Elaine Stritch - Ladies Who Lunch

The legendary Tony and Emmy winner Elaine Stritch performs one of her signature songs from Stephen Sondheim's musical Company.

[@richardwhite3924]

I asked her once how she dealt with being expected to sing "The Ladies Who Lunch" almost every time she did a concert. Her response, "Kid - when Steve Sondheim writes a classic for you - you better damn well sing it. Anyway, someone in the room hasn't heard it before". We met doing "Sail Away" when I was 9 - and I was "Kid" whenever we got together for the rest of her life. Stitichy - I love you and miss you every day.

[@carloslnunez]

+Richard White What an endearing story. Thanks for sharing!

[@racheljones9644]

[@johnwhiting5747]

I love, love, love Elaine Stritch.

[@Anonymous-ql4ph]

What a lovely memory of Stritchy to share with us. Thanks a lot. Hope you are doing well Dick ,O)

[@bmbutler2]

I am one of those who had never heard it. Thanks for KZbin I now have

[@bluedlodlo]

How many vodka stingers must I drink before I turn into Elaine Stritch?! RIP, Elaine.

[@butchmcqueen5625]

When Patti LuPone did this song and Elaine was sitting on that stage...SLAAAAYYYEEEDDD. Henny, she was shaking her head thinking: GODDAMN PATTI and gave her the biggest hug & kiss ever. So amazing!

[@richardviest3339]

Elaine Stritch is a case of the performance living up to the legend and then some. Broadway royalty.

[@williamclifford4441]

Elaine used to live permanently in the Savoy Hotel, London. Many a morning we exchanged Good Mornings as we passed each other in the Embankment Gardens along the Thames.

[@zzzut]

This woman is a national treasure.

[@rr7firefly]

Show biz is tough. Don't let anybody tell you different. You better be tough or you'll never make it.

[@ErinLovegood]

She owns this song.

[@ros8986]

I saw Ms Stritch in the original tour. there are no words.

[@chem100]

This is as good as Broadway gets. Period. Just phenomenal.

[@miguelarce4159]

I can only hope there is some 'Acting Coach' showing this clip to anyone nowadays............This is how it is DONE, PERIOD.........Thank you Ms. Stritch for establishing A STANDARD.

[@virginiaviola5097]

If kids today want to know what Broadway was, and should be, before it all become Disney on Stage and saccharin, look no further than Miss Elaine Stritch.

[@cyannec9293]

Saccharine you say? One word: *Heathers*

[@iamtrash6646]

I wish I was born a few years earlier so I could've met this wonderful woman!

[@frangiameo5981]

I saw Company for the first time last night, in a comunity theater production in NJ. And here i am today watching everything I can about the original perfomers and performances.

[@soulman423]

RIP to a queen of Broadway. No one quite like her. miss you!

[@LadyHawke78]

I loved her so much. A true legend... She will be missed... :(

[@nicolabaker551]

Sensational.

[@ronaldcward]

Shit, they don't make them like that anymore. Classic.

[@triciamcguinn8024]

RIP, Elaine! What a Dame!

[@racheljones9644]

I love her! RIP Elaine, you were a beautiful person!

[@bluscorpion]

I love her intention here... not as angry as LuPone's... makes the sarcasm even stronger! Excellent!

[@toddterrell7006]

That's my feeling about LuPone's performance as well. Elaine is just so much more playful at this number!

[@bassavino]

Elaine has a smidgen of affections for the "ladies", LuPone is virtuosic but too operatic for my tastes. Stritch's performance is lapidary, every gesture and inflection in place.

[@bassavino]

I must say, tho, both performers make me cry.

[@elihauser1840]

bluscorpion i just like Lupones speaking dialogue so much more- like the “everybody laugh” and “who even wears a hat anymore” i think patty does better

[@briestoll]

love you forever... Miss you forever... Grande Dame

[@sweeney60]

I wonder if hal prince knows what a gift he gave elaine stritch that night. she wouldnt have nailed that performance without it.

[@charat9550]

may god bless her soul in heaven, we love you Elaine

[@jrlexjr]

Happy 87th birthday to my favorite Broadway broad.

