Liza: ‘Happy Everything!’

There was electricity in the air at the newly opened Venue located in the Horseshoe Casino as the sold out audience waited for Ms. Minnelli to take the stage. As the lights dimmed and the orchestra swelled, one of the most beloved stars in our collective memory took the stage and proved that not only has she still got it, she is back in control of her life and her music. Even with a chest cold, Liza sang, danced and recounted her life and the people that mentored her career in a two hour concert and took her through three different costume changes and a roller coaster of emotions.

A certified superstar with a lineage of entertainment royalty, Liza won an Academy Award for her work in the film version of 'Cabaret' and won rave reviews for her performance in hit movie 'Arthur' with Dudley Moore. However, it is the live stage that Ms. Minnelli truly ignites a blaze. Liza has always had a unique connection with her audience. Even when she has performed in a book musical, the theatrical fourth wall ever seems to exist. Her energy and spirit reaches out and pulls you in. It has been over a decade since I last saw Liza when she took over for a vacationing Julie Andrews in the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria and before that it was with the great Chita Rivera in The Rink. Since then her private life has eclipsed her professional enterprises. Liza in concert is just what the doctor ordered and is a mutual love fest for both entertainer and her minions. The more the audience applauds, the more Liza is fueled. And fueled to the brim she was. Once she mentioned that she was fighting off a cold, the crowd routed and cheered her to nary a cough by the end of the show.

Stating that "her life is an open songbook" Liza takes us through her career via short quips, monologues and music. No one is left out, including some hilarious self deprecating humor as she talks about her battle with weight (Sara Lee), drugs, marriage and "Mamma". With longtime friend, pianist and collaborator Billy Stritch, the first hour of the concert focused on her mentors John Kander and Fred Ebb, creators of the musicals ‘Cabaret' and Chicago' and legendary choreographer Bob Fosse. One of the most telling of Liza's stature occurred in her recounting how she joined the original Broadway cast of Chicago filling in for Gwen Verdon for five weeks in which Liza never allowed her name to appeare in the Playbill or on the marquee (the same happened when she entered Victor/Victoria) because it was feared her star power would overshadow the production. Instead, her name was announced on the loud speaker before the performance in which the Chicago (and Victor/Victoria) audiences erupted in applause. She then transforms into Roxie Hart half-way through the story and performs a stunning rendition of "My Own Best Friend", a number that was cut from the film version. Minnelli brought down the house with a much more sedated "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret, closing the first half with the show's title song.

The second half of the program (no intermission for the casino crowd) is a recreation of a 1948 nightclub act by Liza's godmother, Kay Thompson, who was a revered vocal arranger for MGM Studios and coached the most famous singers of her era, including Judy Garland, Lena Horne and Frank Sinatra. Thompson left the employment of MGM in the late 1940s and developed a flamboyant nightclub act with Andy Williams and his brothers which Liza saw as a toddler, and was memorized. Later, Thompson wrote the "Eloise" series of children's books. The heartfelt Thompson tribute featured great jazz and dance numbers with the Williams brothers played here by Jim Caruso, Cortes Alexander, Johnny Rogers and Tiger Martina. Liza seems quite at home with these boys and the harmonies together were pitch perfect.

To cap off the night, Liza tells the story of how Thompson personally coached her for her vocals in Martin Scorsese's "New York, New York", a number which proved Liza with a "Z" is one of the greatest entertainers in the world and is on top of the world, again! So to Liza, in the words of her godmother, until the next concert in Chicago, "Goodbye Ms. Minnelli. Happy Everything!"

The Venue is proving itself to be a wonderful addition to Chicagoland performance spaces. The sound is perfectly balanced for the 3000 seat auditorium and the sight lines are exceptional from every angle and vantage point making the large theatre very intimate. Mike Hodin and the front of house staff and ushers are friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating, a quality could surely be used in some of our downtown houses. (Special thanks to Om Bhetuwal who was our suite butler for the performance.) Chicago now has a little bit of Vegas 25 minutes downstream. Lucky us! For upcoming concerts and information about The Venue, visit their website.

For those who missed Ms. Minnelli, you have 2 chances to catch her in St. Louis, September 11 & 12, 2008 at: The Bezemes Family Theater At The Lindenwood Center For Fine & Performing Arts. 2300 West Clay Street. Saint Charles, MO 63301 For ticket information call the Box Office at: (636) 949-4433 Ticket sales Telecharge.com or Bezemes Family Theater Missouri lindenwoodcenter.com

Photos by: Jay Shaff, ChicagoPride.com