EMMY NOMINATION SPOTLIGHT: Sheila Nevins on Elaine Stritch

Photo by The Heart Truth

Frankly, from what we saw on the Tony Awards, we have to say we were a little underwhelmed by Catherine Zeta-Jones’ Tony winning performance in A Little Night Music. You’ve got to have a powerful voice to truly pull off “Send in the Clowns.”

So were excited to hear that Bernadette Peters would be replacing Zeta-Jones in the Broadway revival. We saw her do Mama Rose in Gypsy years ago and it will always be one of the most powerful performances we have ever witnessed.

We have also been fortunate enough to see Peters’ new Night Music co-star, Elaine Stritch perform. The musical theater powerhouse, who is replacing the glorious Angela Lansbury, was riveting in her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

If you weren’t able to see that performance in person, you should check out the DVD, that’s available on Amazon.com. An Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Achievement in a Variety or Music Program, the show mixes elements of her on-stage performance with behind the scenes footage. In an interview for the Archive of American Television, Sheila Nevins (President of Documentary and Family Programming for HBO, talked about working with Elaine on the project.

Check out the clip and keep your eyes peeled for Nevins at this year’s Emmys, she stands a chance at adding two more statuettes to the 21 she’s already received. She’s nominated for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking for Sergio and Outstanding Nonfiction Special for Teddy: In His Own Words.