Liberace & Liza: A Tribute – Harold Pinter Theatre

Liberace & Liza: A Tribute continues at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London until 4 July 2026.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

A tribute act like no other, Liberace & Liza: A Tribute imagines a collaborative cabaret-style act between iconic legends Liberace and Liza Minnelli. A curious fantasy: the stars never performed together, and there’s little evidence they ever even met. Still, something about the pairing simply works. With an outstanding selection of music, brilliant comedic timing and uncannily close impressions of their counterparts, Liberace & Liza all but guarantees a wonderful evening out, particularly for fans of the originals.

Perhaps it’s the over-the-top glamour of Liberace and Minnelli that invites the collaboration. They both dominated the stage with their presence, were known for their extravagant personalities, and were musical legends with long-spanning careers.

And it’s precisely in their impersonation of these traits that David Saffert as Liberace and Jillian Snow as Minnelli deliver outstanding performances. They have the looks, the voices and the mannerisms, all topped off with a healthy dosage of humour. The duo delivers one witty line after the other with occasional moments of self-awareness that point at the surreal nature of the scenario without ever undermining its effectiveness.

The show is opened by a charming Saffert welcoming the audience with warm words and a fabulous costume before showing off his prowess on the piano. He starts playing ‘Chopsticks’ before developing it into a medley of pieces from a huge variety of genres, much to the amazement of the audience who cannot stop gaping and laughing. Saffert’s impression of Liberace is spot on; each cheeky smile at the audience feels absolutely genuine – not to mention he’s a true virtuoso pianist.

Once Snow joins him onstage, she quickly charms with thrilling, powerful vocals and the embodiment of Minnelli’s almost-manic personality. She never breaks character, sounds just right and has mastered each laugh, each verbal tic, without ever letting her musical precision slip. She is wonderful on stage and never ceases to impress the audience, whether belting classics like ‘Cabaret,’ ‘Theme from New York, New York’, or tackling modern hits such as ‘Pink Pony Club’ and ‘Wannabe’, her performance is breathtaking.

But it’s really their chemistry that steals the show. Their personality types work so well together, you’d be forgiven for believing this act actually happened. The stage is generously decorated with a glittering grand piano for Liberace and a stool for Minnelli; various colours flood the space, and both revel in their ostentatious costumes and performances. The songs are separated by various anecdotes from the lives of Liberace and Minnelli and a little bit of audience interaction, such as a brief quiz to keep the pacing steady.

Liberace & Liza: A Tribute is, at its heart, an absurd idea; the pairing seems almost arbitrary. And yet it functions beautifully on a delightfully strange level. It oozes an ineffable charm through its mixture of comedy, great music and an uncanny portrayal of two celebrity giants.

Michael Higgs