Elaine Stritch - Broadway Baby (Sondheim 75th Birthday 2005)

[btpluss]

Wow!

[stingotz52]

remarkable....just saw a little clip of her in "bus stop", the lady stills has it! saw her on her HBO special.....trooping all the way!

[anoxinomin5]

GOD BLESS THIS OLD BROAD!

What an entertainer! Year after Year Always a brilliant performance from being a nurse in A Farwell To Arms and SAIL AWAY Early in her career to these many years of giving us moments of enjoyable entertainment!  SHE REALLY IS A "BROADWAY BABY"!

[psychomusicanana]

Someone told me they spend an hour with her recently, and when she's not "on," the "tough" stuff disappears and she's gracious and pleasant.

[allthatjazzspaz95]

Elaine Stritch kicks ass. She's so unlike the typical Broadway leading ladies, and tough as nails.

[marypoppins2009]

Better than Bernadette Peters...by leaps!!!

[CarlyIsAGangster]

Elaine Stritch is Elaine Stritch.

She's a living legend.

[anoxinomin5]

She makes this HER song. The definitive rendition of all ever done This is not a strip tease,as a sex kitten from Ozone Park in Queens ,New York does it, but a lament, a desperate desire to somehow succeed in show business, as Sondheim meant it to be presented! I've seen a dozen different versions done of this song over the past thirty years and, when it comes to Elaine Strich singing it,as Carly Simon would say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,­,,,,"Nobody does it Better"

[ked1515]

I'm generally a total snob when it comes to singing but Elaine Stritch puts so much into her performance that she could get every note wrong and I would still love every second of it. Fabulous performance. : )

[Hampnkauai]

Ethel Shutta did sing this song in the original production. 

[Tazal]

elaine is the original singer of broadway baby

[bellamusicstudios1]

@Tazal I am pretty sure that the original performer of this song was Ethel Shutta. Ethel was an actual Follies girl in her youth. Search "Follies Rehersal 2" on You Tube and you can see some footage of the original cast.

[AtLastOnTheGround]

SO excited to be seeing this crazy dame in "A Little Night Music" in three weeks!

[volcomlilly]

Hahaha! This is so funnyy :) She's so talented!

[JTropp92]

I'm worried about her being in A Little Night Music.

[AtLastOnTheGround]

@JTropp92

Why would you be worried about that?

[JTropp92]

@AtLastOnTheGround Because Angela Lansbury kicked ass in that revival. 

[AtLastOnTheGround]

@JTropp92

Truth be told, I preferred Elaine's Armfeldt to Lansbury's. I love them both. I just thought that Elaine understood the character in a much deeper way.

[Ringkichardthethird]

I was there that night. Her Mike blew out halfway through the song, and she just went on, selling it even though half the audience coul;dn't hear her. It was magnificent.

[dlmorrow11]

At least she started on the right key this time. LOL But you can't not love her!!!

[anthonynewsome]

sparkling Lady...she's amazing

[Robert4770]

Broadway royalty, God bless you Elaine your one of the last of the legends still with us.

[ricksroom]

Wonderful!!! She still knocks em dead!

[heyyoubitme]

ohgod. amazing :D

[mclaire12]

there isnt anyone who can match her in this genre

mclaire12

[mclaire12]

@mclaire12 That was nasty-its not about Stritchy. i happen to be a lieder singer with a perfect soprano voice and an impeccable technique and i worked for it. You are rude and out of place and need a lesson in courtesy. Dont contact me again .

[carolineorchange21]

I love this 'bluesy, burlesque' slower version of Broadway Baby.

[sanfrancisco89]

She is simply wonderful. What a great lady. Only one to this day that can reignite my Broadway dreams.

[banthonywhite]

If I stick it long enough...Go Elaine!

[saminnyc]

Did she originate this role?

[orvgg]

No, Ethel Shutta played Hattie in the original production in 1971. Stritch played a leading role in Sondheim's Company, though.

[saminnyc]

Thanks for the info, Orvgg

[EdnaCameltoe]

No, she never played the role in Follies

[yougottagetagimmick]

She played it in the Concert Version they did, I think in the eighties...

