Live at Carnegie Hall

Live at Carnegie Hall (reissued in 2022 as Live in New York 1979) is the fourth live album by American singer Liza Minnelli. Released by the Altel Sound Systems record company in 1981, it was her first and only release under that label. Carnegie Hall held great significance in Minnelli's family, as her mother, the also singer and actress Judy Garland, made her triumphant return there 18 years earlier in an event that some call "the greatest night in showbiz history". In this context, Minnelli had a desire to return with a new season of shows after her successful performances in the musical The Act. However, she didn't want to return with the same nightclub act she had been doing for years; she wanted innovations. With the help of her dedicated team, including Fred Ebb (the writer, producer, and director of the show), Wayne Cilento and Ron Lewis (choreographer), Lawrence Miller (set designer), and Mark Gero as her production manager, Minnelli set out to surprise with her new tour. In an interview, she stated, "I wanted to turn my shows at Carnegie Hall into a presentation theater," adding, "I wanted each song to be a complete acting piece; a complete character. I wanted Carnegie Hall to be my baby". The album was produced by Hank Cattaneo and Bill LaVorgna, with recordings taking place in the Carnegie Hall concert hall, located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, in September 1979. The show in question was one of the eleven sold-out performances in Minnelli's series at the venue.