It feels like early on in our lives, every one of us is convinced to cast aside a piece of ourselves. Whether that something is as big as a sexual preference or as seemingly insignificant as a favorite color. Here's my journey to taking those pieces back.
If you are a muppet fan, and have not been to any of the monthly screenings at The Museum Of The Moving Image, you need to get over whatever obstacles have kept you away, and get to Astoria. Craig Shemin, President of The Jim Henson Legacy, and his lovely wife Stephanie D'Abruzzo put together really rare and wonderful clips which are so exciting to see on the big screen. Today's screening features Oscar winners and nominees who appeared on The Muppet Show, including Liza Minnelli. Now, I really doubt that they will play the entire episode in which she appeared (a film noir parody in which muppets drop to their deaths like so many flocked flies) but I will gleefully and greedily consume whatever they exhibit.
The Tony Noms came out this week, and Tony season usually inspires one or two delightful and laugh invoking videos, because, what can you say? Theatre people are creative, insightful and funny, am I right ladies?
But, and please forgive me for this admission, but are you at all like me, and when a friend sends a video (or in my case, more often than not, my mother sends me a video) is there a tiny, insecure part of you that shrugs at the commitment just presented? Cuz, first, I'm gonna have to devote 3 minutes of my life to this video on faith (forget about the fact that I waste hours on netflix watching completely tepid television) and then I'm worried that I'll have to say something clever about it. And then if I don't like that comment quite enough, I'll edit it to make it better, and then I have to worry about the fact that facebook people will be able to track my editing process and see that there was effort put into my "very calculated to appear off the cuff" comment. And if that comment doesn't get any likes?? Forget about it. I will wonder where I went wrong. It's silly really. In reality there is no pressure implied in these videos at all. Said video is a gift. Take as you please. Or not. I mean, that's certainly how I view it when I put a video on facebook, and I'm not at all hurt that hardly anyone viewed my post of Liza's brilliantly heartfelt and unironic, and therefore given the subject matter thoroughly campy performance of "Sailor Boys!" (c/u: Joe Hartman wiping away a single tear).
And anyway, when I do view these videos I am nearly always grateful, assuming the person who sent it is someone who's opinions I share and that we tend to enjoy the same things. All of this is of course taking the long way around saying how much I enjoyed the following video, and how grateful I am that Susan Branch Towne made me aware of it. Watch and enjoy! (Or not, it's totally up to you) and feel free to add a comment (or dont'. I certainly won't be offended either way)...
Now that you too, have seen it, I can't say enough about how giddy this video makes me. Watching these macho, bro-y dudes go ape shit over Jessica Lange's nominations and throwing back "Hamilshots" somehow validates my love of theatre, and the fact that I care much more about the Tony's and Oscars than I ever could about the play-offs or the Final Four. There are others out there. I am not alone, nor am I nearly as fanatical about it as some. It's like a hilarious and kind of sexy warm blanket.
And if you enjoyed this video, you should check out Matthew Rodin's other videos at www.matthewrodin.com. They're funny, art centered, and inspirational to anyone wanting to amp up their creativity.
And for those of you who want to see it (and I know there are MANY) here's the previously mentioned gem that is Liza's performance of "Sailor Boys".
Liza Minnelli is a revelation in her guest spot on the third episode of The Judy Garland Show. She's still forming as an artist and performer, still a little raw, and her presence is so..."unaffected" as one critic wrote, that I found myself wanting to be her best friend. She's earnest, bouncy, boisterous, and so eager to please that you can't help but root for her. She dredges up a that same desire to want to protect her that people have for Judy. When you watch her, get a sense that there's something very special in her, something still shaping itself, that she courageously and unselfishly (if somewhat unwisely) lets loose for all to see. I say "unwisely" because anyone up onstage in front of that many people, with so little "armor" is going to be in for some tough surprises down the road. It makes you want to fight for her and protect her so she can keep giving of this magic that she seems born to give.
And take a close look at Liza's styling. I have always thought that Rachel Berry's look in early episodes of Glee was reminiscent of Liza's. Anybody else? Am I just seeing what I want to see, kind of like when you buy a new Jeep Cherokee and suddenly it seems like everyone else has a Jeep Cherokee simply because you are attuned to seeing Jeep Cherokees???
