If the late director Vincent Minnelli, father of singer Liza Minnelli and the subject of her musical tribute at the Palace Theatre, Minnelli on Minnelli could have summed up the Palace goings-on this week he might have used a single word from the Hollywood lexicon -- Rolling!
Between Angel Records recording the cast album and "Entertainment Tonight" doing a special segment of Minnelli's show, a lot of tape is being used at the Palace. Beginning Dec. 27 and continuing tonight, Dec. 28, veteran record producer Phil Ramone is producing the cast album for the show. Ramone was on hand at the Palace Dec. 27 and a mobile recording studio was set up adjacent to the Palace stage door on West 47th Street.
In addition to the audio taping, the prime time entertainment magazine show, "Entertainment Tonight" (ET), was on hand Dec. 27 at the Palace Theatre to tape the cast recording of Liza Minnelli's Broadway show, Minnelli on Minnelli.
"They're recording tonight," Minnelli told an enthusiastic audience mid way through the performance.
ET will broadcast the segment on Wed. Dec. 29 on CBS Channel 2 in New York City, production sources told Playbill On-Line. As reported earlier, Angel Records will soon be releasing the Minnelli on Minnelli show album in anticipation of a Minnelli tour. Producer Phil Ramone has worked with Minnelli before, having produced her 1992 album, "Liza Minnelli -- Live from Radio City." Ramone's other producing credits include both the 1996 cast recording album for the revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the 1987 album, "Music and Songs from Starlight Express," the cast album from Big, and such pop albums as Phoebe Snow's "Phoebe Snow," Paul Simon's "There Goes Rhymin' Simon," and Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man," "52nd Street," "Songs from the Attic, "The Stranger" and "The Nylon Curtain." Ramone also produced both the 1993 and 1994 Frank Sinatra "Duets" albums, and Natalie Cole's "Stardust" album.
The Dec. 27 recording was one of the first steps in the plan to take Minnelli on Minnelli on tour in 2000. On Dec. 14, Minnelli on Minnelli co-producer Stewart F. Lane told Playbill On-Line that Minnelli could go on tour as early as March. Her limited engagement at the Palace closes Jan. 2.
"Our best reviews came from out of town," Lane told Playbill On-Line. "I think it's going to be a big tour." Excellent New York City reviews of Minnelli on Minnelli were considered essential to any extension of Minnelli's Broadway run in New York, but with the best reviews coming from outside the city, Lane and co producer Radio City Entertainment are now focusing on the tour.
Producer Lane said that after the CD recording, Minnelli would "go back to rehearsals in February and re-tool before re-opening in March."
From the stage Dec. 27, Liza Minnelli referred to the tour plans while discussing her father's career, which began in New York City theatre. Minnelli said it was appropriate that her show, as a tribute to her father, should "start in New York."
Producer Lane has said the 15-city tour could go to such key cities as Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, Miami and Detroit.
New York Post columnist Liz Smith reported on Dec. 23 that Minnelli already has bookings in San Francisco and the Kennedy Center.
