all had a ball and just screamed laughing doing it. What a great bunch of people. It startled me when it was taken off-air. We seemed to have a lot of fans and great press."
A. "I treat each song as an acting piece. In other words, I know where the woman who is singing it lives, what colour her hair is, is she married, does she have decals on her fridge, does she live in a city or a town. The things that happen to her right up to the second that she sings the song and why she needs to is in my head and it keeps it fresh every time. It's an old acting trick I learned long ago from watching Charles Aznavour."
Q. The Armenian star Aznavour was more of an influence on your career choice than your mother was, wasn't he?
A. "It's funny, because I admired what mom, Frank, Sammy and Dean did with their voices, but it wasn't what I saw myself doing. I wanted to be on Broadway and watching Aznavour was what made me really decide that, 'Hey, I can do this.' I don't think I'm that great a singer, but I'm a good actor."
Q. Do you get tired of the constant travel that the acting and performing life entails? Why not just hole up in Vegas with a steady show for a while?
A. "Oh, not a chance. Vegas, never. I grew up always travelling and I love going to all the different places and then seeing friends I have there. The road is in my blood, very much so."
Q. What makes a great show?
A. "I come at it from the point of view of the audience member. If I go to the show, what do I want to see? Then I go from there and build in some special parts to notch it up a bit."
Q. Can you give us a sneak peek?
A. "I'm trying out parts from my Kay Thompson project and finding that people are really enjoying it."
Q. What was it about Thompson that made you want to do a show, album and TV special about her?
A. "She was the absolute best at everything she did. Whether it was writing the children's book series Eloise, singing with her backing band the Williams Brothers -- one of whom was Andy Williams -- or being a huge radio star, she was excellent at it. She was the head of the MGM music department at a time when women just didn't ever get jobs like that as well. The greatest gift my parents gave me was making her my godmother. She lived with me until she died."
Q. You almost died of encephalitis a few years back. Did that change you?
A. "When they told me that I'd never walk again, probably not talk properly or sing, but at least I was alive, I was like, 'You've got to be kidding.' But then I asked myself, 'What can I do? I can rehearse.' So I started reciting the alphabet until I'd done it enough times that I could speak again. Then I did the same thing with walking, one step at a time. When I went returned to dance classes with Luigi, I knew it would work out."
Q. A lot of us are bummed out that Arrested Development didn't work out. It's a shame it didn't last longer.
A. "Oh, I loved it. We all had a ball and just screamed laughing doing it. What a great bunch of people. It startled me when it was taken off-air. We seemed to have a lot of fans and great press."
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Terence Lee
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:29 pm
- Location: Penang Island, Malaysia
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Liza Minnelli Collapses On Stage
Liza Minnelli Collapses On Stage
Liza Minnelli collapsed on stage during a performance in Sweden and was
rushed back to the United States for medical treatment, a concert
spokesman said Thursday.
She collapsed a few songs into a performance in Sweden's second city, Gothenburg, and was taken to hospital before being discharged, a concert promoter said.
The incident happened during a Christmas show last night.
The star, daughter of movie legend Judy Garland, fell off the side of the stage but was caught by a technician and escaped additional injuries, said Michael Silfverskiold, a local promoter.
Minnelli was appearing with Swedish performers. It was the final show after another performance in Gothenburg on Tuesday and shows in Stockholm over the weekend.
Minnelli's manager, Gary Labriola, said: "We don't yet know what happened, we are all very worried."
Mr Silfverskiold said her condition had clearly affected her performance. He said: "You could see she was in pain."
Police were called to the venue, the Scandinavium, after reports that crowds of concert-goers were angry and had demanded their money back.
Liza Minnelli collapsed on stage during a performance in Sweden and was
rushed back to the United States for medical treatment, a concert
spokesman said Thursday.
She collapsed a few songs into a performance in Sweden's second city, Gothenburg, and was taken to hospital before being discharged, a concert promoter said.
The incident happened during a Christmas show last night.
The star, daughter of movie legend Judy Garland, fell off the side of the stage but was caught by a technician and escaped additional injuries, said Michael Silfverskiold, a local promoter.
Minnelli was appearing with Swedish performers. It was the final show after another performance in Gothenburg on Tuesday and shows in Stockholm over the weekend.
Minnelli's manager, Gary Labriola, said: "We don't yet know what happened, we are all very worried."
Mr Silfverskiold said her condition had clearly affected her performance. He said: "You could see she was in pain."
Police were called to the venue, the Scandinavium, after reports that crowds of concert-goers were angry and had demanded their money back.
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Terence Lee
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:29 pm
- Location: Penang Island, Malaysia
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Liza's in London
Liza is in London this week to promote her forthcoming UK concert tour in May.
