The Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey has announced an evening with the legendary Liza Minnelli on June 18, 2010. Performing in a benefit for the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County, Liza will sing sensational American standards in a glamorous and intimate concert.
The show will feature some of the greatest songs of all time performed in their purest, most intimate form with Liza and her quartet.
Liza Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to the actress/songwriter Judy 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 a very early age, co-starring with her mother in the movie "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1949. At the age of 10, Liza hosted the first-ever TV broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz", reaching a viewing audience of about 45 million people. By the time she was 19, she had landed the lead role in "Flora, the Red Menace". This Broadway performance won her a Tony for the Best Actress in a Musical.
In 1967 she went on to star in several films that showcased her superb acting abilities ("Charlie Bubbles," "The Sterile Cuckoo," and "Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon").
In 1972, her movie career peaked when she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The film won eight Oscars, including the Best Actress for Liza. The role also earned her a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. The unqualified success of "Cabaret" put Liza on the covers of Time and Newsweek in the same week. Liza also starred in the first concert ever filmed for live television in 1972. "Liza with a Z" produced a Top 20 album and won the Emmy for Outstanding Single Program. It has been released in recent years as a DVD.
Liza went on to appear opposite Robert DeNiro in the musical "New York, New York," directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1977. In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the movie "Arthur", going on to make the sequel "Arthur 2" in 1998.
Liza added a second Golden Globe to her already impressive list of awards in 1985 wither her performance in "A Time to Live", a made-for-TV movie. In 1989, she produced an album with Britain's Pet Shop Boys called "Results" that was a huge hit all over Europe.
In 1997, Liza took over from an ailing Julie Andrews in Broadway's "Victor/Victoria." Andrews had to leave the show to undergo a vocal cord surgery which was not completely successful. Liza later underwent the identical surgical procedure and made a full recovery. Liza returned to the state in December 1999 to pay tribute to her father in a show called "Minnelli on Minnelli" at New York's Palace Theater.
Shortly after the CD of "Minnelli on Minnelli" was released in February 2000, Liza was hospitalized for encephalitis. The prognosis was grim: she was told that she would never walk, talk, dance, or sing again. But Liza's incredible will, determination and relentless hard work proved them wrong, and by June 2002, she was back on stage at the Beacon Theater in New York. Her triumphant comeback CD entitled "Liza's Back!" was released in October 2002 and she was seen as Lucille Austero in TV's critically-acclaimed Arrested Development.
In 2008 Liza returned to Broadway with "Liza's at the Palace..." which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event, marking her four Tony Award. She recreated the show at the MDM Grand where her performance was filmed for a public television special and a DVD. The show's cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Liza continues her extraordinary music career with ongoing concert tours in the U.S. and Europe, as well as recording a new album.
Tickets to Liza Minnelli go on sale to the public April 24, 2010, and range from $50-250, depending upon seat locations. For tickets, visit www.ticketmaster.com or by calling the box office at 732.897.8810.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
