Make Your Own Kind of Music

Some encouragement, some news, and some recipes

Mar 27, 2024

Hello Friends,

Happy Spring! I’m writing to you from Costa Mesa, CA, where tomorrow night I’m appearing in A Broadway Birthday: Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, and Friends! with a fantastic lineup including Betty Buckley, and Matthew Morrison. There’s a great mall across the street from my hotel, but I’m not leaving my room until I get this newsletter out!

“Don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear- just sing, sing a song.” Joe Raposo

Earlier this month, I did a concert in Orinda, CA. I knew I wanted to close the show with my 14-song “Sing Medley,” but I didn’t know how to set it up. That morning, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across this post by my sister, Ann.

I was so moved- she articulated so beautifully something I’ve always felt, but never could put into words. At the end of the show, I read Ann’s post to the audience, and sang my medley. I wish I had a video from that show, as the songs took on a deeper meaning that night, but here is one from 2019- it’s very fun, but you might want to close your eyes and just listen.

Behind the Scenes

I’m putting together a show celebrating The York Theatre Company and their 50+ year history for their spring gala on April 15. I’ve had a long history with The York —my first show for them was Marry Me a Little back in 1987, and in March 2020, a few days before the Pandemic shut the world down, I appeared in Sheldon Harnick and Friends, with dear Sheldon, his wife, Maggie, Karen Ziemba, and the late, great Rebecca Luker.

I was delighted to see this in the lobby of the St Peter’s Church, and had to take a photo of it.

After the show with Rebecca, Karen, Jeff Saver, Sheldon and Margie. A bittersweet memory, as it was the last time I saw Becca and Sheldon.

I’ve been meeting with my longtime musical director, Alex Rybeck, and going through possible songs. At this moment, the show is 6 hours and 50 minutes long. We will need to reduce it to 75 minutes. In addition to being a fabulous pianist, Alex also has excellent eyesight!

I was stunned when Alex pulled out this music- he explained to me that Marry Me a Little has so many page turns he reduced the pages to make it easier to play since he pretty much has the song memorized. But still…

I’m really looking forward to this evening and singing some songs I’ve rarely sung or have always wanted to sing. And I'll have visuals! I’ve never done a show with visuals! I’ll share the song list and, hopefully, some video with you in my next newsletter.

Where in the World is Liz?

In addition to tomorrow night’s concert in CA and my York Theatre gala on April 15, I’m excited to be bringing my movies show, Screen Gems to Cleveland, and my Sondheim show to the Ridgefield Playhouse in CT. I’ll also be doing a concert in Branford, CT, which will be live-streamed. Here’s my schedule for the next few months:

March 28 COSTA MESA, CA A Broadway Birthday: Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, and Friends! (with Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, Matthew Morrison and more!)
April 15 NEW YORK, NY Liz Callaway: Their Story Goes On- The York Theatre Spring Gala
April 18 CLEVELAND, OH Rendezvous! Screen Gems with Liz Callaway
April 21 BRANFORD, CT Liz Callaway in Concert with John McDaniel (Live-streaming)
May 2 FAYETTEVILLE, AR TheatreSquared Gala
May 19 NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ George Street Playhouse 50th Anniversary Gala
May 22 RIDGEFIELD, CT To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim
Click here for my full schedule

What I’ve Been Cooking

I love to cook. And I love trying new recipes. Here are some of my favorite dishes I made this month. My food photography skills aren’t so hot, so I’ll spare you visuals on these.

Cauliflower Shawarma With Spicy Tahini I’m obsessed with tahini! I serve this with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in lettuce wraps for me and whole wheat pita for Dan.

Spaghetti Squash Stuffed With Escarole, White Beans, and Turkey Sausage This is so good and healthy- the hardest part is cutting the spaghetti squash in half. HINT: with a sharp knife, make slits around the squash where you want to cut it and microwave for 4-5 minutes. Let cool, and cut squash lengthwise along the slits.

Farro With Blistered Tomatoes, Pesto and Spinach I’m a huge fan of

yasmin fahr

’s recipes- her cookbook Keeping It Simple is one of my favorites. NOTE: I use Trader Joe’s quick-cooking farro and cook it like pasta. This dish will rock your world.

That’s it for this issue of Between Flights. Thanks for reading. I love hearing from you- if you have any ideas, or requests for this newsletter, please drop me a line in the comments.

Wishing you all a wonderful spring, and for those of you who celebrate, Happy Easter.

XOXO Liz

PS And….baseball is back- Let’s Go Mets!