The rewritten lyrics don't bother me, since the "NOT!" was included by Fred Ebb himself, after Liza's 2nd (or 3rd--Yawper?) stint at rehab. It was inserted as a triumphant statement of survival and recovery, one that gave courage to recovering addicts everywhere. (In the 1990s, at certain 12-step meetings in Manhattan and West Hollywood, to "NOT go like Elsie" became the 13th step.)
What bothers me is that the Cockney accent that Liza has always used (questionably) for Elsie-from-Chelsea's voice at the end of the song (after "I remember how she'd turn to me and say...") has drifted, inexplicably, to the opening few words of the song.
So she starts off in a weird British accent ("Whoht goooood is seating, aleh-owhn in yaw rhee-oom...") that then disappears until the Elsie section.
But whoht the hey-ell--it's LIZA!
Updated On: 12/4/08 at 09:49 AM