Liza Serenades Her Father

A familiar face returned to Broadway when Liza Minnelli opened her new, one-woman (plus chorus boys) show Wednesday at the Palace.

Minnelli on Minnelli, billed as a tribute to her father, director Vincente Minelli, received mixed reviews from critics.

The show is a homecoming of sorts, as Liza's famous mother, the late Judy Garland, staged several comebacks at the famous Broadway theater.

Yet it is Vincente Minnelli's genius that is celebrated by his offspring in the performance, which is scheduled through Jan. 2 for a limited run.

Director Fred Ebb - lyricist for Chicago and Cabaret - has surrounded Minnelli with six chorus boys, who eagerly fawn and prance around the 53-year-old actress and singer.

Minnelli sings songs featured in many of her father's films, including Cabin in the Sky, The Band Wagon, An American in Paris and Gigi.

While some critics praise Minnelli's performance, many also agree that her voice has aged, and can no longer belt out show tunes with the same intensity. Her mobility has also been hampered by hip replacements, and several of her numbers are done sitting in a chair, while the boys roll her around the stage.

But critics have praised Minnelli's indomitable spirit despite a sad vulnerability worn raw over time.

In the second act, Minnelli acknowledges her war wounds, performing a version of Lerner and Loewe's I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore, joking about her problems with drugs, alcohol and weight.

The woman also trots out family photos, pictures of herself as a child, mostly in costumes from her father's movies. She also shows brief film clips from several of the films, including Madame Bovary, The Bad and the Beautiful, Brigadoon and Gigi.