One thing I AM certain of is that the number at the end of the episode, in which Liza and Judy dress up as hobos (Judy loved that hobo thing) inspired another duet on a certain show that any other kid of my age has embedded in his DNA.
First there was "Judy and Liza"...
Then there was "Flo and Mo", also known as "Carol and Marcia"
This episode also had another great solo by Judy, in fact there are two of them duking it out for top honors here. There was a powerful rendition of "Come Rain Or Come Shine", as only Judy can do it, and yet she would perform the song again in a later episode and that performance is just a little better than this one in my opinion so I'm going to save it for later. No, the performance I love, and that is practically perfect is Judy' rendition of "As Long As He Needs Me". Lionel Bart has been quoted many times as saying that Judy's voice was his inspiration for the score of Oliver, and so it's fitting that Judy gives the definitive performance. If only it weren't for that damn chorus towards the end and that soprano who is really going for broke. Ah well. It was the early sixties after all.
Another thing that amazes me is how natural both Judy and Liza make this canned dialogue seem when they are together. Sure there are moments when they are improvising, but then some of the dialogue is clearly scripted, and coming from anyone else would seem hokey as hell, but from these two, it seems so organic that it work in spite of itself.
Finally, a bit of ridiculousness. No sixties variety show is complete without a little bit of bizarrity. In this case it is provided by The Brothers Castro. Or, I should say it is provided by the Garland Show creative who take a perfectly charming, if somewhat "rough" act and turn it into this weird kind of Hollywood version of "Ole Mexico" that you can't help but be somewhat horrified and mesmerized by. And, if you haven't noticed by now, wherever there's some bizarre shit going down, the "Judy Garland Dancers" are sure to be close at hand. What the fuck is up with this mini-skirt poncho thing?
It's a rhetorical question, because I already know that the deliciously hokey and heartwarming 1991 comedy about a former Broadway dancer named Mavis Turner (Liza, but of course, looking and sounding lovely) and her rag tag bunch of tappers, is available in its entirety on Youtube. This doesn't mean I'm going to get rid of the VHS copy my best friend and I got from E-bay, but it does mean I will be watching this shit in all its grainy glory, again and again on-line!
Rounding out the cast are Julie Walters as the compulsive cleaner in the class, Ellen Greene as the slightly slutty Maxine, Jane Krakowski looking surprisingly fresh, Bill Irwin, Andrea Martin, and Shelley Winters!! What? Yes, it's true! They DID get that many amazing talents in one film and it is somehow not available on DVD. Trust me, you will laugh at the film more than you laugh with it (watching Liza Minnelli try to play "edge" is almost as funny as watching Jessica Chastain do "punk" in the horror film Mama) but like the amateur tappers at it's center, this film just oozes heart and the desire to please and if you aren't crying little sequined tears at the end, you might have a cold, cold soul.
ALSO- check out Nora Dunn playing a biatch as only she can, and Dean McDermott (yep, Tori's husband) as "young man at bar". I know you've been panting for the link, so here it is...
Like many people, I discovered Liza through the movie "Cabaret". I think I was thirteen, and my exposure to homosexuality was slight. I knew it was bohemian and slightly sinful, but it was a foreign land to me still, one I didn't want to visit. And then I saw Liza in this movie, watched the scenes with Sally and Brian and Maximilian rambling the streets and laughing, and even I knew something was going on between them that wasn't being said outright. And when they get to that scene in the car when Brian, tired of the complexities of this triumvirate says "Screw Maximilian", Sally responds "I do" and he finishes the conversation with "so do I"...an alarm went off. Just a faint ping, but it was there.
But mostly, I remember Liza. Her recklessness, her languid sexuality, her cockeyed optimism... It's that abandon, that need to give full out and make all of it (even the sad parts) sparkle with the light of a thousand sequins in your eyes, that encapsulates Liza Minnelli for me. There's no shame in her. She'll shimmy, kick, flail, open that mouth wide and let it all out in the name of giving a good show. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be full out committed, and it always is The clip above captures perfectly her gift for building a scene through song and her for taking the audience on a journey so we'll believe everything she does even when it strays into the territory of "over the top". She's the poster child for dreaming big, and I always listen to her when I want to perk up my spirits or hear that voice in my ear saying "Yes, you can."
