ELAINE STRITCH SINGS "HERE'S TO THE LADIES WHO LUNCH"

ElainE Stritch struggles with recording "Here's To The Ladies That Lunch" for the Broadway cast recording of "Company" as Stephen Sondeheim and friends get more and more frustrated. I won't give away the ending .... just, check it out!

[@chrishsu2728]

She was angry because she had an eye doctor’s appointment to go to. She just needed to get her eyes scraped.

[@samanthabelfiore3585]

Chris Hsu she already took the medication!

[@bdiaz6081]

“I gotta go”!!!

[@tommym7321]

"I already took the medication and it's currently ripping through my system so we need to be brisk about this"

[@ourgorlsfavoriteorangechic2711]

Take 27.....Goddamn it! I gotta go....I'm just gonna go. I hope you all have terrible lives! Orchestra, great job!

[@tomlillis7830]

Well, she was supposed to sing at the beginning.

[@tumelomogashoa9634]

I love this woman, but it's sad that she never did get the recognition that she deserved and worst of all she didn't get the Tony award that she deserved for this role because she really killed it and it's only now that people realize what a great woman and a great talent she was and what we have really lost. R.I.P. Elaine, you were and still are one of the greatest Broadway stars to grace the stage. " I'll drink to that".🍸🍷

[@withlotsabutta]

R.I.P. Elaine Stritch. We have lost one of the greats of the Broadway Theater. In addition, she should've had a much-deserved Oscar nod for Woody Allen's 'September." I laugh out loud til I cry every time I watch it. You are missed.

[@kell_checks_in]

What a shame she didn't tell that perv to go fuck himself.

[@seejaneread]

John Mulaney brought me here 💗

[@sylviamarie2266]

Everybody rise to one of the greats in Broadway RIP Elaine Stritch

[@rhapsody710]

As an actor myself, I know how she feels. When I perform, I often get frustrated whenever I can't get something right. (I can imagine that would increase tenfold when you're performing for someone like Sondheim, hehe.) And it's a great comfort to know that even the most seasoned Broadway veterans have those moments too.

[@leighbesstoad]

RIP Ms. Stritch. A true broad in the best sense of the word. Thanks for all the memories.

[@flesniloc]

Rest in power, Elaine

[@greatday124]

Every actor's struggle. Pleasing ears that don't belong to you.

[@nickcameronbrown]

Fantastic. Must try to find this documentary. Elaine Stritch is so open; and this is a really revealing insight into the singers' process. Very impressive, a great performance of a great piece.

[@ProfessorStuDDS]

You can find the whole documentary on youtube, just look up Company OBC recording and part 1 should be the 1st hit

[@sheilabloom6735]

Nick Brown I had the video and it is missing.

[@nycdarin]

There will never be anyone like her.

[@stuartlee6622]

Darin I Sure there is. Hillary Rodham Clinton!

[@MirageEspejismo]

RIP Elaine Stritch. ...truly one of the greats!!! You will definitely be remembered as you have inspired many others on your jouney.

[@GMObkirchner]

I did not grow up in the United States and I just now for the first time heard about Elaine Stritch. Seems I missed out. RIP, great lady.

[@o0OoIzzyoO0o]

I GOTTA GO IIIIIIII GOTTA GO

[@annienanners]

Listening to this guy saying it was better the next day because she had her hair and makeup done really burns me up. And she's like, NO DUDE: it's because I had a two show day ahead of me.

[@kumada84]

👀 I don't think he was saying she did better "because she had her hair and makeup done", I think he was saying having her hair and makeup done (among other things, including the time of day) put her into a better place mentally to do the song. On the second day she looks like the character, and looks are an important thing for a character like that.

[@pluscachangeable]

Rest in peace, Elaine Stritch. Thank you for sharing your gift with the world.

[@gretaherron8733]

I love this song. Growing up in Kansas I didn't get what she was talking about. Our local "Ladies who lunch" spent their time where few people could see them, at the exclusive country club, or each other's homes...

[@Marcel_Audubon]

who you kidding? :.. in Kansas the ladies who lunch do it at Arby's

[@Koldeman]

15 HOURS singing your heart out to a mic, let's see if any of YOU could pull it off. Also, it must be said that performers come alive onstage in front of a live audience. Cast recording sessions rarely get the magic & passion that a live performance garners, no matter how good the cast is. One thing I realized on a personal note, Elaine in her younger years here looks & sounds EXACTLY like my late mother-in-law. She had all the acerbic & sardonic qualities that Elaine had, so maybe that's why I adore her so much. A lot of people said she was difficult & demanding, which tells me that she cares deeply about achieving an unachievable perfection. She could be scary & confrontational, which rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I would love to have been there to watch her dish out the treatment to everyone. Seeing her flawed & struggling like this just makes me appreciate her as a human being. Broadway stars don't just burst into brilliance at the drop of a hat- it takes a lot of hard work.

