From Army Arched in Variety:
Debbie Reynolds caught Liza in "Minnelli on Minnelli" at the Palace where Liza
intro'd Debbie in the audience. Reynolds used to babysit Liza -- and she lived next to Judy, Liza and
Vincente in Beverly Hills. Debbie raved about Liza's show.
From Michael Musto in The Village Voice:
I go away for just a week, and the town goes mad, trashing poor Liza Minnelli
and raving about some stuff that could really kill you. Let me try
to fix things before the damage escalates. The 'Minnelli on Minnelli' show
that I saw was an utter lovefest, with Liza indulging us in an orgy of
family lore that in its own surfacey way is deliciously laden with
showstoppers and pizzazz. We could pick apart the descending set
panels and perky male dance combo, but Liza anchors it all in fabulous
voice and spirits and enough of a self-mocking tone to make us feel a
conspiratorial part of her comeback. You know
the diva's back when she launches into her trademark sibilant pronunciations
("shnow-capped mountains") and rips into
a gutsy, slow-paced "I Got Rhythm" that proves she really does. And you're
convinced she hasn't lost her mind when
she totally skips over Dad's A Matter of Time,
the megabomb she costarred
in, focusing instead on adorable hits
from The Bandwagon and Gigi, one in favor of champagne, one (rewritten)
extolling AA. The pinnacle of weirdness and
brilliance has Liza duetting, Natalie Cole-style, with mama Judy on "The
Trolley Song" a career trick which turns us
into voyeuristic, way-more-enthralled-than-embarrassed worshipers at the throne
of genius genealogy. You're thinking,
"No! Don't go there!" as you applaud wildly at this, the gayest moment of the
entire millennium. In fact, if by some
chance you're not gay, this sensational spectacle will turn you gay. Brava!
Please don't be offended by the last remark if you're straight. Musto's really
OUT there, and, like me, does not find
it offensive to insinuate "gayness." I mean, if someone calls me "straight,"
should I sue them for defamation
of character? Only if I believe that there is something wrong with being
"straight." Tom Cruise, perenially smiling cult-drone poster boy
for the Scientologists , actually WON a defamation of character suit because
someone wrote he was gay. He found that
really insulting, I guess, and that it would somehow harm his career. Poor
thing. If someone wrote that Rupert Everett was
straight and Rupert sued for defamation of character, I wonder if he'd win?
Probably 95% of Liza's male fans ARE gay, but that shouldn't be an insult
to her straight male fans. It's just a fact, and as fans of Liza's, the sexual
orientation element is insignificant. We're just fans.
Period. It doesn't matter. I think Liza's straight male friends have good
taste, that they're in great company, and that they're not afraid to be
different and show a variety of entertainment values that aren't limited only to
"what's happening NOW," It also takes a certain amount
of daring and a secured masculinity to admit it. Most certainly when I say I'm
a fan of Liza's, eyebrows are immediately raised.
But, of course, if Liza were 30 and looked like Pamala Lee, it would be a whole
different thing. She wouldn't even have to have talent!
I'll be forty in two years. Liza, to be doing what she's doing, is an
inspiration. I hope I'm as young at 53 as she is.