I think this excerpt says from the Times review it all:
Once the show began to soar, though, Ms. Minnelli’s force of will became a triumph of spirit over flesh. As she insisted on doing what she can no longer do,
her audacity was inspiring: her message was you do the best you can, and if you have to, fake it. She trusted the listener’s imagination to fill in the blanks. Ms. Minnelli’s stage philosophy, after all, comes from the perspective of
someone who grew up in a show business bubble and may never have questioned that life is a never-ending performance starring oneself. Within that bubble, catchphrases like “life is a cabaret, old chum,” and “the show must go on” make perfect sense and become poignant imperatives.
As the years pass, Ms. Minnelli, now 62, seems increasingly aware that she is one of the last of a hardy vaudeville breed and the foremost custodian of that tradition. A pure entertainer like Ms. Minnelli — and there is none purer — is at once voracious and extravagantly generous. If you’re onstage 24 hours a day, you have no choice but to give life everything you’ve got. Come on. He LOVED it!
"Be on your guard! Jerks on the loose!"
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
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