On the opening night of her European tour there was no doubting that life is once more a “cabaret” for previously troubled chanteuse Liza Minnelli.
The newly svelte 56-year-old singer wowed a star-studded audience, which included Tony Bennett, Barbara Windsor, Queen guitarist Brian May, Joanna Lumley and comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday.
She kicked off the two-hour show, entitled Liza’s Back, by emerging on stage in a full-length white fur coat and then went on to dazzle with a performance of New York, New York. Later in the evening she donned a basque and bowler for a new twist on her famous Cabaret song.
The elfin-faced star also paid tribute to the Queen Mother. Before launching into a capella rendition of Vera Lynn’s wartime classic I’ll Be Seeing You, Liza explained: “I was lucky enough at one point in my life to meet and perform on stage for the Queen Mother. She was a marvellous woman and I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I heard this was one of her favourite songs… and I would like very much to sing it for you and for her.”
At the end of the concert, Liza received six standing ovations, led enthusiastically by her new husband David Gest, the music presenter behind both her physical and professional comeback.
While the singer is currently basking in her rediscovered success, however, there is a cloud on the horizon. Liza’s 94-year-old stepmother is currently suing the entertainer for breach of contract and “elder abuse”. Lee Anderson Minnelli claims Liza has tried to evict her from her Beverly Hills home and cut off the electricity.
In the lawsuit, Lee says she was guaranteed housing until her death in the will of director Vincente Minnelli, her late husband, and Liza’s father.
Speaking to a US magazine columnist the star says: “My father left me the house saying, ‘It is my wish if you sell the house that you move Lee to a residence’. I offered her a $450,000 condo, tax free. She won’t move.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
