A great stritchy story

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 1/8/06 at 6:28pm

From the NY Times

During her cabaret act, "At Home at the Carlyle," which returned to the Carlyle Hotel's swanky cafe on Tuesday night after a six-week run in the fall, the indomitable actress and singer Elaine Stritch tells a revealing story about the intensely private conductor James Levine. As Ms. Stritch found out to her great surprise, Mr. Levine is one of her biggest fans.

Two years ago, after she presented her acclaimed one-woman show "Elaine Stritch at Liberty" at the Neil Simon Theater, the show played a limited run in Boston. One night after a performance there, Ms. Stritch was told that a man who said he had attended her show 12 times in New York and now twice in Boston dearly wanted to meet her.

At first she thought this guy must be "some kind of nut," Ms. Stritch said, recounting the tale on Tuesday. But she consented to see him. When Mr. Levine appeared, Ms. Stritch did not recognize him. Still, she was touched by his sincerity. He explained that he worked part-time in Boston and lived in New York and that he wanted to take her to dinner at the Carlyle Hotel, where, it happens, Ms. Stritch lives. He told her that seeing an artist perform with such intensity at this stage in a career (Ms. Stritch was nearing 80 at the time) "inspired him to go forward, to keep going," she recalled.

When Mr. Levine gave her his business card and she realized who he was, Ms. Stritch was terribly embarrassed, she said: "I told him, 'I really should work on getting out more.' "

Later in New York, Mr. Levine took Ms. Stritch for that dinner date at the Cafe Carlyle, where Barbara Cook was then appearing. During the show, when Ms. Cook sang a meltingly romantic rendition of "It Might as Well Be Spring," as Ms. Stritch recounted proudly, "James Levine held my hand." She was flattered by Mr. Levine's devotion. "Talent is seductive," she explained.


NYT article about Stritchy

Posted: 1/8/06 at 11:32pm

Thanks for sharing that wonderful,sweet story. Ms. Stritch mentioned him on a repeat of THEATER TALK this past weekend. She was her usual fascinating self. If you haven't seen it it's being repeated early Monday morning at 5am on channel 13.

[focusingonmoviesmatt]

Posted: 1/8/06 at 11:35pm

I love her, i need to see her shoe. One of my biggest regrets is missing her in at liberty.

[StageWhore]

Posted: 1/8/06 at 11:41pm

Haha, I spent far too long wondering why you wanted to see her shoe. Was there some kind of significance to this shoe? Then I realized you meant show...
I didn't get a chance to see "At Liberty," live, but I saw the dvd of it, and I adored it. Hooray for Stritch.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 1/8/06 at 11:43pm

Elaine ALWAYS has great shoes. And great legs to go with them.

Posted: 1/8/06 at 11:44pm

It was brilliant. One of my top five theater experiences and easily the greatest one person show I've ever seen or ever expect to see. The woman is a true original. There is a DVD of the show. It was taped during her run at The Old Vic.