Liza, Villa Montalvo, August 2004

Liza in Concert at
Villa Montalvo Arts Center
Saratoga, California
August, 2004

    In the spring of 2004, I read that Liza would be performing in August at the Villa Montalvo Arts Center in our hometown of Saratoga, California. I couldn’t believe it; this must be a dream. After all these years, Liza would actually be coming to my town, not nearby San Francisco or San Jose, but Saratoga! It seemed impossible, but that summer she was performing in smaller venues and this one is lovely and only minutes from our
summer home. Though we spend our winters near Palm Springs, we still summered in what is now commonly referred to as Silicon Valley. We would be in town in August, and I was ecstatic.
    Saratoga is a beautiful community of about 40,000 nestled in the foothills
of the Santa Cruz Mountains adjacent to neighboring Los Gatos and the west side
of San Jose. We lived in Saratoga for nearly thirty years before moving to a small
condo in adjacent Los Gatos for the summer months.
The historic Villa Montalvo, is a gorgeous mansion set in the hills on a large acreage which includes not only the villa itself, originally built in the twenties by California Senator Phelan, but an expansive lawn, gardens, and walking trails through the magnificent redwoods, live oaks, and Bay Laurel trees. Villa Montalvo is a cultural center surrounded by lovely residential neighborhoods and is a popular site for weddings. The original carriage house was redesigned as a small theatre where our daughter performed in her first ballet recital in the seventies.
In the eighties, as I recall, the outdoor theatre was built behind the villa and soon the Art Center was competing with the Paul Masson Winery, also in Saratoga, with dual summer concert series. Most show goers had to park at West Valley College and be transported to Montalvo in small shuttle buses. I knew Montalvo well, never imagining that Liza would perform on its outdoor stage canopied with trees.
    I quickly learned that to obtain seats close to the stage one had to be a member
of the Montalvo Arts Center. I joined for the minimum membership of $50. only to discover that the seats would be sold in the order of one’s donation. Fortunately I
had friend who volunteered at Montalvo during the summer season. I called her and
asked if she knew any big donors to Montalvo who might facilitate my getting
good seats. She did and called me back with my choice of two front or fourth row seats.
I chose the fourth row center seats and began counting the days.  My seats also included parking passes for the villa; no shuttle bus would be required.
    By the time August arrived we expected houseguests from Wisconsin the night of Liza’s show and Denise, a longtime fan friend from Monterey, had called to say she had bought a single seat and would be driving “over the hill” to Saratoga.  I invited her for dinner and told her I was taking one of our houseguests.
    A couple of days before Liza’s one night performance, I drove up to Montalvo
to scout out the back stage area. Although we had a attended a couple of performances
at the outdoor theatre, including one by Liza’s friend Michael Feinstein,  I couldn’t  recall the set up. As I walked around the grounds I was struck by its timeless beauty and unique surroundings. I remembered the day in 1968 when we had a professional photograph taken of our three year old son on the steps of one of the stone columned gazebos on the grounds. Those gazebos were destroyed during the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989.
The stage of the outdoor amphitheatre really had no backstage, only some minimally curtained off areas. For a time I couldn’t figure out where Liza would change or what might serve as dressing rooms. The actual villa was closed, and there were few people around, mostly hikers. I had toured the interior of the Villa in recent years and appreciated the historical renovation very much in keeping of its original era, but this day I just wanted to imagine where Liza might be before and after her performance. Behind the stage was an open lawn area with steps leading down to a sunken courtyard behind the villa and steps leading up to the second floor of the villa. I recalled that the second floor had large bedrooms, now used by artists in residence. I climbed the narrow steps to the second floor and peeked in the glass paned door. A sign on the door said, “Employees Only.” I had found Liza’s dressing room, or so I thought.
    The day of the show, I was busy preparing dinner and greeting our guests;
I thought about driving back up to Montalvo to see if Liza was rehearsing that afternoon, but thought better of it. I hadn’t seen Liza to speak to in nearly four years! Bill LaVorgna had retired not long after ‘Liza’s Back,”  and all of Liza’s staff had changed. I was on
my own on this one and didn’t know what to expect. And then I had written “Imagining
Liza” --- what did Liza think of that? Would I ever be welcomed backstage again?
O.K., I was nervous, and very excited. I explained to my visiting guest that I was
going into Liza fan mode and to please forgive or ignore any bizarre behavior on
my part. Gratefully she’s a very bright and calm professor of English, liked Liza,
and was “game” for anything her crazy-for-Liza friend might be up to. Denise, of course, had shared many a Liza adventure with me, and I had watched Denise mature much as
I had my own children.
    We arrived early, driving up the winding narrow road to the small parking
lot adjacent to the Villa. I found my volunteer friend who was greeting people
and directing them to their seats. Some attendees were concluding a gourmet dinner
on the grounds of the villa, a special package for concert goers willing to pay for
the added experience. Some were milling around a wine tasting bar. We each bought
a glass of wine.
My friend told me that all was well now but there had been some commotion
earlier when Liza needed something, which couldn’t be found immediately. She pointed
out the manager of the concert series. As I recall I introduced myself, and he told me
where to come after the show, to the right of the stage.
We took our seats and watched as the band members gradually arrived and
set up. Suddenly I saw a white haired man walk on stage, and realized, to my utter
amazement, that it was Bill LaVorgna heading for his drums. His appearance was
totally unexpected; I thought him still retired. Now I was beyond excited. Then
Billy Stritch took his place at the piano bench. I knew now it would be a very special
