The Liza Minelli show at Davies Symphony Hall (March 28, 2014) was even more wonderful than I was expecting. Aside from the simple pleasure of sharing space with a singer and actress whose Cabaret and Liza with a Z are among the finest performances I’ve ever seen, there was also the thrill of seeing someone fully and passionately inhabiting her creativity. Liza can no longer hits all of her notes all of the time, nor does she dance as vivaciously as she did even 10 years ago. And yet, despite these limitations, Liza Minelli performs for her audience with the passion of a person who is truly at home on the stage.

The man in this drawing was one of less than five Black people I noticed in the audience. There may well have been as many as 10 of us. I did not, after all, get a good look at the crowd in the balcony. In any event, though, he and I passed each other in the lobby and nodded at each other as only Black folks can.

Ajuan Mance