LIZA! at 80! - CARNEGIE HALL — Page 2

Sounds like a great night, and I hope the audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Still, I am glad I did not go. I was in NY only last week, and briefly considered extending my stay… but no. I couldn't do that to myself again. 🙂

IMHO this was a successful evening that had high & low points, like everything, but it leaned toward a more successful 1st half with a Act 2 clinker from Claybourne Elder who certainly didn't help the evening with the worst 'I Can See It' I've ever heard with ineffective 'I Can See Clearly Now' opener. Chenoweth's contribution was unfortunately marred by strange musical choices that made some feel as though there were errors when typical sections were left lyric free. Other powerhouse Donna Murphy seemed to take her interpretation of 'Colored Lights' down the wrong path with the choice of being so forgetful of the men's names she was trying to remember that she twice went up on her lyrics.

The 30 member orchestra sounded grreat & the presence of John Kander in the audience was a plus. Unfortunately 2 of the 5 guest artists Broadway World chose to feature with head shots for the event were not there: Beth Leavel & Helen J. Shen.  Kathy Griffin was also a big miss for me but the evening was long so I certainly wasn't devastated by it. I did attend thinking that we would see LIZA. :-(

Musical highlight for me came early on from Kate Baldwin while the Verdon Fosse Legacy's 'I Gotcha' from Liza with a Z stood alongside Robyn Hurder & Co's terrific staging from Cabaret. 

Damon Daunno with Ali Stoker allowed me to appreciate some of his stellar tones even though inconsistent with his funny flip to head voice at times. The other crooner with the same D.D. initials Dez Duron also scored with his unusual choices with not always singing on vowels but finding some true creamy tones with an 'Embraceable You' which was in the show because it was connected to Liza's close relationship with Ira Gershwin. Lauren Patten was pretty special, as well. 

Susan Stroman shared a lot of heart regarding her time with Liza. Julie Halston was a gas in her backstage story with Liza at a Streisand event. Candice Bergen would have been appreciated more if she just had more to say. Andrew Rannells gave a terrific interpretation of Sondheim's 'Losing My Mind' that was introduced as being a version that Liza had not successfully gotten Mr. Sondheim to approve.

Marc Shaiman was paired nicely with Mo Rocca who uttered probably the funniest line of the night regarding 'Sterile Cuckoo.' Mario Cantone saying that the pair reminded him of the Muppets Statler & Waldorf was also a great line. Even though his Liza with a Z did not go down as magical, his impersonations of post-stoke Bette Davis & Katharine Hepburn did.

I appreciated the opportunity to hear songs from 'Flora the Red Menace' that I never heard before & all in all felt Liza should be proud of the honoring of her longevity & 80th birthday. 

OhHiii said: "TotallyEffed said: "Anyone who has seen recent clips of Liza would know her getting on a flight to New York was a pipe dream, unfortunately."

All fine and good, but it's not like Transport Group took pains to make sure the audience knew she would not be there...for an honorary 80th birthday tribute no less. You do know she has homes in both LA and New York...right?"

So do dignitaries of Asia and the Middle East. Just because you have, doesn't mean you are there. I assure you she has not been to her New York home in some time.

Doesn’t she discuss in the book selling her apartment? 

OhHiii said: "Interesting to find out that members of this board has access to Liza Minelli's daily itinerary and can say definitively she cannot travel. el oh el"

Yeah, it's called being able to observe Liza's events and cancelations in the last year. She was literally supposed to do a live event for her book in NYC that was canceled explicitly due to her inability to travel because of her health. 

BrodyFosse123 said: "Liza now lives primarily in Los Angeles though she still owns her iconic Manhattan apartment. Her last time there was about a year ago to shoot a series of photos for INTERVIEW Magazine with legendary photographer Greg Gorman.

 

 


You’re making things up again. 
 

Liza very publicly sold her New York apartment over a decade ago

 

 

TotallyEffed said: "BrodyFosse123 said: "Liza now lives primarily in Los Angeles though she still owns her iconic Manhattan apartment. Her last time there was about a year ago to shoot a series of photos for INTERVIEW Magazine with legendary photographer Greg Gorman.

You’re making things up again.


Liza very publicly sold her New York apartment over a decade ago"

Because I love a good Brody Whacking, the interview explicitly says it's her West Hollywood Home and its almost 2 years old.

https://www.interviewmagazine.com/theater/a-rare-interview-with-liza-minnelli

They made a point to keep it vague either way (re: Liza’s attending). A social media post about this event a few weeks ago said she hoped to “see” all her friends there, but with recent cancellations on both coasts*, I think it’s a fair assumption that she’s not going unless it’s explicitly stated - and even then, in her state, it’s a toss up. 

*She noted on IG that she missed a fashion show last month “due to a little sniffle”.

TheatreFan4 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "*She noted on IG that she missed a fashion show last month “due to a little sniffle”."

Something we gotta stop doing is pretending that any statement attributed to her is actually her. This whole book debacle is evidence of that. I'm sure that was AI generated and trained on her older interviews."

Something you gotta do is stop being petty. I don’t think anyone truly believes an eighty year old is actively using Instagram, but sure - since you need to play semantics and have things spelled out for you (that most people with common sense have an understanding of), let me correct my statement. 

*Her Instagram caption noted that she missed a fashion show last month “due to a little sniffle”. 🙄 

Also, it’s 2026. Almost any and all celebrity accounts are run by a social media team, not the individual. This is not rare and to pretend otherwise is pathetically naive. Catch up. 

Updated On: 6/26/26 at 08:32 PM

Robbie2 said: "She's really that ill and why didn't they skype her in live from her home in LA and say something to all the fans. All rude and disrespectful on her part not to show or say something about this 80th Celebration!"

 

Oh shush. She’s a fragile old lady who owes us nothing.