Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2003)

Star, legend, force of nature--whatever you call Elaine Stritch, it probably applies, and it's never more apparent than in her deeply personal one-woman show, At Liberty. With only an oversize shirt, black tights, and a chair, Stritch mesmerizes a full house at London's Old Vic Theatre with tales of her 50-plus-year career on stage and screen. It's a priceless glimpse of backstage theatre to hear her recount how she served as standby for Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam in New York at the same time she had a featured role in Pal Joey playing in New Haven, Connecticut. And she tells about the people she mingled with (Noel Coward, Judy Garland, Rock Hudson), her disappointments both professional ("I blew The Golden Girls!") and personal (her bouts with drinking). At Liberty is more of a monologue than a musical performance, though she does perform some of her signature songs like "Zip" and "The Ladies Who Lunch." At Liberty won a Tony Award in June 2002 for Special Theatrical Event, but Stritch's triumph was tempered when she was not allowed to complete her acceptance speech. Her response to it here is just one of the touching moments in a remembrance of a historic career. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

Elaine Stritch - An Acquired Taste

Elaine Stritch is a theater treasure, though she is acerbic, demanding, a perfectionist and self-absorbed. In this swiftly-paced one hurricane-of-a-performer show she lets out all the stops, recounting her life in the theater with its comic and poignant personal moments while giving brief but telling impersonations of Judy Garland, Noel Coward, and Ethel Merman at her coarsest. She jokes about her romantic attraction to Rock Hudson and Marlon Brando.
Stritch is willing to share her naiveté with the audience, thinking that Mahler referred to a New York pastry shop and that heterosexual meant gay. Her rendition of a number of songs associated with her including "The Ladies Who Lunch" from "Company" are alone worth the price of the DVD. Her anecdotes about her long list of celebrity friends over the years also brings up her closest friend and stage savior of fifty years, booze, a friendship that was ended by a life-threatening bout of diabetes.
Her body at 77 (born in 1926) is still in great shape. She was never a big star in Hollywood movies. She was a woman who had a lot of lucky breaks, but they were breaks justified by her talent. By irritating the director, she lost a great opportunity by being turned down as one of the stars of "The Golden Girls" that could have earned her a godzillion bucks. Her strong will power and her dedication to the theater have served her well in the long run. If you are a Stritch fan, you'll love this show and want to watch it over and over again. Like scotch I think Elaine Stritch is an acquired taste.
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Perfection

I was lucky enough to see this show at The Old Vic theatre in London, which is where the DVD version was filmed. An incredible lady, an amazing performer, a magnificent show! Can't wait for her next venture... November 9, 2006

Insufferable

I know, I know - Elaine Stritch is a "legend" - she makes sure you know it, believe me... Maybe I'm the only one in the universe who felt like smacking her, but, I felt like smacking her. She offers a few bon mots about Old Hollywood and Broadway, however the rest seems like a self-congratulatory vanity piece. I got the feeling that she's been practicing these "naked" little soliloquies for her audience of one, in front of the mirror, for years. Maybe that is the point of the show, I don't know. Perhaps some think she should be humored because she's 80, but crikey, I just found most of it insufferable. Sorry Elaine... August 12, 2006

A has-been

The reviewers here are rating the performer, not the show. Stritch looks haggard, sings horribly, and most of her stories are only interesting to her. A dreadful performance all around. June 16, 2006

Defining a Legend

Just about as honest, open, and vulnerable as a performer can be. I saw this show when it first aired and bought the DVD so I can watch it over again. The performance Stritch gives is greater than any of her other work because it incorporates the best of so much of her stage, screen, and TV work. I had the pleasure of meeting Stritch at a SAGE awards dinner in 2005. When I asked her to autograph my DVD she seemed genuinely flattered. The nakedness seen in this show is a glimpse into the personality of a truly gifted performer. April 23, 2006

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