In case you were disappointed that I didn't have anything to say about Eartha Kitt, here are two e-mails I've received in the last few hours. This first one's from Dave Sikula…
Just want to share my own Eartha memory. I saw the Broadway version of the Wild Party musical (there were two competing versions in New York at that time), and it was a pretty high-powered affair: Toni Collette, Mandy Patinkin, Marc Kudish, Tonya Pinkins, Norm Lewis. Collette was fabulous; one of the greatest performances I've ever seen (especially since the show itself was pretty dismal). But in Act Two, Kitt had an eleven o'clock number that blew everyone else off the stage. Even when not in that number, there was no doubt who was a Broadway star and who wasn't. You couldn't take your eyes off of her.
She was one of a kind and will be missed.
No disagreement. And here's James H. Burns with another memory of just how good she could be in front of an audience, big or small…
I saw Eartha Kitt in an Off-Broadway musical just a couple of years ago. At what must have been the age of seventy-eight, she was still absolutely sensational. But my favorite Eartha Kitt story goes back five years, when she helped a friend out, playing a key role in the presentation of a new musical.
This type of thing happens all the time, in New York: Full cast "readings" of what amounts to the first draft of a musical, hoping to make its way to Broadway. What's neat about these performances is often you see top notch Broadway performers acting/singing in these presentations.
But Eartha Kitt was a big star.
And what knocked out the folks presenting the musical reading was how nice, and professional she was, from first contact, through rehearsals.
And her performance?
With only a few hours of rehearsal, Kitt KNOCKED THE AUDIENCE OUT!
The other fun part of this brief tale, is that at a small party afterwards, a bunch of us were hanging out. Kitt still looked fantastic. And I say this in only the best, classic, gentlemen and ladies, version of this phrase —
She still knew how to flirt!
A wonderful performer, and certainly a fascinating woman.
Nothing to add except that I don't recall that I ever had the pleasure — and I'm sure it would have been one — of seeing Eartha Kitt perform in person. My loss…and I envy those of you who did.