evening.
When Liza took center stage I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had
gone through so very much trauma in the last several years, yet here she was, again, looking lovely and prepared once more to entertain us. Liza looked out at the audience and the woods behind and around them and said: “ This is beautiful.” I thought so too
and loved seeing her in my “neck of the woods.”
Liza was in good voice that lovely warm evening and even added “San Francisco” to her song list for we Bay Area fans. After her standards she concluded with “I’ll Be Seeing You,” acapella. I had heard that she had sung “I’ll Be Seeing You” in memory of the Queen Mother in London, but I’d never before heard her sing the beautiful song and had never heard Liza sing acapella. I was again, even after so many years, completely in awe. The crowd loved her and she received the standing ovation she richly deserved.
After the show most in the audience gradually headed for the lines for the shuttle buses but some of us made our way to the right of the stage. To my surprise I found Jean
and Johnny Hanson and another longtime fan standing there. I hadn’t seen Jean, who is mentioned
and pictured in “Imagining Liza” in several years. Jean, originally a fan of Judy
Garland, was a favorite of Liza’s. Johnny seemed fine, but Jean was frail and using a walker. I thought, there is no way she could negotiate the steps up to the second floor of
the villa.
I excused myself, told the security person that I was headed for the restroom
in the lower courtyard  and walked behind the stage area to the lawn. It was crowded with band members, roadies, and others heading for the restrooms. I saw Billy Stritch, the talented pianist and songwriter, who often accompanies Liza, I’d met Billy backstage a couple of times so I said hello and asked if he would give Liza my note requesting a visit. I had enclosed it in a clear plastic bag along with a copy of “Imagining Liza.” He said he would.
I then ran into Bill LaVorgna who, after greeting me with his friendly smile, whispered: “She has her head on straight now.” I recognized no one else. A band member, however, saw me talking to Bill and asked me to recommend a local restaurant; they were all hungry and ready for a late dinner. I gave him the names of our favorites in Saratoga and Los Gatos, where I learned they were staying in a new hotel owned by an old friend of mine. He, I believe, then directed me to a man who seemed to be serving as road manager.
As I think back on that evening I’m not sure who finally gave me the nod to follow them upstairs to see Liza. Aside from Bill and Billy, the faces had changed. At
the top of the stairs was the door I had peeked through two days before. We entered, and then I was told to wait in a narrow room furnished with only a table and two chairs. The room overlooked the back lawn, stage area, and lower courtyard. I was alone, hoping
I was about to see Liza again, the first time since the publication of my memoir.
After about five long minutes the same man motioned for me to follow him
out of the small waiting area to an an interior room with the door ajar. The first thing I noticed through the half open door was Liza’s dressing table covered with dozens
of “M.A.C” cosmetic products. She really did use the make-up! The door opened wider
and suddenly Liza was giving me a hug and her new miniature Schnauzer, Emmalina,
was scampering around my feet.
I told Liza how much I’d enjoyed the show, especially “I’ll Be Seeing You. ” She thanked me as I added, “Jean and Johnny are downstairs.” “They are?” she enthusiastically replied. “Yes, but Jean’s now using a walker, and I don’t
think she could manage the steps up here.”
Liza immediately turned to her staff and announced, “I’m going down.” She told me she would be down in a few minutes. I took that as my cue to leave, so I did, but not before noticing my book on a table in the middle of the old-fashioned, twenties style room.
Excitedly I returned to the stage area to tell Jean and Johnny that Liza was
on her way down to see them. They were obviously so pleased. My friend was waiting
patiently enjoying chatting with the other fans. Denise was reminiscing with Bill, I
think, and the crowd hopeful of seeing Liza had, in my absence, grown bigger and more
vocal.
I thought Liza wonderful to make this special effort to come back downstairs
through the lingering crowd to visit Jean and Johnny. Although the Hansons had known
her mother and had followed Liza’s career since its inception, those steep steps couldn’t have been easy for Liza either.
My back was to the steps when Liza arrived accompanied by two or three men, one obviously a security person. As Liza started talking to Jean and commiserating about the necessity for a walker, I reached in my purse for my camera. What a wonderful picture it could be for Jean, but the security guy quickly put out his hand and said, “No, No pictures.” I expected Liza to intercede, but she hadn’t noticed; other fans were shouting trying to get her attention. After greeting Jean and her husband, Liza waved to the others, and left.
I offered to drive Jean and Johnny back to their car parked at the college
so they wouldn’t have to use the shuttle bus. They accepted and off we went with another Liza memory to tuck in our individual Liza scrapbooks. Once back downhill to the large, but now nearly empty West Valley College parking lot, Johnny couldn’t find their car. We drove up and down rows for several minutes before it was found and the Hansons headed back to their hotel in downtown San Jose. In their eighties, or near eighties, I believe, they had driven all the way from the Lake Tahoe area to see Liza.
I may have met Ira, Liza’s new-to-me personal assistant that night, but
I can’t place him. I heard he was there, but we weren’t introduced. Denise
and I, still caught up in the excitement, talked nothing but Liza and the Hansons back to our condo. Denise left to drive back to Monterey. My friend and I shared our adventure
with our husbands. I was home in bed, absolutely thrilled, an hour, maybe two, after the show. I could think of nothing else for days.
    But like life in general there are often those tremendous highs followed
by some lows. Before our good friends returned to Wisconsin we had to put down
our good Australian Shepherd friend , a devoted companion for fifteen years. Liza
had had to say good-bye to her Cairn Terrier Lily a year or two before, now it was my turn to be sad over the loss of a beloved pet.

© 2004 Beverly Fauvre