Miz E returned to the Cafe Carlyle last night with a show that proved what a master of song she truly is. Whether it was a jazzy "Too Darn Hot" or a swoon-worthy version of "I've Got A Crush On You," she hit every note with such ease and clarity that she definately deserves a space on the Mt. Rushmore of Divas.

The grandest diva of them all, Elaine Stritch, was there to lend moral support and some hearty unmistakably "Stritch-esque" laughs. (Coincidentally, Miz S. herself put on a hell of a show at the Carlyle; that Sondheim tribute is now in hibernation until March and April.)

And where there's Christine, there's laughs.

My favorite moment was when Miz E was talking about her own mother and reverted to the voice of her Grey Gardens counterpart, Little Edie: "I hope she doesn't die.  I rather enjoy her."

She closed the show with a nod to one of the Carlyle's most famous residents, the late Eartha Kitt.  "We're starting a new tradition in her honor," she said, before doing her own interpretation of "Mink Schmink," with a dead-on Eartha impersonation for the lead-in, purring, "He knew me since I was knee-high to a grasshopper..."

It was a divine show for a diva of the utmost caliber.

Through February 20 at the Cafe Carlyle. Call 212.744.1600 for reservations.

[caption id="attachment_1561" align="alignleft" width="298" caption="photos by Aubrey Reuben"][/caption]