Prior
to its highly anticipated re-airing on Showtime, the Ziegfeld Theatre
(141 W. 54th St.) hosted a screening of "Liza with a 'Z'" to benefit
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS on March 13th. Minnelli herself--celebrating her 60th birthday--appeared at the screening, which drew stars such as Tony Danza, Michael Cerveris, Parker Posey and Alan Cumming. After the screening, MAC Viva Glam presented a check for $25,000 to BC/EFA.
Showtime will air the star's Emmy Award-winning concert on April 1st. Fully
restored and digitally remastered, the 1972 concert will feature
Minnelli (Tony Award-winner for Flora, The Red Menace and The Act, Oscar-winner for Cabaret) performing trademark numbers such as "Ring Them Bells," the
title song and several songs from Cabaret as
well as standards like "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "Mammy," and "Son of a
Preacher Man." "Liza with a 'Z'" netted Emmy Awards for Minnelli (for
Best Performance), Bob Fosse (Best Direction and Best Choreography), John Kander and Fred Ebb
(Best Music, Lyrics and Special Material) and Outstanding Single
Program--Variety and Popular Music. "Liza with a 'Z'" has not been seen on TV since a re-airing in September of 1973; the concert premiered on September 10th, 1972. Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan (the Chicagofilm, TV musicals of "Annie," "The Music Man"), as well as Minnelli herself, are responsible for the Showtime deal.