Documentary filmmaker Chiemi Karasawa ("Love, Etc"; Emmy-winning "The Betrayal") of Isotope Films directed the film that began capturing Stritch's public and personal life in February 2011. Tony and Academy Award nominee Alec Baldwin recently signed on as executive producer of the film.
The documentary includes interviews with a host of theatre vets who have worked with Stritch, including At Liberty collaborator George C. Wolfe, Company and Show Boat director Hal Prince and Tony-winning actors Cherry Jones and Nathan Lane. Also featured are "30 Rock" creator Tina Fey, James Gandolfini and John Turturro, among others.
Last month Stritch announced that she would retire from performing. The icon played her final New York engagement, Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle: Movin' Over and Out, in early April and will exit to her home state of Michigan later this month.
Read Playbill.com's coverage of Stritch's farewell performance at the Carlyle here.
Here's how the film is billed: "What does it mean to be a performing artist – first, last and always? Broadway legend Elaine Stritch can answer that. At 87, Stritch is still here, dominating the stage in her one woman cabaret act, torturing Alec Baldwin on "30 Rock," giving us her take on aging, her struggle with alcohol and diabetes, and the fear of leaving the follow spot behind. In stolen moments from her corner room at the Carlyle, and on breaks from her tour and work, candid reflections about her life are punctuated with rare archival footage, words from friends and photographs from her personal collection. By turns bold, hilarious and achingly poignant, the journey connects Stritch's present to her past, and an inspiring portrait of a one-of-a-kind survivor emerges." Elaine Stritch received Tony and Emmy Awards for Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which traces a stellar career, which includes roles in composer-lyricist Sondheim's Company plus The Little Foxes, Bus Stop, A Delicate Balance, Sail Away and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Visit the Playbill Vault to explore more about Stritch's decades-spanning career on Broadway.
For further information, visit TribecaFilmFest.
