Here's to the Lady Who Lunched

Today marks the fourth anniversary of the passing of the extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Elaine Stritch. A Broadway legend, there are simply no "others" remotely like her. If you were to say, "Get me an Elaine Stritch," you'd be hard-pressed to find anything close. Biting, sarcastic, iconic, gutsy--with innumerable layers beneath the exterior--this woman who couldn't really "sing" sure gave the theater a whole host of remarkable performances.Key to them all is her singular performance in Sondheim's Company, which I was fortunate enough to see live as the entire original cast reconvened for a special concert performance in 1993. Below, you get a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of the making of the Company cast album, which proved an ordeal for Stritch. (The full documentary--a must-see for theater lovers, can be found here.) Despite all she faced, well-documented here, she nailed her performance the very next day: