John Lahr: "I’ll miss her"
"
Elaine Stritch’s death, at the age of eighty-nine, marks the end of an era—the end of old-school, succeed-or-die, knock-’em-dead, Broadway show-biz."
Her contradictions were as enormous as her great gift. She was marvellous and monstrous, sirocco and mistral, fragile and brutish, inspired and vacant. She could seduce an audience but she could never surrender herself, which was both her poignance and her tragedy. Onstage, she could create joy; offstage, she could inflict a lot of pain. These extremes made her memorable, compelling, and a caution.
Yet, both onstage and off, she was unforgettable. Her audacity onstage was thrilling; offstage, it could be breathtaking. “John,” she once said to me, “you gotta stop giving me these books with your signature. I can’t give ’em away.” I’ll miss her.
8 comments:
She was very good.
I liked reading John Lahr's pieces in the New Yorker, years ago, but I had to look up what Ms. Stritch (rhymes with...) was in, and what do you know - I have managed to avoid ever seeing any of her work.
Combined with avoiding her in real life I think I may have hit upon how to achieve happiness.
I don't remember seeing her on anything.
Granted, I haven't seen much.
She did Bay's English Muffin commercials.
I do remember a Broadway singer/piano player with the same last name. Son maybe?
John Lahr's dad was the cowardly lion.
I once saw a play about Bart Lahr titled "Bart Lahr" I think. It was sort of okay. That was during the period Toni insisted on season tickets and dragged my sorry ass to every little thing in a failed effort to culturefy me. There's only so much cultureification and experimental theater a bloke can take innit. The best part about all that is dinner afterwards.
You can make a full dinner out of hor d'oeuvres, as a full dinner of samplers. I go, I love oysters, but I absolutely hate them raw. It's like swallowing a gigantic luggie whole in one go. The waiter arrives with a fancy covered silver tray. Dramatically removes the lid to display a whole tray of raw oysters arranged in their half shell on rock salt, and Tony cracks up laughing. The waiter is all, "What? What?" And I go, "can you give those things like 10 seconds in the microwave?" While Toni is reeling in laughter. She has a twisted humor, liking it best when others are flummoxed.
I'm watching the "Lost" Honeymooner episodes. Elaine Stritch was the original Trixie Norton, Ed's Burlesque dancer wife.
Pert Kelton was the original Alice.
I stopped watching because Tina Fey made fun of our beloved Sarah.
I will never forgive Tina Fey. She is a liberal, commie. and I will never give a dime of my money, for any of her libtard movies.
Palin would of been president if it wasn't for Tina Fey.
tits.
Post a Comment