THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
To put it simply, our event celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Emmy Award winning concert, Liza with a Z. What makes this event worth celebrating? Well, it remains an iconic and unmatched example of dynamic live performance and an enduring template for how to craft the perfect televised event.
Liza With A Z was filmed on May 31st 1972, at New York City's Lyceum Theatre. The eclectic and ambitious concert was the first of its kind in that it was created to be a live performance for a theatrical audience while simultaneously being filmed for broadcast television.
The material was a combination of popular hits, old standards, Broadway songs and brand new material compiled by the biggest names in showbiz. Much of it was written by the popular Tony Award winning team of Kander and Ebb, who also did many of the arrangements. The director, choreographer AND film editor, was the great Bob Fosse. The music coordinator and conductor was Marvin Hamlish. And the star, of course, was the one and only, Liza Minnelli. Ebb and Fosse even produced the event. How's that for a group of A list musical theatre legends?
They had all recently filmed the movie Cabaret together and they thought they should create something else before the film came out. Soon the world would know their work on movie screens but they all came from the world of live theatre. So they wanted to give people who otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity a chance to see a Liza show, a Fosse show, and a Kander and Ebb show, from the comfort of their own homes. Now remember, this was before the days of YouTube where you can watch anything and everything with the press of a button. The concept for Liza With A Z was a brand new notion. Even the fact that sponsors weren't allowed in rehearsals to approve the length of Minnelli's short skirts or low cut tops was previously unheard of!
Cabaret opened in theaters in February of '72 and almost instantly made Liza a bonafide, world-wide star. Then, Liza with a Z finally aired on America's NBC, September 10th 1972. As you can imagine, it was a massive hit. They re-aired the special twice more that year.
Shortly after that, Liza and Fosse won Academy Awards for Cabaret and then Liza With A Z won 4 Emmy Awards. It even picked up the Peabody Award. Over the years the legacy continued. The album became a certified Gold Record in December of 1999 and had a newly restored DVD re-release in 2006.
Cut to 2022. To honor all of this, The London Gay Big Band decided to make Liza With A Z the focus of their big annual concert and they asked me to be it's star. Of course I said YES! (Which also just happens to be the opening song of the concert!)
As daunting a task as it may be, we'll be performing the whole 45 minute concert with dancers, costume changes, and all the iconic musical arrangements. However, as 45 minutes isn't quite long enough for a live show, we're doing Liza With A Z – and More! This allows us to touch on some other beloved Liza Minnelli hits including songs from New York, New York, which is a personal favorite of mine.
I should note that, while I'm known for doing impressions, I'll be doing this concert as myself. One reason that Liza is considered one of the greatest performers of all time is not just because she's a triple threat, but because of the honest and nuanced way in which she performs. Sure, she sings and dances the heck out of the songs, but she's so truthful, grounded and accessible as an actor, everything is taken to a whole other level. If I was doing an impression, I fear you would lose the point of doing the show. It can't be a parody. It has to all be sincere and from the heart.
But since I can do a Liza impression... it would be silly not to throw it in at least once! You'll just have to come and find out how and where I work it in! Through this balance, hopefully we'll give the audience a taste of what it might have been like to actually be there for the real thing.
Performing this concert is a dream come true for me. I was singing Liza With A Z and trying to re-enact it in my pajamas as a kid. So to have the opportunity to perform it at the beautiful Clapham Grand, with 25 piece band, is so very special.
As Liza said about the original event, "I can't tell you what it was like that night, except we had one chance. We had one shot... and it was go!"
You can be sure that we're not gonna throw away our shot on October 23rd!
For more information and tickets go to
www.claphamgrand.com
