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Minnelli Returning To Broadway Stage In December

The Associated Press

Published: October 20, 2008

Liza Minnelli will return to Broadway in December for the first time in nearly a decade in a two-week engagement of "Liza's at the Palace."

Minnelli will play the legendary vaudeville house Dec. 3 to 14, producer John Scher announced Sunday. She will be accompanied by pianist-musical supervisor Billy Stritch, a 12-piece orchestra and four dancer-singers.

The show will feature some of Minnelli's best-known songs, particularly numbers such as "Cabaret," "Maybe This Time" and "New York, New York," all written by John Kander and Fred Ebb.

It will also celebrate Kay Thompson, Minnelli's godmother and an entertainer who appeared in such films as "Funny Face" and who was a vocal arranger and vocal coach at MGM during the Golden Age of movie musicals in the 1940s. Thompson also wrote the "Eloise" children's books about a little girl who lived in the Plaza hotel in New York.

"Liza's at the Palace" will be directed and choreographed by Ron Lewis.

Minnelli's last Broadway appearance was in December 1999 in another entertainment at the Palace, a show that honored her father, film director Vincente Minnelli.

Madonna: No Settlement Yet

Madonna's divorce settlement with her estranged husband, Guy Ritchie, has yet to be finalized, the singer's publicist said Sunday.

The Sun and The Mail on Sunday reported that the two had struck a deal over their finances and how to split their property. The Mail also reported that they had agreed to a custody arrangement for the couple's children.

In a brief e-mail message sent to The Associated Press, Liz Rosenberg said she would not be commenting on media reports that the pop star and her film director husband had reached or were about to agree on how to share the couple's multimillion dollar fortune and custody of their children.

"I will not be commenting on the various reports regarding the divorce or of the settlement which has not been finalized," Rosenberg said. A statement from Guy Ritchie's representatives in London also declined comment.

Madonna and Ritchie announced their separation Wednesday after nearly eight years of marriage and Britain's tabloid press has speculated wildly on the outcome of the high-profile split. The couple are reportedly worth around $525 million, the bulk of that belonging to Madonna.

The couple have two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted in Malawi in 2006. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from her relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon.

Today's Birthdays

Actor William Christopher is 76. Country singer Wanda Jackson is 71. Singer Tom Petty is 58. Actress Melanie Mayron is 56. Baseball All-Star Keith Hernandez is 55. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 50. Rock musician Doug Eldridge (Oleander) is 41. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 37. Actor John Krasinski is 29.