Pity Alexandra Jacobs, the biographer of performer Elaine Stritch. Maybe it had something to do with her irrational fear of being touched. Still, there was something intrinsically off-putting about her. It can't be denied that she had a unique 'je ne sais quoi'. To a noticeable degree, Stritch had a rather magnetic personality. (At one point, Stritch is quoted admitting that she had considerable lack of awareness re: her reputation for being difficult.) But, in author Jacobs' view, the only person in her sphere who was even more controlling than Stritch was Woody Allen (who directed her in two films - and who comes off in a particularly bad light). She could, of course, be very charming - when it suited her purposes. They settled out-of-court Lahr called her "ungrateful" for what he did for her.)Īlthough no one interviewed would come right out and call her a monster (well, I guess one person did), it becomes clear that Stritch felt she was owed - and had enough talent to demand subservience to her will. it's reported that writer John Lahr - who put her life 'together' for her in order to present it to audiences for 'At Liberty' - had to take Stritch to court when, once the show was officially over, Stritch continued to perform the material under another title thus robbing Lahr of royalties. To achieve more than Stritch managed requires a certain humility and certain people skills - both of which Stritch lacked. Stritch felt that she only came alive when she was performing - and there's an undeniable sadness in such an outlook. But her own character wasn't sufficiently suited for such status, onstage and off. What we get in this bio is a portrait of a control freak who yearned to be a bona fide star: as in beloved leading lady. I read this account of Elaine Stritch's life for two reasons: an interest in the musical 'Company' (in which Stritch had a significant supporting role and garnered lots of attention for her powerhouse performance of 'The Ladies Who Lunch' this is one of the book's best chapters) - and because Stritch co-starred in the infamous indie flick 'Who Killed Teddy Bear' (in which she played a tough but sympathetic lesbian there's not a lot of info on the film but still more than I anticipated).Īnyone who saw Stritch's celebrated one-woman show 'Elaine Stritch: At Liberty' (which gets a lot of mileage out of her on-again / off-again battle with sobriety) basically already has all of the information (or most of the pertinent info) found in this book - but with one difference: the reader is here given much of the dark side of the persona that Stritch thought it best to shy away from when telling her very entertaining life-story onstage. Following years of meticulous research and interviews, this is a portrait of a powerful, vulnerable, honest, and humorous figure who continues to reverberate in the public consciousness.Ī 5-star book for its storytelling, research and overall intelligence, 'Still Here' rests at 3 stars for its subject so that rounds out at 4 stars. In Still Here, Alexandra Jacobs conveys the full force of Stritch’s sardonic wit and brassy charm while acknowledging her many dark complexities. And we see the entertainer triumphing over personal turmoil with the development of her Tony Award–winning one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which established her as an emblem of spiky independence and Manhattan life for an entirely new generation of admirers. We explore the influential-and often fraught-collaborations she developed with Noël Coward, Tennessee Williams, and above all Stephen Sondheim, as well as her courageous yet flawed attempts to control a serious drinking problem. We accompany Elaine through her jagged rise to fame, to Hollywood and London, and across her later years, when she enjoyed a stunning renaissance, punctuated by a turn on the popular television show 30 Rock. Rollicking but intimate, it tracks one of Broadway’s great personalities from her upbringing in Detroit during the Great Depression to her fateful move to New York City, where she studied alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte. Still Here is the first full telling of Elaine Stritch’s life. The ebullient, troubled life of a Broadway legend who became a heroine to a younger generation
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |