Poor John Lahr

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 2:52pm

Trying to take on Elaine Stritch. He won't come out of this alive. She's a master at gaining undeserved sympathy. He should know that Stritch isn't acting when she plays Alec Baldwin's mother. That's the real Stritch.
Link

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 2:55pm

That's terrible he had to sue her.

She wouldn't have had a show without his beautiful work.

I think he'll do just fine and win.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:02pm

"She wouldn't have had a show without his beautiful work."

Stritch has admitted that, and often. Strange that I didn't see anyone make reference to any contract or agreement between them; that would seem strange for folks so entrenched in show business. If there was no contract, it will be a difficult case to settle.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:03pm

It's pretty obvious she's not the writer.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:08pm

"It's pretty obvious she's not the writer."

I remember seeing something about how this project developed (the HBO special?), and they show Stritch going through her stories with Lahr, Wolfe and others as her audience. Collaboratively, they refined the stories, chose where to place the songs, and how to construct the show (it's not strictly chronological).

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:14pm

"(it's not strictly chronological)"

It's not even strictly factual.

"It's pretty obvious she's not the writer."

That never stopped her before. She grabbed that Tony at a speed faster than light, but it wasn't hers.

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:32pm

One point Lahr has in his favor: he's not a despised critic
(OK, he tends to spoil the plots of every show he reviewes). But he has a good rep amongst his colleagues.

Whereas Stitch has too many people in her past she's burned.
Expect them to talk about their experiences with her. A lot.

[madbrian]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:39pm

No matter how this plays out, it's a shame these two had to go to court to settle their differences. I'm curious to see how their agreement was written, and what the points of contention are. If he has a clear cut, contractual right to money, I can't see how a lawyer would let her go to court. There must be some murky clause or ambiguous wording in the agreement that he's contesting.

Nothing I've read says anything about him being treated unfairly during the creative process, so I don't see how his character or hers would be at issue. Seems like it's based on his rights to money from her performances, based on his contributions.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 3:54pm

What could have happened is that when the show was at the Public, Lahr was paid by the Public. When it left the Public, he was supposed to be paid for additional performances. Another sticking point might be how much he gets from the sale of the DVD. Does anyone know if Papermill is selling her DVD?

[boombaboy]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 4:21pm

Probably had something to do with statue of limitations and the fact that neither of them are getting any younger. As hard as Stritch must be to deal with, it would be worse trying to settle this matter with her estate. Good luck, Mr. Lahr.

[wiggum2]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 5:09pm

"Whereas Stitch has too many people in her past she's burned."

Who has she burned(professionally)?

[TulitaPepsi]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 8:19pm

Barbara Cook.

And you have to try awfully hard to get on Ms. Cook's sh*t-list.

The two stars performed together a few years ago at a big charity concert. Rehearsals started out well, but by the time of the concert, the gals were not on speaking terms.

I'm pretty sure Ms. Cook is too much of a lady to talk about her experience.

[wiggum2]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 8:22pm

What happened between them though?
I'm assuming you mean the Follies concert

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 8:31pm

Being an Elaine Stritch fan (as I am) is a frustration. On the one hand, she's a talented performer who is justly revered for her accomplishments. On the other hand, she is consistently one of the nastiest, most vindictive people in stage history. Ethel Merman considered her a "mean drunk". Producer Thomas Sheppard has indicated repeatedly that she intentionally screwed up "Ladies Who Lunch" on the OBC just to gain more screen time on the filmed documentary of the recording. Love her performances. Wouldn't spend 2 minutes with her as a human being. John Lahr should not be surprised. She's also been kicking up a storm at Paper Mill's "Full Monty".

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 8:35pm

Elaine has a problem of shooting off her mouth without thinking. I remember seeing her in an interview at the time of the Follies concert and she said "I don't know why Carol Burnett got to sing I'm Still Here. She hasn't been through enough to be able to sing that song." So if she said that about Burnett, I'm sure she made some offhand comment about Barbara Cook.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/29/09 at 9:10pm

Icky. Icky. Icky. Icky. Grow up, the two of you.

[JJC]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 1:08pm

Barbara "responded" by singing incredibly beautifully, even for her, during their joint concert "In Alphabetical Order".

[keithp]

Posted: 7/2/09 at 1:29pm

It wasn't the Follies concert. It was the show they did together, just the two of them.