She can be seen on the telly:
Bruce Forsyth Birthday Show BBC1 (transmits end of Feb)
Alan Titchmarsh Show transmits 14th Feb @2.30pm
The One BBC1 transmits 14th Feb @ 7pm
Later with Jools BBC2 transmits 15th Feb @ 11.35pm
Breakfast BBC1 transmits TBC
South Bank Show Special (air date to be determined -- likely May sometime)
Liza can also be heard on the radio :
Steve Wright BBC Radio 2 tx TBC
Smooth FM tx TBC
She can be seen on the telly:
Bruce Forsyth Birthday Show BBC1 (transmits end of Feb)
Alan Titchmarsh Show transmits 14th Feb @2.30pm
The One BBC1 transmits 14th Feb @ 7pm
Later with Jools BBC2 transmits 15th Feb @ 11.35pm
Breakfast BBC1 transmits TBC
South Bank Show Special (air date to be determined -- likely May sometime)
Liza can also be heard on the radio :
Steve Wright BBC Radio 2 tx TBC
Smooth FM tx TBC
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Terence Lee
- Posts: 1095
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 8:29 pm
- Location: Penang Island, Malaysia
- Contact:
Liza is on TV today!
A Liza fan has reported that on the Alan Titchmarsh show, Liza was in top form and looked so gorgeous. She sang 2 songs and finished with a fabulous rendition of Cabaret. She
also talked about her career and her forthcoming tour of the UK in May.
She talked about her tribute in her show to
Kay Thompson(If you have seen her recent concerts you will know what I
mean).She does a great routine with a cast of young men (including a
young version of Andy Williams). This is a new venture for Liza and she
takes to the role like a duck to water and shows she still has the
stamina and passion to take on dance routines. If you get the chance
you gotta go to this show. It's LIZA at her best.
The ALan Titchmarsh
show is being aired in the UK on 14/2/08 on ITV at 2.30pm(UK time)
Liza will be on The One Show, BBC1, TONIGHT at 7pm.
And
Happy Birthday Brucie is currently in production but will not be shown until the end of the year.
also talked about her career and her forthcoming tour of the UK in May.
She talked about her tribute in her show to
Kay Thompson(If you have seen her recent concerts you will know what I
mean).She does a great routine with a cast of young men (including a
young version of Andy Williams). This is a new venture for Liza and she
takes to the role like a duck to water and shows she still has the
stamina and passion to take on dance routines. If you get the chance
you gotta go to this show. It's LIZA at her best.
The ALan Titchmarsh
show is being aired in the UK on 14/2/08 on ITV at 2.30pm(UK time)
Liza will be on The One Show, BBC1, TONIGHT at 7pm.
And
Happy Birthday Brucie is currently in production but will not be shown until the end of the year.
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Lena & Harry Smith
- Posts: 21514
- Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:05 am
- Location: London UK
I am not a fan (at all, really) but thought I'd mention that Liza Minelli was on the Jools Holland show on BBC2 late on Friday night. She spent a few minutes in conversation with Jools about her career and later sang a song, with Jules accompanying her on the piano (can't remember the name of the song though). I'm sure she has her talents but she's not really my cup of tea.
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Lena & Harry Smith
- Posts: 21514
- Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:05 am
- Location: London UK
That's interesting Gray and while we wonder at this stage if Liza's visit is going too well to be true, 
a reminder of the best ad-libbing genius of them all..
Jackie Gleason, comedian, composer actor who was rarely sober, spent more time drinking than anyone else in the 20th Century and yet performed with no studying, no script, never fluffing a line and was word perfect and would say if a guy ain't drunk by midnight he's not trying and he could dance steps that hadn't been invented, had a sense of balance that an acrobat would die for and never got into his stride until his Twentieth drink was going down and the sun was coming up.
He dominated the airwaves in those days and made a fortune and spent a fortune. He reckoned that everyone should make Two fortunes, one to blow and live it up and another for security, but he never seemed to identify the boundary between the end of the former and the start of the latter.
He never had a television set because he was never home to watch it and it interfered with conversation to be had at the bar.
He was 71 when he died and said that people should live life to the full. Too many people were saving themselves for their wake.
a reminder of the best ad-libbing genius of them all..Jackie Gleason, comedian, composer actor who was rarely sober, spent more time drinking than anyone else in the 20th Century and yet performed with no studying, no script, never fluffing a line and was word perfect and would say if a guy ain't drunk by midnight he's not trying and he could dance steps that hadn't been invented, had a sense of balance that an acrobat would die for and never got into his stride until his Twentieth drink was going down and the sun was coming up.
He dominated the airwaves in those days and made a fortune and spent a fortune. He reckoned that everyone should make Two fortunes, one to blow and live it up and another for security, but he never seemed to identify the boundary between the end of the former and the start of the latter.
He never had a television set because he was never home to watch it and it interfered with conversation to be had at the bar.
He was 71 when he died and said that people should live life to the full. Too many people were saving themselves for their wake.