Elaine Stritch is a legend and she knows it. And so she came up with a whole one-woman show about the best topic she could think of: her life in the theatre. And what a trip it's been. From Ethel Merman to Noel Coward, Stritch has worked with some of the greatest names to grace the American stage, and she has anecdotes about all of them. In this show, she hits all the marks with the acuity of a seasoned pro who's seen it all and whose love for the theatre remains unscathed. Stritch is not a traditionally pretty singer (those gravelly pipes!), but she absolutely knows how to give life to a song, extracting the last drop of meaning, dropping pauses for effect with deadly accuracy. Sondheim's "Ladies Who Lunch" and "Broadway Baby" will be hers forever, and a case could be made for the hilarious "Zip" (from Pal Joey) as well. Fittingly, this 2-CD set includes "I'm Still Here", which may well be Stritch's motto. If you're looking for a concise yet bewitching history of the musical, this is it. --Elisabeth Vincentelli