Elaine Stritch Brings 'Singin' Sondheim' to Cafe Carlyle, 4/20 - 4/29

Tony Award winner Elaine Stritch will perform her concert, "Singin' Sondheim...One Song at a Time' at the Cafe Carlyle from April 20 - April 29, 2010.  Stritch will additionally perform the show as part of Hartford Stage's 2010 SummerStage series from June 17 - 20, 2010, as BroadwayWorld previously reported. Stritch will be joined in Hartford by Chita Rivera and Ben Vereen, who will also be performing solo concerts in Hartford on June 22-27 and July 6-11, respectively.

The iconic musical theater careers of Elaine Stritch and Stephen Sondheim are inextricably linked, and this new show is the culmination of a personal and professional relationship that has spanned the better part of four decades, beginning with COMPANY in 1970. In "Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim . . . One Song at a Time," Ms. Stritch (with Rob Bowman, Music Director) will perform the music of Mr. Sondheim, orchestrated by Tony, Oscar, Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Jonathan Tunick.

Stritch's Broadway debut came in the revue ANGEL IN THE WINGS. Stritch was also understudy to Ethel Merman for the Irving Berlin musical CALL ME MADAM and, at the same time, appeared in the 1952 revival of PAL JOEY. Stritch later starred in the national tour of CALL ME MADAM and appeared in a supporting role in the original Broadway production of William Inge's play BUS STOP. She was the lead in GOLDILOCKS and then was hand-picked by Noel Coward for one of the leads in SAIL AWAY.

Stritch became known as a singer with a brassy, rough voice who could portray brash characters, most notably originating on Broadway the role of Joanne in COMPANY (1970). After over a decade of successful runs in shows in New York, Stritch moved in 1972 to London, where she starred in the West End production of COMPANY.

She appeared as Parthy in a successful Broadway revival of the musical SHOW BOAT, a one-night only concert of COMPANY and as Claire in a revival of Edward Albee's A DELICATE BALANCE.
Her one-woman show, Elaine Stritch AT LIBERTY, a summation of her life and career, began at New York's Public Theatre in 2001 and ran on Broadway from February 21 to May 27, 2002. She won both Tony and Emmy awards for Elaine Stritch AT LIBERTY.

Elaine Stritch AT LIBERTY played to British audiences in 2002-03. In 2005-06, she performed a cabaret act at the Carlyle Room at New York's Hotel Carlyle, where she is a resident. The 90-minute show consists of a selection of songs from her vast Broadway repertoire as well as a rendition of the theme from "The Sopranos" ("Woke Up This Morning"). Between musical numbers, Stritch kept the audience captivated with stories from the world of stage and screen, tales from her everyday life and personal glimpses of her private tragedies and triumphs. She reprised Elaine Stritch AT LIBERTY at Hartford Stage in June 2008.

For more information or to order tickets to the Cafe Carlyle event, visit www.thecarlyle.com. The show runs Tues.-Sat. at 8:45 p.m. General seating is $125 per person; VIP seating, $175 per person; Bar seating is $85 per person.  For more information on the Hartford Stage engagement, visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.