[@tracer740]

And how, she then delivered in spades! I bought the original cast recording upon its release and it is one of my treasured collections.

[@KekoaOnorati]

4:05... Perhaps one of the most inspiring pieces of wisdom I've ever heard come out of someone's mouth.

[@QueerlyBeloved386]

how inspiring to hear what she puts herself through in the process of bringing a character to life .... she is truly a legend.

[@scotthutcheson8392]

R.I.P. to a wonderful star.

[@leebobby13]

Elaine Stritch is a gem in the mix that can never be forgotten.

[@cjm608]

this woman is broadway royalty!

[@quizmaster85]

5:45 - A scream of no-nonsense confidence. I'll drink to that.

[@TheRangerover05]

Gosh, I this is crazy, I thought the song was only Streisand, but learned who it is for.....It is Elaine...............I just love her!!!!!!!!! RIP, Oh gosh she is great!!!!!!!

[@speedybill47]

Rest in peace Elaine

[@spagandtuna]

Come on, everyone's missing the point. Her voice was tired and hoarse the night of the recording. The more she tried the worse it got. It was brilliant of them to record the music and have her come back the next day. Much a do about not a whole lot.

[@ma-ew4kj]

Yeah - the constant smoking probably didn't help. But did make her sound like a drunk.

[@fritzlangtree3803]

So interesting. Elaine without makeup. No Botox...how refreshing! She's superb!

[@vhope0000]

Underneath her bluster and attitude, it seems you can see how frustrated she is with herself

[@QueerlyBeloved386]

OMG i never realized until this very moment, she was loaded for that first one ... poor dear. Either way, what a legend, an awesome, flawed beautiful woman.

[@binklebabe4725]

Omigod! I can relate! I felt like I was screwing up a scene for three other actors, but they were too nice to come out and tell me. The director was too nice to tell me, too.

[@christie210]

Love watching this!

[@elizabethorfalo]

Great performer, what a great talent we all miss so dearly

[@oliviajaneparker8331]

When the going gets tough i remind myself of this clip! - Good on ya Elaine! Love the look on Stephen Sondheim's face at the end :)

[@dzijane]

I love Elaine Stritch, she is fantabulous xx

[@lawrencesclassics9891]

LOVE Elaine Stritch - no one performs this song like her! Jane Russell replaced Elaine in Company in 1971 and did a a pretty damn good job -- its on here as Jane Russell in Broadway's Company.

[@seanmoran602]

WOW,we saw Elaine in London in her last show-truely amazing.

[@withlotsabutta]

Thank you so much!!

[@Ursaminor31]

Fabulous insight into the crazy process- but it's simply shear exhaustion that led to the misery-they should have just regrouped - but then this fascinating clip wouldn't exist.

[@withlotsabutta]

Ursa Minor I hope Meryl Streep plays Stritch in the film version of this. It oughta be called "Recording Company."

[@jefflevel]

@Ed Miller hahahahahah

[@ilovethebroadway]

The fact that she's being so hard on herself to make it perfect is what makes her a living legend today!

[@bgdjohnny8]

She scares the shit outta me. But I can tell she's a real soul human being and probably a generous tipper of waiters and respectful after scaring the shit out of them.

[@KyleKnappTenor]

Sondheim has many virtues. Kindness is not one of them.

[@davidmehnert6206]

Not untrue and not unkind; His bedtime smile, I wouldn’t mind.

[@nickbigd]

Not true. Look at his master class videos from Guildhall.

[@petersonlafollette3521]

I know now he was a perfectionist, but how they got through recording without murdering him at that time is no small challenge.

[@lukeworsham1757]

This is patently false.

[@MeganKnighthackademic]

RIP Elaine

[@bronxboy47]

Fascinating!

[@withlotsabutta]

I agree. I kinda like the roughed-edged beauty of her original. So this is my idea: A feature dramatic film about what they went through to get the cast album perfect. Call it "Recording "Company."" I see Meryl Streep, all boozy and blousy, as Ms. Stritch and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the genius Sondheim. What'd ya think ...?

[@assmane999]

withlotsabutta I guess we’ll settle with “Co-op” instead

[@Leonards-leopard]

You might need to recast Hoffman

[@withlotsabutta]

Thank you!

[@SactoGranny]

I had to favorite this!

[@cardiffbear]

That was really interesting - thanx for that after Angela Lansbury - Elaine Stritch is my woman - love them both and both actress's do Sondheim really well

[@WylieWatson]

Cool. I didn't know this DVD had a commentary. Now I really have to get me a copy.

