She was a nonrepeating talent. There is no one else like her.

"I'm kind of a bass, but once in awhile, I will go up the octave if need be" - HILARIOUS....as was she.

Everytime I watch his videos I find that everything he bumps into and becomes obsessed with is things I have always noticed but not actually analyzed as to why. Those great moments in music that grip you are infinitely fascinating.

Your comment on "we loooooooovvveeeeee youuuuu" and the over powering "PHONE rings, door chimes...", is something I chuckle and marvel at every time I listen to that opening. haha BEST. EVER.

Elaine Stritch momento......Saw her at a resort community......she in sunglasses and a most revealing unflattering swim suit. Elaine felt no compulsion to hold anything in.....she let it all hang out.....think she had cocktails.......a passer by FAN screamed " Ms. Stritch; I love you". Elaine didn't even turn her head to see him. In her inimitable voice, she brayed " THANK YOU, DARLA"......it was Tallulah hysterical

I love this deconstruction. Her "I'm out" on that flat note (your wording -- perfect!) always reminds me of how Sheila in A Chorus Line walks out of a dance combo as if to say, "Oh, hell no."

My favorite part on the Company cast Album has ALWAYS BEEN Elaine cutting out of that opening number!

I learned a WHOLE lot about music, acting, singing, voice, breath, and aMAZING people today. I got into Seth's deconstructions from Bea Arthur's glare to Patti Lupone's end vowels to Bernadette Peters' breath control to Bernstein's motifs. WOW

Love how you isolated Elaine's voice 1/2 step flat....... LOL! Indeed RIP Elaine!

I've watched this video like 3 thousand times. ELAINE

Just heard this again on SiriusXM and I cracked up when I heard the flat note. I had to come back and listen to your deconstruction again!

I am so glad I discovered your channel. Thank you.

Amazing woman, great deconstruction. The half step flat "harmony" at the end had me rolling in the ground, brilliant!

I'm a huge fan. Loved you in Bunheads and wouldn't miss you on siriusxm

@Sethrudetsky 9:26 Seth! I've literally been wondering who was singing flat for years and now it all makes sense! Thanks for solving that mystery for me (I've googled it 2 or 3 times and never found anyone else complaining about it).

Seth, If it wouldn't be inconsiderate, I suggest that someone create a Stritch cocktail for intermission. I think we should drink with our obsession to her stardom. She'd love it, I think. The last time I visited her backstage ("...Night Music") she laughed at the idea. Steve

So great, perfect, thank you.

I'll drink to her! Dean Jones was on the original cast album.

Seth Rudetsky - A Saturday Night Live sketch in wait.

Elaine was superb but Seth is so dedicated just a great job

Legend

FYI: The busy signal (real one) is actually pitched down to match the orchestration...it's usually at a higher pitch.

Love Elaine Stritch and love you!

She was brilliant and he is too always fascinating

Tall enough to be your mother... IS great writing... AGREE!!!!!!

My favorite is how she is the only one to glissando on "what would we do without YOU" in Side by Side. It fits so well with the circus/vaudeville motif!

Ah Seth I knew I d find this today.. fab

I forgot to say that Seth’s analysis - I wonder if our brains were split at birth, uncanny how the very things you isolate about miss Stritch, the inflection of her voice in the most unlikely and unpredictably or where the listener would expect the inflection of her line would be. Elaine delivers it in the most interestingly emotional gut reaching place in ourselves as we experience her hit the right keys of the piano ( representing our life however corny that sounds. Lol . Garland had the same kind of pathos when telling one of her anecdotes. You’d wail laugh a first then as I’ve said a knowing laugh would follow cementing Elaine and ourselves for having experienced a deep shared knowing as if we know , Elaine and I- she made the experience that personal. Some artists reach us closer than others . Like Carol burnet when Eunice suffered an indignity we felt it right along with Eunice ., for a moment Eunice and me are the same experiencing the very same emotion. That connection is what defines an artist who tries and a artist that is achieving what art hopes to do. By their action in how they use a performing art in Elaine’s case the performing arts by her singing and acting reach an observer and make he or she feel like they are experiencing theverysame thing as you the artist is performing , suspending their beliefs that it’s a play and in that very moment truly believe that their heart is the very sandmen that the performer heartbeat as one, and that that connection somehow bonds that person to that artist. Elaine won new fans each night she performed and many of us are deeply moved by any news good or unfortunate Elaine may face in real life. Theatre is a peculiar situation. In an intimate setting, the audience is willing suspend reality to what is Justin front of them. If an artist is good enough to suspend belief and capture everyone’s attention and holds their attention that’s a remarkable thing. But if a performer like Elaine is in a play and fans just come for her and wait threw a musical just waiting to see how Elaine will entertain them each night new fans are won over. She did. What Beatrice Arthur wanted to be , have. Both had a sardonic wit but Elaine was a natural comic. When just giving her opinion she would have younrolling. Beatrice was funny with a funny script. That was the difference.

