Liberace & Liza: Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute)
- By Jillian Snow & David Saffert
- Directed by Chip Miller
JUMP TO: Dates, Run Time, Playbill, & More
Local favorites David Saffert and Jillian Snow are BACK! Join them as they sparkle in this exhilarating night of musical and comical fireworks. Settle in for a glamorous evening as they bring two icons to life. Liberace & Liza delights in some of show business’ wildest and most well known personalities, sharing iconic musical numbers, enchanting costumes and unforgettable laughs. Make your visit to the mansion a holiday tradition!
More About This Production
Liberace & Liza Reading List
Calling all readers! Multnomah County Library put together a reading list inspired by our production of Liberace & Liza Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute).
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Meet the Cast & Creative Team
The Cast
David Saffert, like Liberace, is a classically trained pianist from Wisconsin. Past work includes stints with the Guthrie Theater, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, Portland Gay Men’s Chorus, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage and the Interlochen Arts Camp. David was recently featured in “All Classical Radio’s Artist Anthology: 40 Creatives of the Pacific Northwest” and was knighted by Portland’s Royal Rosarians. His first solo piano album comes out Fall 2024 and you can order through his website at davidsaffert.com. David’s Liberace tribute has taken him to venues like 54 Below in New York to Feinstein’s at the Nikko in San Francisco to Liberace's own mansion in Las Vegas. He dedicates these holiday shows to his parents, Liz Larson, and his hubby Tyler Buswell.
Jillian Snow is a singer, actor and comedian who began her career in jazz hands in New York City. She entertained audiences alongside SNL veterans at iconic venues like the Gotham Comedy Club and the Laugh Factory with her colorful portrayal of Liza Minnelli. Michael Musto of the Village Voice noted, “This could open up Minnelli to a whole new audience!” Her passion for portraying those she admired led to exciting roles, including Janis Joplin in the Off-Broadway production 27 Heaven, and eventually caught the attention of America’s Got Talent scouts. After almost a decade of donning wigs in NY, she returned to her beloved home state of Oregon, where she was recently knighted by the Royal Rosarians. Some of her favorite venues include performances at 54 Below (NY), Feinstein’s at the Nikko (CA), and her eager return to Portland Center Stage this holiday season. Thank you to her beautiful friends, sister Jade, and to her partner Jenoa for all their love and support. And to Greg Seagler, Your shining presence will always be remembered. This one is for you, buddy.
The Band
Bo Ayers is a man who wears many hats and has literally “performed, arranged and conducted” himself around the world, in concert halls in Europe, Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Canada, and here in the US, including 2 Christmas seasons at Radio City Music Hall, Disney at Lincoln Center and the Hollywood Bowl. The highlight of his career was conducting and arranging for Mr. Showmanship, Liberace. Though Lee has left us, Bo is still involved as an advisor to the Liberace Foundation. After hearing a performance of David Saffert paying tribute to Liberace, Bo became the Music Director for the popular Liberace & Liza, Live!, a tribute to Liberace and Liza Minelli, performed by Jillian Snow. “They’re excellent performers, capturing the talent and spirit of these two show business legends.”
Amy is thrilled to return for her fourth show with Portland Center Stag. Favorite past highlights include playing bass for In the Heights and Liberace & Liza: A Tribute. Since moving back to Portland, Amy has also performed on violin, viola, and bass for shows at Lakewood Center for the Arts, Stumptown Stages, and Broadway Rose Theater Company. She has also played for cabarets and variety shows, as well as local orchestras, with genres ranging from classical, jazz, rock, and bluegrass. Amy is especially grateful for the many people in the theater community who have helped her find her footing in Portland.
Yuya Matsuda is an internationally known drummer who has appeared on stages across North America and in Asia, playing for touring bands/artists. He has also worked with many different theater companies, including Gallery Theater (McMinnville), Pentacle Theater (Salem), Elsinore Theater (Salem), Enlightened Theatrics (Salem), Broadway Rose Theater Co. (Tigard), and Portland Center Stage (Portland). Yuya is best known for his time in the All Asian-American Dance Rock band "The Slants", and has appeared on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, various other news media outlets, and even the U.S. Supreme Court for the unprecedented case to register The Slants band name with the US Patent and Trademark Office. He currently resides in McMinnville with his wife Emily, and their 6 kids. Yuya is happy to be back at PCS for "Liberace and Liza: Holiday At the Mansion (A Tribute)." His past work at PCS includes Tick..Tick...Boom, 2023 Theater Lover's Bash, The Hombres workshop, and as the sub drummer/percussionist for Holiday at The Mansion in 2023.