[williamholzman]

Elaine Stritch :She makes growing old not so damn bad. One of the true characters of Broadway!

[MTwannaB4jesus]

OMG! i saw rita moreno perform this when they did follies at the oakland paramount theatre. one of my dance mentors was dancing and my teacher, Ronn Guidi, coreographed the piece.

[nasilemak2008]

Don't forget Ethel Merman

[6funswede]

Thank you SO much for this posting. It's not the music of my generation really, but in the last years I've been taught by a certain Mr. Andreas in Norway and also inspired by a certain American satirist. This is a brilliant performance, and Sondheim is the greatest!

[Krulte]

6funswede, do nyou live in Norway? Or are you even Norwegian? You see; I'm also a huge Sondheim fan (he is the greatest of all time) and it's so fun to meet someone who thinks that too, specially in Norway, 'cause I'm Norwegian myself, and I think there are way too many who don't know who Sondheim is....

[6funswede]

Yup, that's right, I'm a Norwegian. I don't know about the (very) young Norwegians, but a lot of people in Norway know about Sondheim's music :-)

[Knafre]

Seff gjør vi det! Mannen er et geni!

[ScottAlanChang]

Also, worthy of note.....This was her very first SOBER performance.

[kingadwhammy]

Wrong. Watch the clip from the Ellen show. She says she's been sober for 17 years. So she hasn't been drinking since the late 80s.

[ScottAlanChang]

This "tounge-in-cheak" performance was sooo impromptu. She planned on singing it straight.....but the audience would have NONE OF THAT!!!! BRAVO MY DEAR LANIE!!!

SAC

[Zoe227]

She's so cute!

[trinigyalwiner]

SheS sO GOOd ANd AcTUallY sH3 wAS 80 hErE!!

[renethel]

I hope that I'm as fierce as she is at 80 years old!

[VvoicezZ]

Bless her heart.

[sytycdLVR5678]

oh god

[mikey1941]

At 80 she can still belt out a number better than most half her age.

What a broad!

[ladyvee7110]

Sing it Elaine!!!

[Pekingchicken]

The only seventy year old I've ever seen rocking the miniskirt.

[Dirkdebruyne]

seventy ? She was 80 yo when this was filmed....

[Pekingchicken]

really? she looks good

[meow2mix2]

Don't forget Carol Channing.

[christoslarissa23]

Oh my God she is amazing!!!!!

[zuzushii]

They just don't make them quite like her anymore. I hope I have that much spunk at her age.

[yensonna]

I love that Ms. Stritch didn't merely learn the song and parrot it back. This performance is so different from her appearance in the 1985 Follies concert. A good performer stays honest and fresh, and she certainly has done that. What a pro.

[starparty]

The. Best. Period.

[ActorSinger51]

great! some of the only real talent we've still got

[ShesBroadwayBound]

god do i love her.

And about her supposedly shouting notes...shes singing in character. Its supposed to be funny because a woman of her age and distinction is singing a song about a young, unexperienced thing making her way in the business.

[oceansgal]

the ultimate badass broad.

[kevymagoo]

She's workin' it.  Love this lady.

[spacemonkey110]

she is FLAWLESS

[miuzefreak]

OH---MY---GOD ! WHAT A PERFORMANCE !!! she is totally amazing . She makes me laugh so hard ... and talent like this makes me cry ... so you can imagine !?! lol I m just crazy about this lady ! (Will this night ever be on DVD ?) . "STRITCHYYYYY ... YOU ARE FAAAANTASTIC AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU !"

[tracer740]

Another coincidence ... when Ethel Shutta first sang "Broadway Baby" in the original company of "Follies", she was in her mid-to-late seventies, almost as old as the present Miss Stritch.

[tracer740]

Watching and listening to Elaine do this number reminds me of the original 'Hattie Walker' role character created by Ethel Shutta, in the premier run of "Follies", back in 1971. Coincidentally, Ethel was actually once a 'Follies Girl', back in the day. That is why Sondheim chose her for the role, a true 'Broadway Baby"!

