A Few Songs, Some News, and a Recipe

And postcards from my trip

Oct 21, 2023

Hi Friends.

I’d like to begin this issue of Between Flights with a song.

BEAUTIFUL CITY

I made this video in early 2020 before the world shut down. During the Pandemic, this song really resonated with me. And now? Even more so.

Some News

I’m back from a wonderful 12-day trip to London and Ireland. I planned to be home for four days before going to California, but unfortunately, this week I tested positive for Covid. It’s not as bad as the first time I had it- it’s more like a nasty cold- but sadly, I’ve had to postpone my concerts this weekend in San Francisco. I’m so sorry about this, but we will reschedule them for early next year.

Postcards From My Trip

I stopped off in London for a few days before going to Ireland, and as luck would have it, I was in town for the opening night of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, starring Bernadette Peters, Lea Salonga, and an outstanding UK cast.

I’d never been to a West End opening, and it was quite the star-studded event. I was particularly excited to meet Lesley Nichols. (Mrs Patmore!) Dan and I are huge Downton Abbey fans, and she couldn’t have been nicer.

My Ireland trip was very special. My first stop was Kilkenny, for the second annual Sondheim Festival. I taught a masterclass, sang a bit, presented the scholarship prize to the winner of the Sondheim singing competition, and was a surprise guest at Irish/UK star Fra Free’s closing concert. I also experienced my first “pub quiz.” I will leave it at that. 🙂

Next stop was Cork, for three days of intense rehearsals before premiering my new Stephen Schwartz concert. It was kind of crazy putting together a concert in New York while my pianist, David Hayes was in Ireland, but David is an incredible musician, and we miraculously pulled it together! The Irish audience was a dream, and I loved singing with the musical theatre students from MTU-Cork School of Music. My special guest was the wonderful Irish tenor, Glenn Murphy. Glenn sang “Move On” with me last year at The Sondheim Festival, and I was thrilled he could join for a duet from The Prince of Egypt. I don’t have a video to share from the concert, but here’s a rehearsal video of Glenn and me singing through “When You Believe” for the first time, with David at the piano.

If you are wondering what other songs I sang in my concert, here’s the set list, which includes a beautiful song Stephen Schwartz wrote for me- “Fearless.” It was a joy to sing it for the very first time for such an appreciative audience. I hope I can do this concert again- both in the States, and overseas. It was pretty special.

From My Kitchen

One of my greatest passions is cooking, and one of the things I want to do in this newsletter is share recipes. I hadn’t planned on Chicken Ginger Soup being my first one, but then again, I hadn’t planned on getting Covid!

In 2001, for Christmas, I made a little cookbook of my favorite soup recipes for family and friends.

NOTE: I now use cartons of chicken broth, preferably organic

Of all the soups in my repertoire, my Chicken Ginger Soup is the one I’ve probably made the most. It’s my go-to soup whenever someone in my family is sick, and I made a big pot of it for myself this week. (It’s helping!) The original recipe is from Monday to Friday Cookbook by Michele Urvator- a wonderful cookbook my Mom gave me in 1991 after my son Nicholas was born. Over the years, I’ve tweaked the recipe, and now make it “by heart,” but here is the blueprint. It’s nourishing and yummy, and makes a nice gift for someone who is under the weather, or could use a little comfort.

My tweaks: I use olive oil, lots of finely chopped or grated ginger, and more lemon juice because I love lemon, and usually skip the scallions.

Do you have a favorite soup recipe? If you do, please share in the comments. I’m always looking for something new to make!

Where in the World is Liz?

Here’s my schedule for the rest of this year. I’m confident I will be well enough for my Palm Springs concerts next weekend. For my Austin friends, my first show sold out right away, so we will be adding a second show that night.

Oct 27-28 PALM SPRINGS, CA An Evening with Liz Callaway
Nov 3 RICHMOND, VA Broadway the Calla-way! with my sister, Ann
Nov 10-11 INDIANAPOLIS, IN An Evening with Liz Callaway and the ISO
Nov 16-18 MADRID, SPAIN To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim
Dec 4 AUSTIN, TX To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim
Dec 9 LAUDERHILL, FL Liz Callaway: Broadway and Beyond
Dec 16 PHOENIX, AZ Yuletide Revelry with my sister, Ann
Dec 24 & 26-30 NEW YORK, NY Yuletide Revelry with my sister, Ann

Click here for my full schedule

Some Nice News

My Sondheim album made the first ballot of the 2024 Grammy Awards! This is not a Grammy nomination, but means my album was ruled eligible to be nominated. But still, pretty cool. My first “For Your Consideration” moment of my recording career. Johnny Mathis’s Facebook post made my day- I had to share!

That’s all for this issue of Between Flights. As always, thank you for reading, and listening. It’s been a nice diversion writing this newsletter this week.

Praying for peace, and wishing you and yours good health and happiness.

XOXO Liz

PS If you enjoyed this issue, please feel free to share.