Liza + Audra + Patti = DIVA INVASION!

By Julienne Bilker in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 19, 2010 7:30PM

via http://telegraph.co.uk

If you have no idea to whom this headline refers, ask your nearest Broadway fan. For the rest of you: Yes, this means what you think it means. Liza Minnelli, Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone are all coming to Chicago. Get ready for a summer of fabulous.

Ms. Minnelli will do a one-night-only performance at the Chicago Theater on June 6 - tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon. Never underestimate the power of the Chicago theatre community…or Friends of Dorothy…or Liza. We’ll be surprised if the show doesn’t sell out in short order.

In case you didn’t know (come on, what kind of musical theatre nerd are you?) Stephen Sondheim turns 80 this year. New York’s Lincoln Center presented an insanely star-studded two-night celebration this week (hosted by David Hyde Pierce and featuring the likes of Elaine Stritch, Bernadette Peters, Marin Mazzie and of course, Patti and Audra, among others) - lucky for us, the concert will air on the PBS “Great Performances” series, likely in the fall. In the meantime, Ravinia will throw its own party July 31, featuring Patti, Audra, George Hearn and Michael Cerveris. We should mention that we’re just as excited about the latter two as the ladies, but the word “diva” doesn’t quite work for them. If you’re looking for tickets, don’t be deterred by the super-pricey black-tie gala accompanying the concert - pavilion seats are $80-$125 and lawn tickets are $25.

Just five days later, Kelli O'Hara (we loved her in Lincoln Center’s South Pacific revival as well as in The Light in the Piazza) will do a solo performance back at Ravinia. And you’ll want to come back yet again between August 13-15 for a concert version of Annie Get Your Gun starring Ms. LuPone and Brian Stokes Mitchell (swoon).

Happy Friday!