How do you explain (or can you) the difference in Elaine Stritch's and Bea Arthur's career? The irony to me is I think Bea Arthur wanted Stritch's career. I know Stritch said she wanted the financial success that could have had from "Golden Girls" but later was happy she didn't end her career doing mostly sitcoms. I can see that Stritch was more beautiful and that London opened up more theater for her. But the fact that Stritch got to play Mame and Vera must've irked Arthur, and it begs the question a little of why Arthur didn't do more theater.

Not sure if it's my imagination but I think that FLAT note was more prevalant on the original release of the recording, (i.e. VINYL) and the new remixing of the old tapes have burried it as much as possible.

Who cares but that was Larry Kert, not Dean Jones. Jones had left the show though he did the original cast recording

I think that's Larry Kert singing BEING ALIVE.

I so miss Elaine Stritch.

Elaine was Great. RIP Seth is Brilliant.

BTW Seth, I never knew what you thought of Ms. Stritch because she's not your usual type of singer. What do you think of Sondheim shows that don't generally give singers opportunities for high belts and riffs?

In "Sorry-Grateful", Elaine's "foghorn" voice also contrasts the soprano voices of the other ladies. If Elaine's voice were as melodic as the other ladies, and she sung in the same key, she'd be lost among the over voices. As for Elaine holding notes, could she physically hold the note? She was a self-admitted five pack a day smoker at the time, and was smoking during the run as seen in the "Company" documentary. Not that I'm complaining about Elaine's singing. I'd pay good money to her sing the phone book, and wouldn't care how long she held the notes.

I wonder what Elaine sounded like as a young singer and how much she evolved as she got older.

you are awesome

hhaha she dropped out because the note was too long. love that

I actually SAW Company at one of those cut-rate Wednesday matinees. And Elaine was in it. Guess she needed the money, or loved those ladies-who-lunch-and-matinee audiences ...

Larry Kert, not Dean Jones. (But I know you knew that!)

Larry Kirt!!!

He meant to say Larry Kirk.

The ladies are singing IN an octave divisi, but Elaine is actually on the bottom.

Stritch is really a Second Banana, never the Top Banana/

Elaine’s singing voice is that of the common doubtful women slightly cynical but with humor.she’s the “ oh ya? Voice of the people. We couldn’t wait for any performance she gave because it would feel like a hoot. A clear belly laugh at having us look at the true reality with a cynics bent. We hoped that what she represented was the good old common sense , that elephant in the room that no one seems to have noticed that it hasn’t been brought up …. Then Elaine gives us the punchline with one clear laugh followed by a knowing laugh, the double whammy , Elaine could use very few words to say so so much, and with perfect body language convey the absurdity of it all. She was an attention grabber and being a half step slow I’m sure was on purpose , to help stand out. That was her stick, we loved the hamin her. She’d often chastise a fellow guest on a talk show after talking nonstop for 3 minutes a fellow guest will ask or say something that will throwjElaine off her soliloquy and screech” do you have to hog all the time, can’t I get a word in edge wise” everyone would no then go on with her story and no one would interrupt. Truth is we wanted the others to keep quit and not interrupt miss Stritch.

The lip syncing is just so perf