Liza Minnelli in "Simply Liza"

On February 16, Fort Lauderdale audiences were treated to the kick off performance of Liza Minnelli's 2014 tour "Simply Liza."

Minnelli is a show business legend. She has been performing as an adult since 1965 and in her nearly 50 years of performing she has won countless awards and entertained audiences across the world. She has conquered Broadway, the big screen, the small screen, the recording studio and the concert stage. She is a humanitarian and a favorite of the tabloids.

Recently the National Enquirer reported that Minnelli was on her death bed. Obviously that is not the case as she proved last night that she can still get up on stage and perform with the best of them. She has battled alcoholism, addictions, a nearly paralyzing bout of encephalitis and several failed marriages and lived to go on performing. She is the ultimate survivor.

The voice, in all honesty, is not what it once was. It is but a dim reflection of the glorious instrument that it was in her prime, but it is still a poignantly beautiful reflection. It is now a husky lower sound that at times seems fragile and the high notes are no longer as easy as they were 40 years ago. As she has aged, her voice has come to resemble that of her mother, the legendary Judy Garland, more than it did in her youth.

And no, Minnelli does not dance around the stage at age 67 like she did when she was in her 20s. However, she commands the stage from the minute the curtain goes up until she walks off it at the end of the evening. When it comes to charisma and talent, Minnelli has almost everyone else beat by a mile.

One of the very true things about Minnelli that people often don't know is that she is funny. Her humor is gentle but acerbic and often self-deprecating. While she is not a stand up comedienne by any means, she had the Fort Lauderdale audiences laughing heartily at her jokes and even cheering her when she decided that she wanted to start a song over because she didn't like the way she sang it.

Over the course of the evening audience members frequently shouted "We love you, Liza!" and she heartily answered them back, "I love you, too!" and that is obviously true. She opened her show with the classic jazz standard "Teach Me Tonight," and with that number set the stage for the rest of the evening. Some of her tongue-in-cheek humor came out in her song selections with such tunes as "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" and "You've Let Yourself Go."

Of course she performed some of her biggest hits including "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret" as well as several other Kander & Ebb tunes including "Ring Them Bells." She also included some jazz standards such as "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Our Love Is Here To Stay." She closed out her concert with two songs written for her by Kander & Ebb, "But The World Goes Round" and the classic "New York, New York."

She was backed by pianist and arranger Billy Stritch, who has been her long time accompanist, leading a six-piece band. Stritch also performed the classic song "No Moon At All" and sang with her during "I Can't Give You Anything But Love."

For her encore, Minnelli, accompanied only by Stritch on the piano, performed a beautiful and touching rendition of "Every Time We Say Good Bye" that expressed her love of performing and of the audience in front of her more than any words ever could.

Liza Minnelli performed on Feb. 16 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW 5th Avein Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312. For tickets and information, call 954-522-5334 or visit www.browardcenter.org. For information on Minnelli and her upcoming tour dates, visit www.officiallizaminnelli.com.