Liza Minnelli Pens Essay Celebrating Kander & Ebb in Honor of THE VISIT's Opening Night on Broadway

In honor of Kander and Ebb's final show, The Visit, opening tonight on Broadway and starring the legendary Chita Rivera, Liza Minnelli has penned an op-ed piece for USA Today.

She writes:

"Tonight the curtain comes down on the current Broadway season, and what a season it has been. More people have seen a Broadway show this year than have attended all of New York City's professional sports teams' home games combined. Broadway, one of this city's great beacons, has come to represent everything glamorous and exciting about New York and show business the world over.

My first Broadway opening was 50 years ago (almost to the day), when I starred in Flora, The Red Menace, for which I won my first Tony Award. That show also marked the first collaboration between the writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, whom I would go on to work with throughout my career. The work of these two theatrical giants, from Cabaret to Chicago, would come to shape and define the careers of an entire generation of theater artists.

Tonight also marks the opening night of Kander and Ebb's very last show. Starring the incomparable Chita Rivera, The Visit represents the final moment in one of the most remarkable ongoing collaborations in the history of the theater. To give you an idea of the kind of impact they have had, at least one Kander and Ebb show has been running on Broadway during 41 of the last 50 years. This year alone, there have been three.

Their work will live on in revivals until the end of time, of course, but the thrill and privilege of hearing their words and music sung out loud for the first time is singular. But like all that is wonderful and special about the theater, that thrill and privilege is all too fleeting."

Click here to check out the full essay!

Based on the satirical play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt as adapted by Maurice Valency, The Visit features music and lyrics by the Tony Award-winning team John Kander & Fred Ebb and book by four-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally. Helmed by Tony Award-winning director John Doyle, The Visit is choreographed by Tony Award-nominee Graciela Daniele.

The cast is led by Tony Award-Winners Chita Rivera as Claire Zachannassian and Roger Rees as Anton Schell. The Broadway cast also features George Abud as Karl, Jason Danieley as Frederich Kuhn, Matthew Deming as Louis Perch, Diana Dimarzio as Annie Dummermut, Tony Award-nomineeDavid Garrison as Peter Dummermut, Rick Holmes as Father Josef, Tom Nelis as Rudi, Chris Newcomer as Jacob Chicken, Mary Beth Peil as Matilde Schell, Aaron Ramey as Otto Hahnke, Elena Shadow as Ottilie, Timothy Shew as Hans Nusselin, with John Riddle and Michelle Veintimilla.

In her juiciest role yet, Chita Rivera is Claire Zachannassian, the world's wealthiest woman, who returns home to Anton Schell (Roger Rees) who captured her heart then shattered her dreams. What she does next shocks the town and makes for the most thrilling and intriguing musical in years. From the team that brought you "Cabaret", "Chicago", "Kiss of the Spider Woman", this tale of romance, seduction and betrayal proves that the best revenge is revenge.