(Photo: Andrea Renault/Globe Photos)

Still telling stories about your life in your cabaret act?
Oh, sure, who else am I gonna talk about? But the one word that I think this club act suggests is current. Current, current, current! I sing songs that fit my life. It’s like a musical comedy with a very provocative book and a pretty goddamn good score.

Did the Tony change anything for you?
I didn’t have a Tony before, now I’ve got one. That’s about it, folks. My idea of serenity—that wonderful word that everybody’s trying to get into their life—is call-waiting.

What about the word retirement?
Oh, my God. It means nothing. My day off, and that’s as far as I can go in even thinking about retirement.

When you were 40, did you ever think you’d still be doing this at 80?
I never thought about it. I don’t think I had to be told to stay in the moment, which is very voguish these days. My present is so chockablock, who’s got time to think about tomorrow?

I hope I feel the same when I’m 80.
Quit saying that word! It’s the only decade that scared the hell out of me. It’s just the sound of it. Eighty, holy shit! No, I don’t like the sound of that. But it’s here and I’ll deal with it. You’d better believe it. Because not to deal with it is exit city.

Elaine Stritch
The Café Carlyle
September 13 through October 29

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Boris Kachka
• Table of Contents: Sep 12, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!