Patti LuPone Remembers Elaine Stritch in TIME Magazine Piece - 'I've Seen Greatness'

Following the passing of stage legend Elaine Stritch last week on July 17, TIME Magazine published a remembrance piece by Patti LuPone.

In it, she talks about meeting Stritch at Sardi's, working together on 30 ROCK, singing "Ladies Who Lunch" straight to her at Stephen Sondheim's birthday celebration in 2010, and an answering machine message from Stritch -- "a validation from Elaine to me" -- that ensures LuPone will always have a memory of the actress.

"I am very critical of what I see on Broadway, because I've seen greatness," LuPone wrote. "Watching Elaine in AT LIBERTY, was witnessing greatness. So she became the benchmark for whatever you see after that in solo shows. When you have that kind of history, that's real, you are in the history of it -- it's a powerful thing."

Read the full article on TIME's website.

Broadway legend Elaine Stritch passed away last Thursday at her home in Birmingham, MI. She was 89.

She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and her Broadway debut in the comedy Loco in 1946. Notable Broadway credits include her Tony Award nominated roles in the original production of William Inge's 1955 play Bus Stop, Noël Coward's 1961 musical Sail Away, Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical Company, which includes her performance of the song "The Ladies Who Lunch", the 1996 revival of the Edward Albee play A Delicate Balanceand her 2001 Tony Award winning one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

Stritch won an Emmy Award in 1993, for her guest role on Law & Order and another in 2004, for the television documentary of her one woman show. From 2007 to 2012, she had a recurring role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleenon NBC's 30 Rock, a role that won her a third Emmy in 2008.

More recently, she appeared in the Broadway revival of the Sondheim-Wheeler musical A Little Night Music, from July 2010 to January 2011, succeeding Angela Lansbury in the role of Madame Armfeldt.

Her documentary, ELAINE STRITCH: SHOOT ME recently had its New York City premiere, in which she is showcased both on and off stage via rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité. By turns bold, hilarious and moving, the film's journey connects Stritch's present to her past, and an inspiring portrait of a one-of-a-kind survivor emerges.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski