AZALEA FESTIVAL; Liza gives classic show

Copyright 1998 Wilmington Star-News, Inc.

By CLIFTON DANIEL, Staff writer

The voice is a little huskier, the delivery a little more breathy, but that was definitely Liza Minnelli on stage at Trask Coliseum Saturday night, belting out show stoppers and bringing the audience to its feet over and over again.

All she had to do was sing the first five notes to Cabaret and people were up and clapping.

Not that she stopped there. Anyone expecting to hear a litany of her hits got them, plus a few surprises. In one of the most delightful moments of the evening, Ms. Minnelli announced she would sing a song about the woman most important in her life, then launched into a number about Sara Lee desserts.

One of her first songs was an all-stops-out of Ethel Merman's rendition of Some People, from the musical Gypsy. After belting it out, she glided to the piano, slightly out of breath, and took a long sip of water.

"Look at me,'' she said, laughing. ``I'm 52 years old and I'm trying to act like doing that song doesn't bother me.''

Ms. Minnelli may not be a kid anymore, but all through the evening she showed flashes of the kid she was, the 17-year-old who became the youngest performer ever to win a Tony Award on Broadway.

Between songs, she schmoozed with the audience, waving, thanking them for being invited and going to the corners of the stage every now and then so the people sitting along the sides could see her.

`I'll sing real loud so you can hear me,'' she told them.

After a first act of doing just that, belting out brassy ballads and show tunes, she returned to perform several love songs from her 1996 CD, Gently, including Embraceable You, the favorite song of her parents, film director Vincente Minnelli and legendary singer Judy Garland. Ms. Minnelli closed with what has become her signature song, New York, New York. It not only brought the audience to its feet, but made it cheer so loudly, she might as well have stopped.

Only the band could hear the final notes.

Report by Laura Guyer:

It was so funny to read the tabloid headling that said "LIZA CRISIS-Hospitalized in agony" and then walk across the street and see a healthy, vibrant Liza strutting around the stage singing her heart out, and that was only the rehearsal. There was obviously nothing wrong with her or her reputation. At showtime the Trask Coliseum was packed to overflowing. They couldn't have squeezed any more people in if they'd used a shoehorn.

Among the local dignitaries present were Senator Jesse Helm, Miss North Carolina, and the Azalea Festival Queen. Liza even introduced her new voice teacher, Linda Carroll, a former Miss Maine. This was the first show I ever saw where they gave her a standing ovation after every song and three times during New York, New York.

After the show about 100 people flocked backstage. I followed them, but it was so crowded that I went outside to wait by myself. Liza asked me how the show was and I told her it was great. Then she mentioned wanting to lose ten pounds and I told her she looked fine. She said thanks and departed in her limo under heavy police escort.

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