Chugg Entertainment and David M. Hawkins are presenting the long awaited return of award winning superstar Liza Minnelli. Bringing her unstoppable Minnelli magic to Australia, Liza will tour nationally during October in an unmatchable concert performance. Based on her recent hit Broadway show "Liza's At The Palace", the evening will feature an incomparable Minnelli songfest including many of her personal favorites and signature hits. The recent Tony Winner stopped by to visit Australian Idol and you can watch the segment right here on STAGE TUBE!
Along with a twelve-piece orchestra led by conductor/drummer Michael Berkowitz and pianist/musical supervisor Billy Stritch, the performance will feature many of Liza's showstoppers such as "Cabaret", "Maybe This Time" and "Theme From New York, New York" - all written especially for her by the legendary Broadway song writing partnership of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Directed by Ron Lewis, this concert performance of almost two hours duration (with interval), will be full of personal stories, anecdotes and heartfelt reminiscences.
Liza Minnelli was born in Los Angeles into show business royalty. With her mother Judy Garland and her father the Award winning director Vincent Minnelli, her's is the only family where both parents and child have won an Oscar. Her god parents were Ira Gershwin and Kay Thompson. Liza made her screen debut in 1949 as a toddler with her mother in the MGM movie musical In the Good Old Summertime. One of the world's best-loved entertainers, she won Tony awards for Flora, the Red Menace in 1965 and The Act in 1978, along with a third for Best Personal Achievement, resulting from her 1974 engagement at the Winter Garden Theatre. Nominated for an Academy Award® for The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), she won the best actress prize for her best-known film, Cabaret (1972), which also won her a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA. She won an Emmy for Liza with a 'Z' (1972) and was also the recipient of a Grammy Legend Award in 1989, making her one of the few artists who have won entertainment's top six awards.
In 2003 Australian Idol was born and the roles of judges were taken on by the legendary diva Marcia Hines and matter-of-fact record company guru Ian "Dicko" Dickson. Australia responded overwhelmingly to seeing its own undiscovered talent on TV. The spectacular grand final, broadcast live from the Sydney Opera House, pitted Shannon Noll against Guy Sebastian in the TV talking point of the year.