[@terrenceragin5555]

This woman was absolutely fantabulous

[@toberandkobusreilly-rossou1238]

'At Liberty' was a shining, glittering, glorious achievement and celebration of this extraordinary talent

[@showtunesrock1]

I find it amazing that a woman like Elaine who has an iffy voice is always able to deliver an absolutely stunning performance of this song every single time she does it. She made me fall in love with Company and because of her it's one of my favorite shows ever.

[@troyschneck4934]

Iffy voice? Her voice may not have been the most conventional, but she had the pipes to deliver the emotion it takes to sing a song like "The Ladies Who Lunch", and anything else she ever sang. Her voice was never "iffy", even into her 80s, when I last saw her perform. Iffy voice, my ass!

[@w.urlitzer1869]

she does not have an iffy voice

[@allthatjazzspaz95]

It’s because she was a brilliant actress. There are so many musical theatre “pitch perfect” singers that sound technically trained but are shit actors. She inhabits the song and that’s the difference.

RIP STEPHEN SONDHEIM

[@theburb08]

always liked the song - never want to hear it sung by anyone else, after this performance.

[@michaelreidperry3256]

Stritch! Such a treasure!

[@jorgeaguirre1341]

Just wonderful lady❤️🌹🌹🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@ginabasnuh2341]

BRILLIANT. Always brilliant. Met her once at Birdland. Adore her. Miss her dearly.

[@robertobordino7141]

It really is her song

[@janea8879]

Everybody rise.....'nuff said. Perfection ♥️

[@darreylhenderson702]

She reminds me of my drunk Aunt who likes to get up at weddings and sing a song for the new couple- but in a good way!

[@sweeney60]

Rest In Peace Hal Prince

[@TheJohnpandy]

I saw this wonderful woman at the Old Vic, London.

[@LMays-cu2hp]

Too cute.

[@byron9727]

Think I'm going to wear that outfit to Asda later, love it

[@samsandd]

@ktank15 If musical theater WERE about getting every note right, then your statement might be correct. Maybe. However, that's just not how it is. No one can pull off a more brilliant performance than Miss Stritch. It's perfect because she hits every nuance and emotion with subtlety and grace. Regardless of tonal correctness.

[@ilovethebroadway]

All Hail! Thanks Elaine

[@margarethandasyde8652]

PERFECT, just perfect.

[@jenniferkah]

A talented and tough old broad! Love her!

[@theburb08]

Priceless performance.

[@mariannefurman1923]

Great performer also love her as Jacks mom on 30 Rock.

[@aavauxhall]

I think she also won an Olivier in London for the same show.... She was fabulous

[@Menhiria]

She's 88 now :) I've checked that on Wikipedia :-) Had her 88th b-day recently on the second of February :)

[@kayregulski6828]

So mesmerizing, so awesome

[@Iank14]

Yeah but this show wasn't a musical review. This was a show about her life that had funny bits in it and also a lot of sadness so of course there's going to be a lot of "I" "I" "I" in it.

[@49rogs]

love her

[@kellyf.3892]

Wow. Great story. So many wonderful experiences of life. Thanks for sharing.

[@lealippard1045]

Fabulous!

[@robertbarnier45]

Legend

[@MiZeHoLogram]

Song begins @3:00

[@picturefan2009]

@kanwi From her Tony and Emmy awards-winning one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty

[@toad455]

PURE GOLD!!!

[@brill068]

Don't care how old she is (and she must be about 90.....who cares)......she is great!

[@eddieeddie507]

GREAT

[@HighKingTurgon]

One thing that I do love about Elaine Stritch, despite what I would term faults as a performer, is that she never uses vibrato. Granted, it can be used to great effect, but too often it is a cheap trick designed to masque a flat pitch.

[@TheReevessss]

But she aint got one to use. lol

[@IntySSBM]

People actually perceive notes more in tune if they are oscillating than if they are straight. Vibrato's a color, just like everything else. Good to have the option, I say.

[@beckettmaupin]

I love how you say that :-)

[@kayliles6325]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@UandMeKid]

Anyone ever see her as Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners? Funny. It was a brief, one shot during it's run on Calvacade of Stars but she did it before Joyce Randolph. You can find it on KZbin as Honeymooners: Reall Lost Debut Episodes.

[@amie11601]

Great legs

[@zzzut]

I am not American, so I totally agree!

