How I Practice & My First "Viral" Moment

And my one-year anniversary of this newsletter!

Sep 27, 2024

Hello Friends,

I hope this finds you well. I’m writing from San Francisco, where tonight I am opening in my long-awaited engagement of my movie music show, Screen Gems, at Feinstein’s at the Nikko. I was originally scheduled to be here last October, but I came down with Covid. So I’m thrilled to be doing this at laaaaaaaast!

Except for a short holiday in London with my hubby, I’ve been home most of September. I’ve started a big decluttering project, both at home and digital. I’m doing an online course by David Cain called One Big Win, and using 25-minute “blocks,” I am slowly making progress on turning Nicholas’s playroom downstairs into my office and purging my ridiculously full Dropbox and iTunes library. I find it really helps to work in 25-minute chunks, not just for this project but for all my work. I even bought a nifty timer.

I spent 2 “blocks” going through my stacks of CDs of piano tracks I’ve burned over the years. As you know, I am VERY fond of singing in my car, and it’s my favorite way to practice my music.

I make a playlist of piano tracks of the songs I’m learning in iTunes and burn them onto a blank CD. Recently, I’ve been using an AI program called LALAL.AI to strip my vocals from my rehearsal and livestream recordings. I fear an AI program like this could be used for nefarious reasons, but for me, it’s an invaluable tool for my work.

Why all the weird ___? I have over 100 playlists, and it’s the only way I know to put my current ones to the top!

I haven’t done my Screen Gems show for a while, so I’ve been practicing a lot this month. (My 5-hour drive home from Provincetown was very helpful!) My biggest fear is forgetting my lyrics, so I drill and drill my songs. I mean, have you tried memorizing the “Theme from the Valley of the Dolls”?

One of my favorite writers, Austin Kleon wrote a book called “Show Your Work” in which he encourages people to share behind-the-scenes stories of their creative process. I thought it would be fun to share how I practice my music, so in 2020, I started a series on my YouTube channel called “AutoTunes.” So far I have 18 car songs, including three songs from Screen Gems- “Coming Around Again” from Heartburn, “Beautiful City” from the movie Godspell, and “Moon River” from Breakfast at Tiffanys.

PS If you’re wondering what car still has a CD player, I drive a 2014 Toyota Camry.

My First “Viral” Moment

In 1993, my sister Ann wrote and recorded the theme song for the TV series The Nanny, starring Fran Drescher. Ann sang the lead vocal, and I sang back-ups. Little did we know that the show would become one of TV’s most beloved sitcoms (still running today!) and that Ann’s song would be considered one of the greatest TV theme songs ever written.

Flash forward to last month, when Ann came to visit, and we recorded our duet of "New World Coming/Brand New Day.” She shared with me an election parody she wrote of The Nanny theme. I thought it was brilliant. We decided we should record it, make a lyric video, and see what happens. Ann enlisted the help of two remarkable women, Jessica Fishenfeld and Lissa Forehan, to create the video, and last week, after dozens of texts and emails between the four of us, we sent it out into the world.

We were thrilled when Fran Drescher shared it on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. And Entertainment Weekly featured a great piece about it.

I love what Ann wrote on Facebook: “To me, this election is the most important in my lifetime and I’ve been trying to find creative ways to support #HarrisWalz2024. What a thrill to feel the support of four amazing women- Fran Drescher, my sister Liz, and my talented friends, Lissa Forehan and Jessica Fishenfeld, who helped me launch my Nanny parody theme to inspire more people to vote. And, today I see on Fran Drescher’s TikTok page, we’ve reached 1.8 million people there alone. And Fran just texted me "2.5 million and climbing" on all media views! Never doubt the power of a dream combined and the power of a dream team to make it come true. If you are inspired to make a difference with your gifts, now is the time!”

When You’ve Got Friends Like Mine

Aaron Lazar is one of the most inspiring people I know. I’ve known him for years, but the first time I got to sing with him was in a concert with Michael Feinstein and the Pasadena Pops in 2018. We sang “Too Many Mornings” from Follies. What a treat that was.

In 2022, Aaron was diagnosed with ALS. At first, he was afraid to tell anyone, even his kids, but now he has become an advocate for ALS patients and research, sharing his story in speaking engagements around the country. This past March, we did a concert together in Costa Mesa, and hearing Aaron sing “Being Alive” and “The Impossible Dream” brought me and the entire audience to tears- he LIVED those songs. That night, he mentioned he was recording his first solo album and was putting together a We Are the World-like version of “The Impossible Dream.” He asked me if I would join him, and I said, "of course.” This summer, fifty of us from the Broadway community gathered together to record “The Impossible Dream” with Aaron. Here is the beautiful music video of Broadway for ALS- ”The Impossible Dream.”

Aaron’s album is glorious and includes duets with Josh Groban, Kelli O’Hara, and the late, great Rebecca Luker, whom we lost to ALS in 2020.

A portion of the album’s proceeds will benefit the ALS Network I hope you will listen to Aaron’s album- and help make a difference in finding a cure for ALS.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Where in the World is Liz?

Here’s my upcoming schedule, which includes a brand new show with Ann on Thanksgiving week at 54 Below called New York State of Mind. (It’s not announced yet, but we will be live streaming our show on Saturday, November 30.)

Sept 27-28 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Screen Gems: Liz Callaway Sings the Movies
Oct 8 NEW YORK, NY Save the West Bank Cafe Gala
Oct 14-15 PHILADELPHIA, PA Broadway the Calla-way! with Ann Hampton Callaway
Oct 20 NASHUA, NH Liz Callaway Live
Oct 28 NEW YORK, NY Bound for Broadway Liz Callaway, Host
Nov 7-9 FAYETTEVILLE, AR Liz Callaway: Broadway and Beyond
Nov 26-30 NEW YORK, NY New York State of Mind with Ann Hampton Callaway at 54 Below
Dec 14 OWENSBORO, KY Home for the Holidays Owensboro Symphony
Dec 20-22 VENICE, FL Home for the Holidays Venice Symphony
I’D LIKE TO GET YOU ON A SLOW BOAT TO…THE CARRIBEAN
If you love Broadway and cabaret (and hilarity), have I got a cruise for you!
Jan 11-18 Seth Rudetsky’s Big Fat Broadway Cruise with Tony Yazbek and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, and yours truly.
May 25-June 1 Cabaret Stars at Sea with me, my sister, Ann, Jason Graae and Alex Rybeck!
A Fun Anniversary

This month marks the one-year anniversary of this newsletter. I’ve sent out 12 issues of Between Flights. My plan was for this to be a bi-monthly newsletter, and I hope to get to that point, but in the meantime, I’m having a lot of fun experimenting on Substack. Thank you to everyone who has read, commented on, and shared this newsletter—it means a lot to me.

Now, I’d love to hear from YOU!

What would you like to see in future issues? Any past shows or albums you’d like to know more about? More personal stuff? More photos of Oliver?