[@AL-ri8xg]

I love this

[@randalllaue4042]

You can’t forget this...

[@andyvanm1]

Its amazing Elaine survived her own demons ,mostly her alcohol problems...

[@infrantasi]

She was drinking when she died, but that was her decision. She used to come into AA and could rock the house with her truth. A real babe and fabulous performer, 200% Elaine. RIP!

[@SoaringTrumpet]

+ANDREW VAN I'm not sure your meaning. People almost never die from overdose of alcohol, compared to a large amount from drugs. She did negatively affect her health with booze, but also with tobacco. She lived a long fulfilling life, while drinking!

[@RhinocerosProductions]

was alcohol an issue here I wondered? Was she hung over?

[@binklebabe4725]

She looks so beautiful and on target the next morning! Perfection!

[@YesItsMeGuys68]

How god damn wonderful is Elaine Stritch !

[@withlotsabutta]

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!!

[@tiluriso]

CBS/Columbia's legendary 30th Street Studios -'The Church' had 100 ft ceiling - it was where Miles Davis' Classic 'Kind of Blue' was recorded as well. Look at all that smoking in the studio & control room = unthinkable by today's standards.

[@withlotsabutta]

Me, too! Glad you liked it!

[@eddieporter9930]

🙂I Love Her! Same Personality!!!

[@irasachs]

Its from D.A. Pennebaker's 1970 film, ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM - COMPANY, that follows the marathon recording session, and the creative process, of both Sondheim, and Stritch.

[@withlotsabutta]

Not a special release. It's included on the normal release. Yes, it's available on Amazon. Thanks for asking!

[@bryanambition]

"isn't that like steve sondheim, that son of a bitch, to make me do this on a matinee day!" hahahaha LOVE her spirit!!!

[@InspectorKaramazov]

This poor woman. I always feel so bad for her when I watch her try to record this and I want to hug her. Elaine Stritch is awesome and I would marry her if she was younger.

[@tommytimp]

@MacktheNice The commentary is on the DVD. I have the videotape which, of course, has no commentary and is less scrubbed, picture-wise.

[@withlotsabutta]

I never saw it on here, but someone else who was searching for it told me they had been told that it was removed due to copyright.

[@2uksteve]

I've produced/directed several hundred audio sessions (spoken not sung) for commercials & documentaries. So many times I've wished that studios had 2-way (switchable) mirrors between the artiste area & the control room with (usually) far too many surplus individuals gawking/lounging. There were times (particularly for dialogue sessions) where I'd go and sit on a high stool with the artistes in their 'tank' so that they'd perform for *me* and not for the distracting fish in the aquarium next door. It paid off well.

[@withlotsabutta]

Impossible song to sing and do well. lol! Thank you so much for commenting!

[@MANHATTANBEEFMAN]

Sondheim had a terrible/bitter relationship w/his mother - from his youth...and no doubt Stritch is reminding him of that fact here...

[@eastojai3562]

and thus, you see Elaine as a victim more than a worker, an actor, a performer... she's a damsel and Sondheim is a bastard for treating her like an equal or expecting more from her than to be just a dame.

[@stuartbenton4495]

She was drunk

[@DrunklyRomantic]

What documentary is this from? This is amazing.

[@garrettgla]

You know who failed here? Tom and Steve for not giving more examples of what they needed that night. Especially Tom.

[@ANTINUTZI]

Sure, the immense power of Genius can, and does, misfire. But you know damned well that it'll correct, and fire straight and true again- because that's what it does: it never, ever really fails you, much less anyone else. By whatever miracle, or whatever, you've just been pulling it out of your ass time after time, right on cue, all your Life. Because you and your Art have only each other ... and that neither of you could ever, never have a more superb lifelong lover. A toast to you, Elaine.

[@leweber1]

After seeing her one-woman show at age Elaine Stritch - At Liberty, I can understand that she was drunk here. Of course, at the time she was in denial and couldn't let it be known publicly or she'd lose face. That's why they can't look at her - they're disgusted that she would be unprofessional and waste time and money on an inferior performance when she's capable of so much more.

[@tomsparks6099]

Stritch was a consummate and honest artist. Her natural love for performance is apparent in everything she ever did. These guys were rough on her, but in the long run, this number is one of the most popular punches in show music. That says something. They believed in her and she brought it front. I think if she was sober then, it wouldn't be as powerful.

[@woolwine100]

Dear God!

[@3laraaslisaani]

Look, Steve smiled!

