Stars take to Broadway stage for Elaine Stritch tribute

Late stage and screen icon Elaine Stritch was honored with a star-studded Broadway tribute by her famous friends including Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters on Monday (17Nov14).

Stage veterans gathered at the Al Hirschfeld Theater in New York City for Everybody, Rise! A Celebration of Elaine Stritch, to pay tribute to the life of the actress, who died in July (14) at the age of 89.

Lane was the first speaker at the event, noting that the brassy Stritch was "definitely proud of her gams, often treating pants as an overrated accessory."

Actress Holland Taylor and gossip columnist Liz Smith offered up memories of their late pal, while Stritch's 30 Rock co-star Alec Baldwin and Cherry Jones shared their fond stories of the actress via video.

Hal Prince, who directed Stritch in her unforgettable role in the 1970 musical Company, also reminded the crowd that she was "a convent girl... as naive as she was sophisticated".

Throughout the two-hour tribute, stage stars including Peters, Betty Buckley, Christine Ebersole, Laura Benanti, Michael Feinstein and Lena Hall took the floor singing a few of the hits Stritch performed on Broadway.

Among those in the audience who wanted to pay a final tribute to the actress were Chita Rivera, Ellen Burstyn, Megan Mullally, Valerie Harper, Mare Winningham, Michael Kors, John Lithgow, Blythe Danner, Barbara Cook, and Tommy Tune.