Photo Flash: Liza Minnelli Meets Lady Gaga at Madison Square Garden!

In the audience at last night's concert were special guests, including Marisa Tomei, Liza Minnelli and Billy Stritch. Lady Gaga recognized both from the stage, and told a story to the audience about how Minnelli was an inspiration to her. She talked about her origins at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, mentioning how her acting and performance teachers told her she didn't have what it took, essentially, to "be a superstar."

"You'll never be the main character... the blonde... your hair's too dark... you look too ethnic" To retort in the face of such opposition, Gaga would reply, "What about Liza?" She then asked the audience to give Liza a standing ovation, which they did to an obviously thrilled Minnelli.

The moment was filmed, though there's no word if it'll make the cut for her May 7th TV special. Here's hoping! Afterwards, Liza and her longtime brilliant musical collaborator and friend Billy Stritch made their way backstage and Stritch was kind enough to share his personal photos with BroadwayWorld.com.

Lady Gaga released her debut album, "The Fame," in 2008, winning Grammys for Electronic/Dance Album and Dance Recording (for "Poker Face"), and earning five #1 hits. Her follow-up, "The Fame Monster," produced the smash singles "Bad Romance" and "Telephone," and just received three Grammys, including Female Pop Vocal Performance (for "Bad Romance"), Pop Vocal Album and Short Form Music Video (for "Bad Romance"). "The Fame" and "The Fame Monster" have sold more than 15 million copies combined.

Lady Gaga's next album, "Born This Way," is scheduled for release May 23. In addition to her five Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga has already won nine Billboard Music Awards, five World Music Awards, two People's Choice Awards and 11 MTV Music Video Awards. A major presence in the world of social media, she is #1 on Twitter with more than eight million followers and has more than 28 million "likes" on Facebook.

Lady Gaga PRESENTS THE MONSTER BALL TOUR AT Madison Square Garden will be directed by Lauriann Gibson, who has choreographed most of Lady Gaga's videos, including "Poker Face," "Paparazzi," "Telephone," "Alejandro" and "Bad Romance." The special will be produced by Lady Gaga, TRoy Carter, Vincent Herbert and Jimmy Iovine.