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Liliane Montevecchi — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Career

Montevecchi began her international career as a prima ballerina in Roland Petit's dance company. She appeared in The Glass Slipper with Michael Wilding and Daddy Long Legs (with Fred Astaire), in both of which she was acting with leading lady Leslie Caron. In the mid-1950s, she was signed to a contract by MGM, which cast her in various roles in such films as Moonfleet with Stewart Granger and Meet Me in Las Vegas with Cyd Charisse and John Brascia. She then played in the Jerry Lewis vehicle The Sad Sack, King Creole with Elvis Presley, and The Young Lions with Montgomery Clift, Dean Martin and Marlon Brando. She knew Gene Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and Clark Gable, and she took classes at the Actors Studio in New York.

Montevecchi replaced Colette Brosset in the 1958 Broadway revue La Plume de Ma Tante. After some television work in series such as Playhouse 90 and Adventures in Paradise at the end of the decade, Montevecchi opted to leave Hollywood for a star spot in the Folies Bergère in Las Vegas, toured with the company for nine years before appearing at the Folies Bergère in Paris from 1972 to 1978. In 1982, she drew the attention of critics and audiences for her performance in Nine, with Raúl Juliá, for which she won both the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Seven years later, she starred in Grand Hotel, earning a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

On TV, she guests–starred in more than 20 shows. Montevecchi also appeared in the films Wall Street and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with Matthew McConaughey. She appeared in concert at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and toured internationally with her semi-autobiographical shows On the Boulevard and Back on the Boulevard. Her solo album On the Boulevard is available from Jay Records. She is featured in the recording of the 1985 concert version of Follies staged at Avery Fisher Hall, and she has starred in musicals such as Irma La Douce, Gigi and Hello Dolly!.

In 1998, she replaced Eartha Kitt as The Wicked Witch of the West in Radio City Entertainment's touring production of The Wizard of Oz, co-starring Mickey Rooney as The Wizard and Jessica Grové as Dorothy. She continued with the show until the spring of 1999 and was succeeded by Jo Anne Worley.

In 2001, Montevecchi appeared as Mistinguett at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique in Paris.

In Seattle, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, Montevecchi had a very successful turn as Madame ZinZanni at Teatro ZinZanni beginning with the production at its opening, with Frank Ferrante, Michael Davis (juggler), Les Castors, Dreya Weber, Mat Plendl and the Steben Twins. She took part in the recording of the album The Divas with Joan Baez, Thelma Houston, Sally Kellerman, Christine Deaver, Debbie de Coudreaux, Francine Reed, Juliana Rambaldi and Kristin Clayton in 2006.

She returned to Teatro ZinZanni in June 2009 to reprise the role and in September 2011 in the show Bonsoir Liliane!, starring with Kevin Kent, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Tobias Larsson.

In December 2010, Kaye Ballard, Montevecchi and Donna McKechnie starred in From Broadway with Love, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander and staged at the Lensic Theater. In early 2012, she joined Kaye Ballard and Lee Roy Reams for the musical review Doin' It for Love, directed by David Geist.

In March 2015, Montevecchi won critical praise for recreating her Tony-nominated role of Grushinskaya in Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert at 54 Below in New York City.

In November 2015, at the behest of producer Patrick Niedo, Montevecchi brought her solo show Aller-Retour (Round Trip) to Paris for the first time.

On July 12, 2017, she joined Francesca Capetta and Stacy Sullivan for a birthday salute to the late film star and recording artist Dean Martin in the Weill Recital Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Stage work

La Croqueuse de Diamants (1952), Théâtre de l’Empire, Paris, France

La Plume de Ma Tante, original Broadway production (1958), Broadway

La Grosse Valse (1962-1963), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris, France as Nana

Folies Bergère, original Broadway production (1964), Broadway

Nine, original Broadway production (1982), Broadway as Liliane La Fleur

Gotta Getaway! (1984) Radio City Music Hall, New York

Irma La Douce (1986) with Robert Clary, Atlantic City

Star Dust, concert reading (1987), New York

On the Boulevard (1988), Kaufman Theatre, New York

Nymph Errant, London concert revival (1989), West End, London, UK

Grand Hotel, original Broadway production (1989), Broadway as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

Grand Hotel, national tour (1992), US Tour

Nine, London concert revival (1992), West End, London, UK as Liliane La Fleur

Grand Hotel, London production (1992), West End, London, UK as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

Hello, Dolly! (1995), Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège, Belgium

Gigi (1996) with Gavin MacLeod, Paper Mill Playhouse, Millburn, New Jersey

Back on the Boulevard (1996), Kaufman Theatre, New York

Divorce Me, Darling!, Regional Revival (1997), UK

Gigi (1998) with Gavin MacLeod, TX's Theatre Under the Stars, Houston, Texas

Follies, Paper Mill Playhouse Revival (1998), Millburn, New Jersey as Solange Lafitte

The Wizard of Oz, Radio City Entertainment's touring production (1998-1999) as The Wicked Witch of the West

Mistinguett, la dernière revue (2001), Opéra Comique, Paris, France as Mistinguett

Love, Chaos and Dinner (2002-2003), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California as Madame ZinZanni

The Boy Friend, regional revival (2003), UK as Madame Dubonnet

Love, Chaos and Dinner (2007), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Madame ZinZanni

A La Folie! (2008) with Michael Davis (juggler), Teatro ZinZanni, San Francisco, California

Back on the Boulevard (2009), Pizza on the Park, London, UK

Bottega ZinZanni : All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go (2009), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington as Dina Monte

Majestic (2009) with Les Castors, Palazzo, Vienna, Austria

From Broadway With Love (2010) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Tigerplast Varieté Show (2011), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

Bonsoir Liliane! (2011), Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington

Doin' It For Love (2012) with Kaye Ballard & Lee Roy Reams, Austin, TX & Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles, California

Broadway Babes ONE NIGHT ONLY (2014) with Kaye Ballard & Donna McKechnie, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Zazou (2014), The York Theatre, New York

Tigerplast Varieté Show (2014), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

Paris on the Thames (2015), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK

54 Sings Grand Hotel: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2015), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York as Elizaveta Grushinskaya

An intimate evening with Liliane Montevecchi (2015), The Mansion Inn, Rock City Falls, New York

Steve Ross on Broadway (2015), Birdland Jazz Club, New York

A Classic Night: A Tribute to Liliane Montevecchi (2015), Alvin Ailey Theatre, New York

Tigerplast Varieté Show (2015), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

Aller-Retour, musical review (2015), Vingtième Théâtre, Paris, France

Concert les Funambules (2015), Sunset/Sunside, Paris, France

Be My Valentine (2016), Feinstein's/54 Below, New York

Liliane Montevecchi Live at Zédel (2016), Brasserie Zédel, London, UK

Tigerplast Varieté Show (2016), Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, Germany

Hotel l'Amour (2016) with Frank Ferrante, Teatro ZinZanni, Seattle, Washington

Ziegfeld Follies of the Air: The New 1934 Live from Broadway Broadcast Revue (2017), Birdland Jazz Club, New York

We'll Take a Glass Together: The Songs of Wright & Forrest from MGM to Grand Hotel (2017) with Karen Akers, Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College, New York

Francesca Capetta sings Dean Martin: A Centennial Celebration (2017), Carnegie Hall, New York