The Creative Team
Chip Miller is a director and producer, currently in the role of Associate Artistic Director at Portland Center Stage at the Armory. They were previously the Artistic Associate / Resident Director at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Directing: Sweeney Todd, Clyde's (co-production with Syracuse Stage) Liberace & Liza - Holiday at the Mansion: A Tribute, Choir Boy, It’s a Wonderful Life, Rent, August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, the world premiere of Redwood (PCS), Larry Owens’ Sondhemia (Carnegie Hall), Journeys to Justice (Portland Opera), the world premiere of American Fast (Artists Repertory Theater), School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play, Welcome to Fear City, Sex with Strangers, A Raisin in the Sun, (KCRep); the world premiere of Becoming Martin by Kevin Willmott (The Coterie); dwb: driving while black (Lawrence Arts Center, Des Moines Metro Opera, Greensboro Opera); 4:48 Psychosis (The Buffalo Room). Chip has developed work with playwrights including Kevin Wilmott, Kara Lee Corthron, Brittany K. Allen, Catherine Trieschmann, Darren Canady, Andrew Rosendorf, Susan Kander & Roberta Gumbel, Michelle T. Johnson, and Michael Finke. They have developed work at The William Inge Theatre Festival, NYU’s New Plays for Young Audiences, La Jolla Playhouse’s DNA Series, Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival, The Midwest Dramatists Center, KCRep’s OriginKC New Works Festival, The Colorado New Play Summit, The Living Room Theatre, and Musical Theatre Heritage.
Tyler Buswell is a proud drag queen (Donatella Nobody, she/her), actor, educator, scenic designer and multi-disciplined visual artist currently serving as Technical Director for Northwest Academy. He has worked as a scenic artist/carpenter or designer for ART, PCS, Third Rail, Theatre Vertigo, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Chapel Theatre, Bag&Baggage, Native Theatre Project, Portland Playhouse and many others. He has ten Broadwayworld nominations for Outstanding Set Design winning for Bootycandy by Robert O’Hara with Fuse Ensemble and runner-up for Camelot at Lakewood in addition to a feature last year in American Theatre Magazine’s “People to Watch” in the PNW. Donatella can be seen all over the West Coast but mainly as the producer and host of an all ages drag brunch at Clarklewis Restaurant. Many thanks to his incredible husband David for taking him on this amazing Liberace and Liza journey over the years!
Joel is excited to return as a designer for Liberace & Liza: Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute) this year. Joel has worked in the Portland area as a lighting designer and technician for several years and is in his third season as the Master Electrician and Lighting Programmer for the Ellyn Bye Studio. Some of Joel's recent favorite designs in the Portland area include Into the Woods (Lewis and Clark), JAW New Play Festival 2024 (Portland Center Stage), Liberace & Liz: Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute) 2023 (Portland Center Stage), and Up Up & Away (Broadway Rose).
Sammi is so excited to be invited back to design at Portland Center Stage! Her previous PCS design credits are tick…tick…BOOM! and Liberace & Liza a Tribute: Holiday at the Mansion! Other Sound Design credits include How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Urinetown, The Secret Garden, Blood Wedding, Much Ado About Nothing and Wiley and The Hairy Man. Sammi has a B.A. Theatre degree at the State University of New York at Potsdam. She would like to shout out her Mom, Dad, Brother, Her Partner Chelsea, L, Dance Teacher: Jules and all other friends and family for supporting her love of Sound Design! Please enjoy this wonderful show!
Janine is thrilled to return for her eighth season at Portland Center Stage. She has been a stage manager and production manager in theater for more than 20 years on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, and on tour. She's had many favorite productions in that time, but some of her favorites include Frida ... A Self Portrait, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Macbeth, A Christmas Memory/Winter Song, Wild & Reckless (all at Portland Center Stage); Sweeney Todd (Portland Opera); The Lion King (Broadway); The Graduate (starring Morgan Fairchild), Cats, The Vagina Monologues, Jekyll & Hyde, and Show Boat (all on tour); The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “Democalypse 2012 Republican National Convention.” Proud NYU graduate and AEA member.
Alea is excited to return for another holiday at the mansion! Alea Tran is a theatre artist whose interests lie in creating art that is impactful and collaborative, and they were a recent member of the PATHWAYS mentorship program through Artists Repertory. Recent productions include Coriolanus, Liberace & Liza Holiday at the Mansion (A Tribute) (production assistant, Portland Center Stage); Diné Nishłį (i am a sacred being) Or, A Boarding School Play (stage manager, Native Theatre Project; American Fast (production manager, Artists Repertory); Adam’s Run (stage manager, Renegade Opera); The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (asst. stage manager, Oregon Children’s).
For This Production
Josh Antonio, Programmer Swing
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).