[@anatnominuk]

Yes the original title of Company was Threes

[@dzijane]

I was so sorry to hear you kicked the bucket matey xx

[@davidseifert1726]

She a phenomenon, she didn't expect any better from another person that she wasn't willing to do. To the haters she told people to do their jobs, because they weren't.

[@xxfireages]

WOW her eyes are TRUE BLUE

[@withlotsabutta]

Impossible song to sing and sing well. lol! Thank you so much for commenting!

[@bduhe219]

to know what kind of pressure a performer experiences in a role you need only look at this. look at "Moon Over Broadway" as well. to see how precise one needs to be in remembering the lines and staging and all of the many changes. it is a very hard yoke to carry for a perfectionist in the acting field.

[@tannawannavannabittannawan7138]

“Crazy” people are often the most creative, talented, and brilliant. ❤️👌

[@fadhilramadhani1847]

I GOTTA GO!

[@michaelparker3510]

I've seen the Doco, where is this COMMENTARY coming FROM?! Was this a bonus on the DVD? Was this from a program on TV? Is this an entirely different disc than the original? I NEED TO FIND THIS COMMENTARY FOR THE ENTIRE DOCO NOW!! Any help here is appreciated!

[@bigbrownsound]

Michael Parker my thoughts exactly! Any discovery yet?

[@kilimenjiro3753]

It's a DVD from 2001 that includes a commentary track by DA Pannebaker, Hal Prince, and Elaine STritch.

[@teresafiore752]

Clearly demonstrates the difference between overproduced music for the masses and artistic mastery. Bravo,. Elaine, Bravo!

[@catherinewillmore]

Before I read your comment I was thinking exactly the same thing.

[@withlotsabutta]

Great comment!

[@MrMalibupj]

I would have more compassion for her if EVERYONE I know who has worked with her didn't have an "Elaine Stritch is meanest person I've ever known" story.

[@kevintroxell3213]

MrMalibupj maybe they just didn't appreciate her realness. She was intense, loud, crass, a perfectionist, and an alcoholic who told it like it is. My guess was she was being herself, thinking she was funny, and people didn't get it or respond to it.

[@diddymuck]

probably exhausted!!!

[@Sunflower0122Z]

What is the name of this documentary?

[@grai]

that wasn't what the post you responded to was about at all My post refers to the nightmare of being filmed on top of having to deliver a definitive version of the number for an album

[@begood1begood2]

I truly believe that no matter how long the day was, no matter how talented these people are, no matter how much you will love the work of Sonheim and how he understands women, no matter how Elaine overcomes her demons and adversity to reach your soul, the most important thing to gain from this particular footage is that (whether gay or not), there are only men in the room. As a male myself, I don't think that would be true today.

[@withlotsabutta]

LOL! Well ... good point.

[@Poet2916]

I think Judy Garland would have played well in this part well.

[@kevintroxell3213]

Poet2916 her performance would have been more melodramatic and sad, she would have milked that song. Judy was no society matron. She would have victimized the hell out of that character. The subject matter might have been too real for her. Sorry, I don't see it.

[@sporran5643]

Havng seen the original production several times, I can guarantee you the best version EVER of this song was done by Stritch's (second) replacement, Vivian Blaine. Still the greatest Joann.

[@hank1519]

Saw Vivian in the original Guys and Dolls. Unforgettable!

[@hank1519]

@Ed Miller Bother could Red Harrison in My Fair Lady. But they can put a song across and move an audience

[@MaleOrderBride]

Anyone else is better than Stritch, honestly!! It must be an American thing to love Elaine...but as an outsider to your country, she sounds godawful! Elaine doesn't sing, she screeches! I love this song...but prefer any other version that Elaine's! Carol Burnett does an amazing version...

[@shawni321]

You know how Hitchcock bullied Tippi Hedren in The Birds "to coax the performance" when he actually had some psychosexual stuff himself dealing with the star? It makes me wonder if these "men" in the studio didn't get some sort of perverse satisfaction in terrorizing Elaine, she herself a stand-in for many of their mothers, esp. Sondheim. I think they were sadistic bullies, they knew they had a lamb in the lion's den.

[@edp3202]

I'm surprised at this point she wasn't replaced. It seemed hopeless.

[@heavilymexicated]

Thank you Rupaul, for the education.

[@grai]

haha - somehow i doubt it she says in an interview about this session she left the studio in such a state of despair that to this day she can't remember where she went

[@lasaboteuse]

Who's who in the video? Sondheim's so young I can't recognize him. He's the one in the black turtleneck, right? Who's the guy in the tan shirt (the young one standing up, not the guy sitting down)-the director? The sound engineer?

[@kongxyz89]

HAHAHA "isnt that just like Steve Sondheim that son of a bitch!" i love her