Hands of Liberace
Featuring Philip Fortenberry
In “The Hands of Liberace,” the audience can expect to hear Fortenberry with his “flying fingers” share personal stories surrounding his life story beginning as a child pianist at age four in rural Mississippi to becoming a sought-after pianist on the Great White Way. He’ll reveal the privilege of being selected by producer Steven Soderbergh as the hand/body double for actor Michael Douglas’ Emmy-winning performance in HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra.”
Fortenberry’s prestigious career has commanded numerous concert stages from the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The White House, playing for royals and dignitaries including President Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, the late Margaret Thatcher, featured as a headliner to rave reviews, and a partner in two entertainment companies in Las Vegas.
He’ll speak of Liberace’s influence on his career as a pianist since much of his own repertoire parallels his pianistic style. While performing over 300 performances at the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas in his critically-acclaimed one man show, “Liberace and Me,” he met many of Liberace’s fans, friends and industry colleagues.
Fortenberry will perform a myriad of classical selections, including Liberace’s famous arrangements of “Nola” and “Chopsticks.” The concert will feature multi-media highlights of Liberace’s career, supported by the Liberace Foundation of the Performing and Creative Arts.
Houston area native and special guest singer Kristen Hertzenberg, best known for her role as Christine in “Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular,” will also perform during the concert, as well as Houston’s Apollo Chamber Players.
Apollo Chamber Players
Matthew J. Detrick, Executive & Artistic Diretor, violin
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin
Whitney Bullock, viola
Matthew Dudzik, cello
All performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre are free!
This is a ticketed event for the covered seating area. Free tickets are available (4 per person over age 16 while they last) at the Miller Outdoor Theatre box office the day of the performance between the hours of 10:30 AM-1:00 PM. If tickets remain at 1:00 PM, the box office will re-open one hour before show time to distribute the remaining tickets. As always, open seating on the hill.
The show goes on rain or shine.
Produced in collaboration with the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts
Presented by Miller Outdoor Theatre
