August 12, 2010

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB's Alys Stephens Center will present legendary award-winning star of stage and screen Liza Minnelli, for one night only Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the center, 1200 10th Ave. South. Tickets are $135, $110, $85. Call 205-975-2787 or go to www.AlysStephens.org.

This rare, intimate concert will feature Minnelli singing American standards with accompaniment by her quartet and Billy Stritch. The show will feature some of the greatest American songs of all time performed in their purest, most intimate form.

To make the night even more incredible, take advantage of a special VIP ticket package, including a patron dinner at Highlands Bar and Grill with Minnelli after the performance. Call 205-934-6196 for information.

For fans that just can't wait for her Sept. 25 performance, join UAB's Alys Stephens Center for "Liza's Life in Lights!" a fun salon discussion and presentation about Minnelli's career Friday, Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the center. The event is free and open to the public; cash bar. The event is part of the Alys Stephens Center's 11-Day Opening Festival. Sponsors are Patty McDonald, The Birmingham News, WBHM and Viva Health.

According to her press biography, Minnelli was born March 12, 1946 in Los Angeles to actress/singer Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli. She began her career early, co-starring with her mother in the movie "In the Good Old Summertime" in 1949. At age 10, Minnelli hosted the first-ever TV broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz." By the age of 20 she had starred in a Broadway musical and won a Tony award for best actress. In 1972, she played Sally Bowles in "Cabaret." The film won eight Oscars, and she took best actress as well as a Golden Globe and a British Film Academy Award. She appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek concurrently. That same year her concert "Liza with a Z," filmed live for television, produced a top-20 album and won an Emmy.

Minnelli appeared opposite Robert DeNiro in the musical "New York, New York," directed by Martin Scorsese, in 1977. In 1981, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the movie "Arthur," going on to make the sequel "Arthur 2" in 1988. She produced an album with the Pet Shop Boys in 1989. In 1990, she received the Grammy Legend Award, according to Grammy.com, making her one of the few artists who have won entertainment's top four awards - the Oscar, the Tony, The Emmy and the Grammy,

In 2000, Minnelli was hospitalized for encephalitis and although the prognosis was grim, by June 2002, she was back on stage at the Beacon Theater in New York. Her triumphant comeback CD, "Liza's Back!" was released in late 2002, and she was seen as Lucille Austero on television's critically acclaimed "Arrested Development."

In 2008 Liza returned to Broadway with "Liza's at the Palace. . ." which went on to win her her fourth Tony Award, this time for best special theatrical event. She recreated the show at the MGM Grand and the performance was filmed for a public television special and a DVD; the show's cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. Minnelli continues her extraordinary music career with ongoing concert tours in the United States and Europe, and recording a new album.

About UAB's Alys Stephens Center

The Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, part of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is one of the Southeast's premier performing arts centers, hosting the best in international, national and local performance. Home to the UAB departments of theatre and music and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the ASC also presents its own season, bringing the world's best music, dance, theater, comedy and family entertainment to Alabama.