If you belong to the Official Liza Minnelli Yahoo group, you’ve noticed the blizzard of e-mails discussing best seats, swaps, and prices from TicketMaster and the box office. Even for people who aren’t part of the hardcore, it would be impossible not to notice Liza peering over a hot mink in ads. To paraphrase a genius, Fred Ebb said it was like Christmas getting to work with the star. Now New York is giving her the season: Liza’s at the Palace 12/3-12/28 singing–along with her standards–songs by godmother Kay Thompson, “Hello, Hello”, “Jubilee Time”, and “I love a Violin” (Minnelli and producer Phil Ramone recorded a studio version–with Hybrid Recordings–available at the Palace during the run, followed by a retail and online release on Feb. 3); she's been appearing on Rosie Live!, Access Hollywood,CBS Early Show, and The Today Show; a special new disc is also out–Liza Minnelli: The Complete A&M Recordings–compiled by Scott Schechter: producer, Minnelli-Garland historian, and developer of Liza’s Web site–OfficialLizaMinnelli.com. He’s the author of The Liza Minnelli Scrapbook, too (link to AMAZON on the left side of this blog). Lavishly illustrated and including a foreword by her collaborator, accompanist, and confidant Billy Stritch (from Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing, $21.95), Liza has said about the tribute, "All the other books about me are B.S. This is the one that counts."
Spend the holidays with her:
· Best-buy tickets for Liza’s at the Palace: <http://www.lizasatthepalace.com/tickets.html>
· For access to Schechter’s yahoo group with all the latest Liza news (which she and her people follow): <http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/OfficialLizaMinnelli/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk3D2>
· To read more about Schechter’s new compilation–Liza Minnelli: The Complete A&M Recordings: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-M-Recordings-Liza-Minnelli/dp/B001G5IJZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1227812109&sr=1-1
· For Liza’s Official Website: http://www.officiallizaminnelli.com/ and others of interest: http://lizaatthepalace.com/; her European site: http://www.lizaminnelli.de/
· To learn what Billy Stritch is up to: http://www.billystritch.com/
And to hear more from Liza, below is the November 21, 2008 Playbill interview with her (and link):
DIVA TALK: Chatting with Liza Minnelli Plus News of Bean, Callaway and Murphy
By Andrew Gans
How many times in one's life does the day begin with a call from Liza Minnelli? Even if the interview was only ten minutes long, it would be hard to complain about speaking to the effervescent, good-natured Minnelli, who was calling during a rehearsal break in Milan. In fact, Minnelli seemed genuinely excited about her upcoming return to Broadway in Liza's at the Palace . . .!, which will begin an already-extended engagement at the famed Palace Theatre Dec. 3. The limited run, which is currently scheduled to play through Dec. 28, is an early holiday present for diva fans, who have been eagerly awaiting the Main Stem return of the Tony, Grammy, Oscar and Emmy Award-winning singer-actor-dancer. Minnelli, a three-time Tony winner (for Flora, The Red Menace; The Act; and a 1974 Special Award), was last on Broadway in 1999 in Minnelli on Minnelli, a tribute to her late father, film director Vincente Minnelli. This time around, the powerhouse performer will honor her late godmother, Kay Thompson, the vocal arranger who coached Minnelli's late mother, the legendary Judy Garland. Minnelli spoke with great enthusiasm about Thompson and her new show and her return to Broadway; that brief interview follows . . .
(link for full interview)
http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/article/123615.html/all