A Notable Audience for Elaine Stritch at the Carlyle When is it time for a great entertainer to say goodbye to the stage? Watching Elaine Stritch, 88, struggle through the opening-night show of her farewell engagement at the Cafe Carlyle on Tuesday evening, I realized that in most performers" minds, there is no right time as long as there is an audience. Judging from the adoration she received from a packed house that included Tom Hanks - with whom she bantered affectionately - as well as Tony Bennett, Liza Minnelli, Martin Short, Michael Feinstein and Bernadette Peters, Ms. Stritch was still at her peak despite frequent lapses in memory, difficulty finding words and a ragged program that included only smidgens of music.