Liza Minnelli News

The cast for Thursday, June 7th, in the ever-changing Broadway Ballyhoo concert series, has just been announced. The four stars kicking off the Ballyhoo's seventh smash month at Feinstein's will be the star who played Tony in the Broadway revival of West Side Story, Matt Cavenaugh, the beautiful young actress who played Meg in the Broadway production of Little Women, Jenny Powers, one of Broadway's great Elphaba's in Wicked, Julia Murney, and the acclaimed nightclub star who will be holding court during the dinner show at Feinstein's, Maude Maggart.

The Cabaret at The Columbia Club presents Carol Woods: Singin' the Blues on Broadway on August 10th and 11th.

Chita Rivera, Tony Danza, Susan Stroman, Albert Maysles, John Turturro, Tamara Tunie, Karen Ziemba, Melissa Errico, Lee Roy Reams, Joe Morton, Smash choreographer Josh Bergasse and Countess LuAnn de Lesseps are all set to be presenters at the 30th Annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards on Monday, June 4th at 7:30pm at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts.

In this very rare sit down, we are honored to bring you an exclusive chat with musical theatre legend John Kander. In Part 1 of the interview below, John reminisces about the major milestones of his career, which will be honored by The Dramatists Guild Fund in a special ceremony on Sunday, June 3, in association with the organization's 50th Anniversary. Kander will be celebrated for contributing some of the most important works of musical theatre - along with his late partner Fred Ebb - to the canon including Cabaret and Chicago - also major motion pictures - Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Act, Woman of the Year, The Rink, Curtains, The Scottsboro Boys and more.

The 68th annual THEATRE WORLD AWARDS, which will take place on Tuesday, June 5th at 2 pm at The Belasco Theatre, 111 West 44th Street, NYC., will include special performances by Broadway favorites Brian Stokes Mitchell, Michael Cerveris, Howard McGillin and Stephanie Umoh. The by-invitation-only ceremony will present Theatre World Awards to 12 actors for their Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performances during the 2011-2012 theatrical season. The event also includes presentation of the 4th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence. This year The Theatre World Awards will have ASL interpretation.

Cabaret chronicles author Jenna Esposito interviews rising star William Blake about his upcoming tribute to Etta James, his performance in the new Air Supply musical and more in a cabaret chronicles exclusive article!

Bea Arthur would have turned 90 years old on May 27, 2012. To celebrate her birthday, actor D.J. Schaefer is transformed as Bea Arthur and will join Judy Garland played by rewound tribute artist, Peter Mac in a very special show Bea Arthur and Judy Garland: Tribute Artists Celebrate 90th Birthdays.

Chris Isaacson has announced that Upright Cabaret's AMERICAN ICON Series ends another stunning season with VIVA LAS VEGAS - a presentation of personality and pop that honors the flashiest performers of all time: Elvis, Cher and Elton John. Joining the group of all-star performers will be Patrick Cassidy.

Dorothy Marcic (SISTAS, RESPECT) brings her newest musical, What We Do For Love Or Other Desperate Measures to the Upstairs Theater at the Bleeker Street Theater (45 Bleeker Street) on Wednesday, June 13th (7PM) for six performances as part of the 4th annual Planet Connections Festivity. The cast will include: Gilbert Bailey, Natalie Hill, Simon Pearl, Morgan Reed,Carla Stewart and Ryan Williams.

The 68th annual Theatre World Awards will be held Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 at The Belasco Theatre, 111 West 44th Street, NYC. The 2 pm by-invitation-only ceremony will also include presentation of the 4th Annual Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence. This year The Theatre World Awards will have ASL interpretation.

Fifty years after its release, the MGM re-mastered film returns to the big screen in high definition with its original vocals and dialog intact. This classic romantic tragedy and the bitter battle between the Jets and the Sharks as Leonard Bernstein's seminal score, featuring the much loved 'America', 'Somewhere' and 'Tonight', is dramatically brought to life on stage by The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by Jayce Ogren at the Royal Albert Hall for four performances on the 22nd to the 24th of June, 2012.

Bea Arthur would have turned 90 years old on May 27, 2012. To celebrate her birthday, actor D.J. Schaefer is transformed as Bea Arthur and will join Judy Garland played by rewound tribute artist, Peter Mac in a very special show Bea Arthur and Judy Garland: Tribute Artists Celebrate 90th Birthdays.

Judy and Company with Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Peggy Lee, Tallulah Bankhead and Katie Hepburn, ladies of screen, theatre and TV all sharing top billing, as usual is a joyous Peter Mac show. At the all new Peter Mac Supper Club in Hollywood, Garland opens and closes with a bevy of her hits including, 'Almost Like Being in Love', 'This Can't Be Love', 'The Man That Got Away', 'The Trolley Song' and 'By Myself' from the film I Could Go On Singing. Garland is in rare form, never missing a beat, even getting in a dig about losing the Oscar for Star to Grace Kelly. Next comes Miss Tallulah Bankhead SINGING an outrageous 'Everybody's F------But Me' and 'Como te gusta mi pinga...', with Spanish making the obscenity sound acceptable, actually quite delicious. Jokes fly out of her trashy mouth, and there's even a raunchy Snow White fable. Following Tallu comes a hilariously, talk about stoned, Peggy Lee who gives her all to 'Is That All There Is?' and the politically incorrect 'Manana'. Lee's synthetic blonde wig gives Mac some great dish lines. Then, like a tornado from QVC, in flies the one and only Liza Minnelli - ablaze in red sequins - giving us not two but three numbers 'Say Yes', 'Liza with a Z' and 'Maybe This Time' with quite an interesting anecdote about how the former was actually written for Kaye Ballard but became a big hit in theCabaret film for Liza. The final guest is Kate Hepburn who treats us to her inimitable rendition of 'Coco' and 'The Glory of Love' echoing her unusual 27 year extra-marital relationship with Spencer Tracy.

"Fox & Friends" this morning welcomed the legendary Liza Minnelli. Minnelli was a guest on the Fox News Channel program to talk about her new CD Liza Minnelli Live At The Winter Garden which was recently released by Masterworks Broadway. While she was there, she was even asked about her thoughts on END OF THE RAINBOW, the Broadway play based on her mother's life. Hear what she had to say in the full interview below!

"Fox & Friends" will welcome the legendary Liza Minnelli on Tuesday, May 22. Minnelli will be a guest on the Fox News Channel program to talk about her new CD Liza Minnelli Live At The Winter Garden which was recently released by Masterworks Broadway.

Trinity Repertory Company previously announced that Rhode Island's own Academy Award-nominated actress, Viola Davis, would be honored with the 2012 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts at the 16th annual Pell Awards. Theater educator Elaine Foster Perry will receive the Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts, Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons will receive the Pell Award For Leadership in Arts Education, and J.L. "Lynn" Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center and Professional Facilities Management, will be honored as the recipient of the Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. All awardees are past or current Rhode Islanders.

Today we are talking to one of the stars of the hit revival of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING - which will be closing this Sunday after a 16-month run, so catch it while you can - who has also carved out an astonishingly accomplished resume on film and TV since her stunning, Emmy-winning small screen debut in a lead role as the young Judy Garland in ME & MY SHADOWS: LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND - the beautiful and tremendously talented Tammy Blanchard. Touching on many of her most memorable big screen and small screen roles and sharing her experiences of working with many of her impressive co-stars and creative collaborators - Bernadette Peters, Jessica Lange, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents, Sam Mendes, and her co-star on two films, the late Brittany Murphy - Blanchard eloquently illustrates her rise to stardom and the roles and performances she has given that she is fondest of - GYPSY to BELLA to THE GOOD SHEPHERD and beyond. Additionally, Blanchard clues us in on what we can expect from her multi-episode character arc on Showtime's hit dramedy series THE BIG C and what it was like to play such a unique and unusual character - as well as her feelings on sharing the screen (and the onscreen bedroom) with previous InDepth InterView participants John Benjamin Hickey and Brian d'Arcy James. Plus, Blanchard shares how her new role as a mom has shaped her craft and career as well as future plans post-HOW TO SUCCEED, observations on GLEE and SMASH and much, much more!

Theater actor, writer, and director Gerard Alessandrini's brainchild, the 30-year-old Off-Broadway hit parody series FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, finally premiered at Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Makati City last weekend. Joel Trinidad, Upstart Productions' president and the show's director, had picked FORBIDDEN BROADWAY'S GREATEST HITS, which has two volumes to date, and features some of the more popular spoofs of Broadway musicals and theater legends culled from more than a dozen FORBIDDEN BROADWAY editions.

"THE TALK" just welcomed the legendary Liza Minnelli for the first time yesterday, May 15. While she was there, Minnelli chatted about her new CD Liza Minnelli Live At The Winter Garden which was recently released by Masterworks Broadway. Check out her full appearance below!

On June 10, 2012, The Actor's Fund will present its 16th Annual Tony Awards party at the Skirball Center, this year honoring Jason Alexander with the Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement.. Scott Bakula will host the gala and this year's Honorary Celebrity Committee includes: Julie Bowen, Nancy Dussault, Dann Florek, Elliott Gould, Steve Guttenberg, Garry Marshall, Chita Rivera, Susan Sarandon, Holland Taylor and Zachary Quinto. The event includes cocktails and a silent auction followed by ainner and a live telecast of a live feed of the Tony Awards as they happen in New York.