[@guigay4706]

Slay

[@SplitTheSecondz]

6:35 Me when I see a mouse

[@ayarbro1126]

Really?!? This is Elaine Stitch we're talking about, her legs are as well known as her voice. haha

[@raythelljordan6550]

I love those lil legs!

[@citizenkang2524]

Only Elaine Stitch could belt this out with irresistibly irreverence.

[@willyaguilar7026]

Joanne and Colleen would've been best friends. And that makes me so happy.

[@ourtravelingzoo3740]

Autumn in New York.

[@treygc3291]

3:13

[@zzzut]

I said it with my French accent! ;)

[@kanwi]

what is this performance from?

[@chrisleeder7235]

Company

[@hellodumzo]

It’s from her award nominated one woman show

[@FRADAVE02]

I'm always a pushover for a broad! They're the most fun people.

[@haroldredline8639]

ok so she didn't have a great voice, but many other broadway performers didn't have the greatest voice. There was something about Stritchy! She was one of a kind. She was Broadway. I met her after she opened her one woman show at the Academy in Philadelphia. It was quite a night. Broadway will never again see the likes of Elaine Stritch or Ethel Merman and host of others. These people gave their heart and soul to their craft.

[@fritzlangtree3803]

Unfreakin' believable! Bravo! She should put on some pants & a bra but maybe that adds to the intrigue. She even carries that off like a pro! Sheesh!

[@bassavino]

She reminds me of my ex-mother-in-law, a literate and legendary lush in her own right. Stritch is perfect.

[@LadyHawke78]

She's got to be in her 70's on here, and Damn, she looks AWESOME. (If my legs looked that awesome, I wouldn't wear pants either!)

[@OddlyMaison]

Elaine Stritch NEVER wears pants.

[@matttoutcourt]

Look Ma, no pants, more like.

[@MyNine7]

Elaine is Antoinette Chuba's god.

[@raythelljordan6550]

Who says Tina Turner has the best legs in the business? Sorry but Elaine wears the Legs 👑 Crown!

[@Ahuey88]

...where are her pants?

[@ReadandWite]

How do you know ? I have only seen that she's not wearing a skirt or trousers the whole time. Something to do with being theatrical, I guess.. But not wearing any pants !! That would be outrageous even in this day and age, but tell me , how do you know ??

[@billybum417]

She forget her pants?

[@sjmullen6691]

Elaine was the strangest genius I ever met. No talent but OMG! So profound.

[@elihauser1840]

why she not wearing pants?!

[@Marcel_Audubon]

She misguidedly thinks it make her geriatric legs look younger, doesn't realize it just makes her look like an old broad who forgot her pants back at the nursing home.

[@ckent32]

Result The name is Elaine Stritch. Pants are not necessary.

[@drstranger7430]

Legends dont need pants dear.

[@stargirlmag]

Where are her pants?

[@MICHGO1]

SONDHEIM IS A SADIST, HIS LYRICS AND THE PACE THEY ARE SUNG AT CAN BE NERVE RACKING.

[@seethevolcane]

No. Elaine ...no !

[@rocantenrocanten4150]

ужас. во всех смыслах.

[@Sloopyla]

I love Elaine Stritch, but I've been bothered about her not wearing pants in this show since it came out.

[@pearlsboyproudofit2834]

Sloopyla when you get to be her age you can do whatever you want

[@louie40205]

Sloopyla she doesn’t have to.

[@websurfin9575]

Did Elaine ever explain the reason she always performed in a man's dress-shirt with no pants?!

[@zachw225]

All her phallic areas are covered it's copasetic...

[@compuservermaster2063]

Great performer, but Patti Lupone version is Far superior.

[@amcoca]

Great perfomer! Not such a nice person.

[@t.a.n.k.]

She was flat on the "I'll" after vodka stinger

[@Italman45]

I don't get it, what a horrible voice....... Sorry, Patti LuPone does this piece better than anyone !

[@eddieking4621]

I’m glad I’m not the only one. I think she’s grossly overrated

[@calisongbird]

@@eddieking4621 it’s all about her attitude and interpretation. It’s not meant to sound “pretty” with perfect tone. It’s meant to capture a mood.

[@mastersham]

Boradway Barbara did it better!

[@maleficentdiva]

a singer she isn't!

[@alexuniverse]

Too much talking, too much "I" "I" "I" and not enough singing.

[@graciebabyy]

LOOKMAGBOHANDS