Liza's At the Palace
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Movie Reviews of Liza's At the Palace
Movie Review: Liza @ the Palace
Summary: 5 Stars
Came in impeccable condition and at a price so much cheaper than at a store.Movie Review: Liza Defies the Odds Yet Again with a Full-Throttle Performance
Summary: 4 Stars
Her high notes and vocal range left her a long time ago, but Liza Minnelli was never really about the strength or purity in her singing voice. She has always been about performing all out. In her increasingly rare film roles, her need to bowl us over could get overwhelming, but onstage, it is truly a level of showmanship that she has singularly crafted with blood, sweat and tears over the years thanks in no small part to her lineage. There are moments in this production - especially during the first half - when the 63-year-old entertainer evokes her mother Judy Garland in stage manner and professional savvy. However, Minnelli has truly become her own self-defined persona, one that feeds off an audience's unabated adoration. She gets that in spades in the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where her month-long engagement at Broadway's Palace Theater nearly a year earlier was recreated on September 30 and October 1, 2009.
Directed and choreographed by Ron Lewis, the almost two-hour running time of this concert is divided into two acts. Minnelli opens the show with a surprisingly sonorous turn on the Gene DePaul-Sammy Cahn classic "Teach Me Tonight" and then lights into equally unexpected choices like the comical rat-a-tat-tat of "If You Hadn't, But You Didn't" (based on her own self-professed misfortune at love) and an affecting rendition of the Ebb-Kander chestnut, "My Own Best Friend". However, she doesn't disappoint fans by including two numbers from Cabaret: a torchy version of "Maybe This Time" and a high-octane performance of the title tune. The high point comes with a revised version of the vaudeville tribute her mother performed at the Palace during her legendary engagement back in 1961 (Judy At Carnegie Hall). The second act opens with one of my favorites, the resigned-to-blistering "And the World Goes `Round" from New York, New York.
What follows is an extensive recreation of the nightclub act that her godmother Kay Thompson performed in the late 1940's with the Williams brothers as her back-up quartet. Thompson was a legendary vocal arranger from MGM's golden era, probably best remembered for her scene-stealing turn as the flamboyant fashion editor in Stanley Donen's Funny Face. Granted Minnelli more struts than dances, she is still at her energetic best in these up-tempo numbers backed by an accommodating quartet of talented singer-dancers: Cortes Alexander, Jim Caruso, Tiger Martina, and Johnny Rodgers. Naturally, she climaxes the show with a no-holds-barred rendition of her signature tune, "New York, New York", followed by a quiet encore, another tribute to her mother, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" accompanied solely by Billy Stritch's piano. Despite the ragged edges of her performance, Minnelli proves she can still wow them. The one extra to the 2010 DVD is an extended conversation between Minnelli and Lewis about the creation of the concert.
Movie Review: Liza is back in better form
Summary: 4 Stars
True, her voice is not what it used to be - due to age and "smoking" - but she is entertaining though always a little needy (like her Mom?) Touching stories throughout and the recreation of the Kay Thomopson act is very entertaining and different in a nice way. Who knew that someone sweated more than I do!Movie Review: Poor Liza
Summary: 3 Stars
Anyone who has seen Liza perform in the last year or two - will tell you most of what I'm about to tell you that you'll see on this DVD. For many - they would prefer to remember her the way they may have seen her years ago - when she was at her peak. When this DVD was recorded I had already bought my tickets to her concert in Sydney last October - and having seen a little of what she performs like now on Youtube - i kind of knew what i was in for. For those who don't know... Liza doesn't perform the way she used to. She can still belt out songs to some degree - but not the way she did years ago. Her voice still sounds like her - but its not the same Liza. She's more frail - she gets very worn out easily - in part because she gives every song and every moment on stage everything she has within her to give.
And also, in part because her system is so clearly wrecked from the years of substance abuse and health problems. The amount of face-lifts are also very obvious. Yet these days - audiences the world over - give her standing ovation after standing ovation for the great performer she still shows us a faint glimmer of now.
The first half of this show is a selection of songs she is known for - which always make the crowd go wild, as well as a few character pieces that she has added - one of which really is hard to listen to - cause her diction is not as good anymore (referring to 'If You Hadn't, But You Did). Nice in concert to hear the little anecdotes here and there.
The second half of the show is a tribute to her late godmother Kay Thompson - one of America's great cabaret performers, and in particular during her time and shows with The Williams Brothers (one of which was Andy Williams).
There is no footage that survives to this day of Thompsons original shows or choreography - just still photographs. It's entertaining for the most part - as it's not a serious tribute - it's entertainment - and for this i must say it's great to see.
By the end of the show - she's buggered. the final number - New York, New York, she barely makes it through. But she gives it every damn ounce of energy she can possibly muster up in her being and performs the hell out of it.
Nice to have a concert DVD of Liza in a few different stages of her career and her performing life. I enjoy watching Liza with a Z and The Radio City concert from 1991.
Movie Review: For Liza Fans Only
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted to like this concert DVD. I have been a Liza fan ever since "Flora The Red Menace,"
and have seen her in concert a number of times in New York and Boston.
But, this DVD is a major disappointment. Liza can still belt in her lower register, and she is extremely likeable. I enjoyed songs such as "Judy at The Palace." But, Liza's voice is in tatters, yet she's singing songs that are far outside her current vocal range.
Unlike Rosemary Clooney and Tony Bennett, who with age discovered ways to adjust their
vocal styles or give more time to the orchestra, this concert could have been given thirty years ago -- just add the Thompson songs. The Kay Thompson long medley is a highlight because the backup singers are first rate, and that's what is required for such superb arrangements.
While some non-Liza's fans may enjoy this DVD, it's really aimed at people who like everything she does regardless of the quality of her voice. This does not apply if you are a Kay Thompson fan. If so, by all means buy the DVD!!!