LIZA MINNELLI
THE CABARET LEGEND IS MAKING A LONG-AWAITED RETURN TO THE STAGE
Despite recent talk of health concerns, the Oscar-winning Cabaret star is eager to get back onstage and perform again.
In her Oscar-winning role in 1972’s Cabaret, Liza Minnelli’s Sally Bowles teases, “What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play.” Now, Liza is singing that same tune to her longtime fans. “The past couple of years she decided she wanted to take it easy, but over the past few months she got the desire to go out and do a couple of dates,” singer-pianist Michael Feinstein, Liza’s good friend, reveals to Closer. So in March, the 71-year-old legend will hit the Las Vegas stage with Michael by her side.
The “stalwart” performer is eager to “show her fans she’s doing great” in light of pesky tabloid reports that she’s ill and unable to walk, says Michael, 61. Though she’s battled back issues for years and has had hip-replacement surgery, “Liza’s in good health,” he says. “Sometimes her back issues flare up, but she’s actually in really good shape. She’s in great vocal shape, too! She sings every day and is the most disciplined person I know.”
Late last year, rumors swirled that Liza was weakening after photos of her in a wheelchair at a Something Rotten performance surfaced online. But Nick Burroughs, an actor in the show, tells Closer, “Liza was so energetic and lovely. She gave us a standing ovation! The wheelchair was so she can rest, not that she wasn’t able to walk.”
“I am ageless! Truly. I never think about age.” — Liza
RING THEM BELLS
Any reports to the contrary rile Michael, but he insists that Liza, who’s been in the business her whole life, keeps it all in perspective. “If somebody prints something, she goes, ‘Um, wrong, folks. I’m here!’ ” In fact, her naysayers only drive her more to get out there and prove them wrong. Their March show promises “a huge chunk devoted to Liza and her family’s legacy, with some video footage that’s never been seen before,” Michael says. “And there will definitely be surprises!”
One thing will never catch fans off guard, though: Liza’s talent. “Her amazing magnetism and charisma is just inherent in her soul,” Michael raves, “and it galvanizes audiences in a way I’ve never seen. It’s a fever pitch of excitement when she’s onstage.”