The raspy voiced, theatrical endurance legend known as Elaine Stritch is doing the unthinkable.
The Tony Award winner and "30 Rock" star is picking up and leaving New York City for her home state of Michigan, but she is not — we repeat — not retiring.
The 88-year old Stritch insisted in an interview with the New York Times, that her move doesn't spell curtains on a career that has been distinguished by her long association with composer Stephen Sondheim.
“What actor would ever say they’re done?” Stritch told the the paper.
If if she does continue to perform, it's the end of an era for Stritch and the theater world. The Times reports that she has lived in New York City for 71 years, after arriving in Manhattan from Detroit for finishing school.
Fans of the actress will have one more opportunity to say goodbye and see her perform in her favorite venue, the Café Carlyle, which also happens to be in the same building where she maintains a suite.
Her final engagement, "Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle: Movin’ Over and Out," will play for one week only, from April 2 through April 6.
Like her award-winning Broadway show "Elaine Stritch: At Liberty" it will merge songs and life stories — many of which deal with her struggles with alcoholism and memories of high-profile romances. If audiences are lucky, and for a $125 cover charge they deserve be, she'll treat them to a rendition of her signature number, "The Ladies Who Lunch."
