Liza & Fosse No. 7 - Intro to 'Liza with a Z'
- Lauryn Johnson
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Liza wrote: “Our work on Cabaret would have exhausted the most energetic cast and crew. For God's sake, we all deserved a rest. For me, though, the hard work suddenly got harder. In the weeks before the Academy Awards, Fosse, Kander and Ebb, and others were busy planning a television special for me that, if it succeeded, would once again break new ground. At the time, TV variety shows blending music, dance, and shtick were predictable, highly orchestrated productions. I'd certainly make my share of them. Although a live audience would attend the taping, nothing was ever left to chance. If a singer flubbed a line, if a musician played bad notes, it wasn't going to be a problem. There was plenty of time to freeze the taping, patch vocals or orchestra mistakes, and reshoot the scene, no matter how long it took. What seemed lively and spontaneous on your home screen was anything but. It was a safe, tired, and frankly boring genre.
“The new show we'd be doing, Liza with a "Z," threw that formula out the window.
For the first time, a live Broadway performance would be filmed for television, with Hollywood production magic. We'd perform it before a large black-tie audience, and there would be no time to fix errors or mistakes. No time to reshoot entire numbers. We had one chance, baby, one chance only, to get it right. A high-wire act from start to finish. It would be filmed on May 31, 1972, and there would be eight weeks for me and a team of dancers to rehearse. We'd be backed by a stellar cast of writers, musicians, cinematographers, and sound technicians. All of us faced enormous technical and creative challenges. I've never worked harder in my life.
“Once again, Fosse demanded realism. He wanted you to see, hear, and feel what an artist goes through during an evening like this. And that would be me. You'd have a front-row seat to me going all out for fifty-three minutes of crazy. No intermission. No chance to catch my breath. […] Millions of people I couldn't see would be tuned in at home. They'd be watching me, judging my work, heart, and soul as never before. So you'd better nail it, kid.
“There would be eight cameras stationed around the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway, and they'd capture it all dancing, sing-ing, acting, frantic costume changes, heavy breathing, perspiration, the whole nine yards. Liza with a "Z" would test me as no role ever would. Still, I kept telling myself that I wasn't alone up there. Fosse, Kander, and Ebb stood behind me. Marvin Hamlisch was the conductor. The costumes were designed by Halston.
“Fosse was aiming high. He'd shoot the show with 16mm film, capturing more subtlety and detail. The sound, run by legendary record producer Phil Ramone, would be state-of-the-art-even though people heard the sound coming from a single speaker on a television set. We had quite a lineup of talent. Now, imagine what it felt like for me to deal with this group as we got closer to the night of the show. There was a group of geniuses in a room challenging each other to make the show even better. Decisions were being made and unmade every day. I'm in the middle of it all saying, "What do I do? Where do I go?" [continued in next post]
--Kids, Wait til You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli
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