During this summer's renovations,
Hartford Stage
has temporarily relocated to
Roberts Theatre at Kingswood-Oxford School
West Hartford
Elaine Stritch
Singin' Sondheim. . .One Song at a Time
JUNE 17-20, 2010
Hurrah, She's Still Here!
Reviewed by Donna Bailey-Thompson
She walked onto the stage dressed in silky black – a soft v-neck blouson with loose bracelet length sleeves, kicky skirt that just grazed her knees, sheer black hose hugging her dynamite legs that seem to begin just below her shoulders, low-heel black shoes, sparkly chain at her neck and earrings. She stood still, smiling, radiantly pretty. As soon as the applause quieted down, she sang the obvious:” I feel pretty. oh so pretty. . .” and she glowed, the years falling away.
The incomparable Elaine Stritch wrote the program notes for her 90-minute salute to Stephen Sondheim, shifting from the third person to first, writing just like she talks. “She is back in New York and is about to shoot more episodes of 30 Roc with Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. And after that, who knows? I don’t. Oh! Oh! I did a gig, as they call it, in Palm Springs as the guest star at Michael Feinstein’s concert. I did my part, followed by a three-minute duet with Michael. We got a standing (and in Palm Springs that’s not easy) ovation! What’s the matter with me? I forgot, on New Year’s Day 2010, I opened a brand new cabaret at the Carlyle: Elaine Stritch Singin’ Sondheim One Song at a Time. We opened to rave, I mean RAVE notices. March belonged to Sondheim (by the way, he was 80 years old). February belonged to me – I was 85 Unstoppable, I’m afraid – why not?”
Supported by superb musicians – Lou Bruno (bass), Les Scott (reeds), Timothy Leopold (trumpet), John Redsecker (drums), Scott Shachter (reeds) and Clint Sharman (trombone) – and her long-time conductor/pianist Rob Bowman who came to Ms Stritch’s aid when a word or two eluded her. When she didn’t like having added an extra word, they re-did the phrase to everyone’s pleasure: her naturalness, her affection and respect for the audience, gave her admirers a glimpse into a working partnership, the ongoing honing of technique. When one has conquered the world of entertainment for as long as Elaine Stritch has and is as comfortable in her own skin as she is, going up on a line or chasing an elusive thought may irk her but her admirers understand and blow it off.
Ms Stritch’s admiration for Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics is well-placed. Her respect for his idiosyncratic intricacies (go ahead, Mr. Sondheim, work that into a lyric) is profound; she spoke of how, as a singer, once you get Sondheim’s lyrics, they stay with you. But, getting them is hard work. “I’m not complaining; I’m bragging.” For whatever reasons, she never got to play Rose, “But I can do it here,” and did she ever! "Rose's Turn" OMG. Maybe she never played Rose because, maybe, the powers-that-be figured she would not be satisfied with tearing up the scenery until she shredded it.
She does not stint on boring into deep wells of brooding, of showing reflective emotion, thus her "Send in the Clowns" was brand, spanking new. As was bringing her actress self to the fore, reciting the words of "Every Day a Little Death" while sitting on a stool in a pool of light. Or when she sang with such bewilderment, “Was there a parade in town while I was getting ready? Did a parade go by?” Her ability to sell an emotion (quelle technique!) made it possible for us to set aside another image of Elaine Stritch leading every parade she was ever in.
The ninety minutes was what I imagine a master class in technique might resemble. She was sweet, even adorable, or when appropriate in a hair-on-fire rage. She curled notes, embroidered phrases, squeezed the b’jeebers out of every song. Even when she got sidetracked, she never lost her audience: “Now I think I don’t know what I’m talking about but I’m going in the right direction!” and the laughter was with her.
I waited in vain for “I’m Still Here” but her "The Little Things You Do Together" hit home along with the song she owns, “The Ladies Who Lunch”. Face it: she’s ageless.
It’s doubtful there is anyone who loves quality show business more than she does – whether admiring other’s performances or giving her own. She told about her first visit to a theater, when she was five years old (circa 1925), wearing a changeable taffeta dress, escorted by an uncle “There was an explosion inside me.” A Broadway baby was born who grew up to be a Broadway broad, a dynamic gift to the performing arts. “If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a goddamn thing.”
Elaine Stritch, bravo!
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