[kenrfc]

Sell it, Girrl!!!

[greygardens79]

One of my fondest memory of being in New York was seeing Ms. Stritch live at the Carlyle. She's brilliant and a true class act!

[crystal3241]

All I can say is this gal's got HEART!!! What a joy!!

[jjaniero]

the definition of being IN THE MOMENT

no wonder she constantly has every audience in the palm of her hand

[ActorSinger51]

A tru legend...my grandparents saw her in "Mame" as Vera (she was Bea Arthur's replacement)

[MTVMANN]

I don't think she ever played this role, at least on Broadway.

[ActorSinger51]

They have the playbill from the performance when they saw it, autographed by she and Angela Lansbury (they met them going to a restaurant after the show)

[sargend]

No-one deserves the label LEGEND, more than she, a living treasure!

[MarilynMonroe6]

treasure is right shes the oldest fossil alive...im kidding i love her

[jam061884]

This show's you how a legend does it.

[Andremedia]

She's the greatest!

[SweeneyHyde]

Dear Eaine Stritch,

Marry me a little?...please?...(hello)

~Sweeney Hyde

[vinnyhoags]

she was great in the norm macdonld movie screwed with danny divito.

[cris31alcantara]

She could really sing.She has the magic touch for singing. I have never heard anyone sing as great as she does. She could really entertain while she is singing. She is an expert and one of a kind.

[CarolynViolin]

This is the definitive performance of this song. Ms. Stritch is a legend! There is no one, I repeat, no one can pull this song off as well as she does. You feel the pain, the excitement, the nerves, the wanting it so bad, and everything else about what it's like to be an aspiring and struggling actor in theatre in NYC. She is just incredible!

[dotsymae]

Have you ever seen the video of the night they recorded Company? (She of course was the oringinal "Here's to the Ladies who lunch"...it's so moving to watch her try to get it up at 4am. Finally she comes back the next day and nails it.

[BestArts]

I have now posted all of the performances from that night...

[evans54]

She is a great one of a kind performer

[shinshaw2000]

HA! "she really can't sing" the dumbass below claims! She is from another era when "singing" wasn't judged based on how many tiresome riffs and screeches one does in a bland pop ballad ala American Idol. Watch every one of her mannerisms and, look at how she sells each line. This song has been done by so many people and the lines are witty in themselves but she makes it so genuine that there's nothing campy in what is essentially a campy song. Just amazing

[caitlinette]

She's a fabulous performer. She just doesn't have much of a beautiful/amazing voice is all, but luckily, that doesn't hinder her.

[SplinterG66]

She has an endless repetoir (sp) a list of shows and things she's been in. You should see her one woman show, she talks of how Marlon Brando tried to get her back to his room, he didn't succeed with what he'd hoped. She was quite a beauty once, too.

[GinaMarie1982]

talk about stage presence!! i have loooved elaine for a long time...post more! :-)

[kimrabb]

Incredible stage presence and delivery! It's not always about musical acrobatics, that is a parlor trick ...but this...this is real talent. American Idol? GIMME A FRIGGIN BREAK, those kids couldn't hold a match to Elaine.

[clitheroe1]

Wow, she's amazing. To those people who criticise her singing, you don't know a great deal about musical theatre. It's not all about quality of voice but about stage, presence, drama anc connecting with the audience, and that she has in bucket loads.

[miasverypretty]

Thanks so much for this. I saw Elaine when she was over in London performing at the Old Vic. Absolutley one of the best theatre evenings of my life, and now I see AT LIBERTY is on DVD. Fantastic. This video is a gem. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Ms Stritch is one of a kind.

[keithkaky]

People who criticize anything she does don't know their musical theater history. Like someone said, she's a national treasure. I'd knight her, call her Dame Elaine if I could.

[jennieohoh]

PUUUUUUULEEEEEEEASSSSSSE post more of Elaine singing?????

[KDmcH]

She is a national treasure!!!!

[66username77]

for all you a**holes with your rude remarks - lets see what your doing when your 80 yrs old... she's a f**king living legend and has more talent in her little finger than you could ever hope to have...

[sglynch]

yeah - you probably think 'american idol' represents real talent....

[66username77]

nobody and i mean NOBODY is better than elaine stritch. at anything. period.

[scottfwtx]

Thank you for this!! What a legend!

[Deceptiovisus]

Well said katmqck ! Miss Stritch is simply wonderful.

[caitlinette]

Uh...She can't really sing...Is she a famous Broadway actress or something? (I'm not joking)

[scottfwtx]

Get fucked.

[caitlinette]

Again, I'm not joking. I had to look her up on wikipedia. I assume your comment is meant to convey incredulism at my not knowing who she is. Apparently she's legendary but I stand by my comment that she really can't sing too well.

[AquaPenguinMan]

don't judge her the way she is now! she is old, look at her younger performances before you judge.

[caitlinette]

Yeah, I figured she might be better when she was younger...I'll do that!

[AquaPenguinMan]

lol. yeah.

[TomCollinsgirl]

Is wikepedia that good a source??? and yes she is a legend. Who do you think is a legend/legendary? Not being critical, just curious

[encorebc]

Wikepedia is not a reliable source.

[katmgck]

Anyone who thinks that this is not brilliant can't possibly have a theatrical bone in their body. Ms Stritch IS Broadway. Bravo!!

[copperhead57]

Unbelievably fabulous. You want to see Broadway--THIS is Broadway. This is Sondheim. She's fabulous.

[pawdaw]

Too good! Almost peed my pants she is so funny. I just love the way she does this song.

[stevieholden]

Formidable !

[DougTube69]

"Broadway Baby" is the most astonishingly pliable song. It's been done by pre-teen monsters of talent, by ingenues, and by the world-weary. Elaine Stritch redefined this song for the latter; she rules. Don't be mislead to think this song must be done in one way only. Long live Elaine, and bravo to others who can find their own voice in this song, with vastly different reads.

[dmoogle2006]

Kill myself this sucked.

[randyleesayer]

Sorry that you feel this way; it must be horrible to not be able to recognize 80+ years of Talent when you see it: a woman once recognized as "A Living Legend" for her numerous roles and characters created on Bway; perhaps you should just stick to the cartoon clips...

[dmoogle2006]

I happen to LOVE theatre and most broadway shows and songs. I am currently in a SONDHEIM cabaret group, and this is one of the songs in it. The girl who sings this song in my group is AMAZING, all this video did for me was destroy this amazing song.

And as for cartoon clips, well yes. I would actually like to watch those more than this travesty. But I would also like to see someone perform this song without butchering it for cheap laughs.

[dsavereide]

This was written for an original follies girl, who was well into her 70's at the time. So it wasn't meant for a twenties something, but rather for a world weary woman like Elaine plays it here. Just because you don't like it, doesn't make it bad, just means you don't appreciate it. No fault there. We can't all like all the great artists, doesn't make them any less great.

BTW, they say it was a show stopper even in rehersals everybody would stop and come watch her perform.

[NunsAndPoses]

check out my rendition - 'baby this time' and lemme know what u think!! :D

[Mario54World]

She's a legend so she can do anything. I think we all agree a bunch of artists don't all improve with age, but we love them cause they're legends. Plus. she's funny.

[JohnnyNW]

BRILLIANT!

[nicoladawn]

What I wouldn't have given to have been at that show. She's such a brillisnt talent. This gives me goose bumps every time I watch it!

[homerjsimpson215]

hahahaha god i love her

[nmpaone]

Thank-you to whom ever posted this! Genius!!

[syberyenta]

?? What happened to the tempo on this number?

She nailed it better in Follies in Concert. But Stritchophiles rejoice ;)

[greggthammer]

i was also there and was actually backstage at intermission and after the show, and it was one of the greatest moments in my life, not just to see the stars but to see elaine stritch walk around proudly in her underwear!

[bigone1069]

AMAZING

[mandeley]

Unbelievable!! What a TALENT!!

[choster33]

I went to this show and I have been looking or it since then! Thanks sooo much for posting these clips!!!