Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#1Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:13pm
Unless you just want to be a clotheshorse in Follies, stop ruinging the second half of "I'm Still Here" with the overacting and rotten singing.
You start off the first half great and you have a beautiful voice and I'm thinking now I'm going to hear a fabulous rendition of this song...
Then you muck it up with EGOTISTICAL, angry, staccato, crappy acting totally inappropriate for the song and RUIN the song. I can't hear the lyrics and it's a SONDHEIM--grrrrrrrr. Where the hell was "WPA" etc., etc., so I can hear WHAT you are singing about?
Elaine Stritch's rendition at her one-woman Liberty show a while back is still the definitive version for me! And she does not have the voice you have if you would use it properly for the song. Stritch had damn good acting and timing. And you can hear her lyrics.
Where is the director, the conductor, the boys having to sit by her--can't any of you rein the mare in? Or just watch and listen as she gets up and goes trotting around beserk and decides to become the Menzel to Wickedize Follies? Arrgghh!
And exactly what does this character have to get angry about with a 26-year-old boyfriend to entertain her and a successful career? Is there nothing wry or subtle or deliciously humorous in her acting pocketbook to pull out for this song?
I did like the tap dancing later, but fix this song.
#2Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:15pmWhy don't you rein it in? How many FOLLIES threads do you need to start in one day?
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#2Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:17pmIt's a very good show and I've been waiting for it for months.
#3Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:20pm"Why don't YOU rein it in, bee-yotch? Why don't YOU rein it in!"
#4Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:22pmThat was egotistical, angry, staccato, and crappy, PJ.
#5Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:22pmSo add your thoughts to the open FOLLIES threads-do you need to start a thread for each thought you have. I mean your thoughts and opinions are valid, but they could be added to the existing threads.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#6Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:28pm
I have!
I added to the merchandise thread and didn't create a new thread for that!
Haha!
Paige's performance was annoying enough to get its own thread and I truly hope she improves it because she is one of THE great theatre singers of our era. I want to see her hit a home run.
#7Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:51pm
That was egotistical, angry, staccato, and crappy, PJ.
It was addressed at nomdeplume, not you.
#8Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:53pm
I knew it was, PJ. Satire failure on my part. 
(Re-read her description of Paige)
#9Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:55pmBettyboy, you need to do your homework before replying to anything nomdeplume posts! It's always due!
#11Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 3:58pmAs Kad said, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#12Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:09pm
I wouldn't start a thread, but I'd most certainly agree with nomdeplume. DREADFUL. I walked out wondering why the British love her.
I find the entire production to be misguided and dull, except for Raines and Houdyshell. But that's just me...
#13Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:16pm
"I wouldn't start a thread, but I'd most certainly agree with nomdeplume. DREADFUL. I walked out wondering why the British love her."
Did you SEE her in Sunset Boulevard!?
#14Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:19pmI did. Incredible...and she's pretty damn good in FOLLIES, too.
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#15Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:22pm
No... I saw Betty, who (on a side-note) was remarkable.
I'm sure Elaine has been great in some things. But this being my first experience, I was GREATLY underwhelmed by her. Found the performance odd...
#16Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:26pmHer performance is probably the most polarizing aspect of the production (except for maybe Bernadette's).
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#18Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:29pm
Fight fiercely, girls.
I saw Paige in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway.
She stopped the show in her first big number, "With One Look," near the beginning, and then coasted through the rest of the show, telegraphing in her performance.
"With One Look" was sensational, but there was a whole rest of a show there to perform.
She can do a lot better than what she is doing in Follies with that song right now and it wouldn't take much effort to fix it.
I don't know why it hasn't been fixed, if it's her ego getting in the way or some strange idea on the part of the director, or what, but it's a waste to misuse that great voice in that song.
Don't you think a critic will notice it? You think they'll all say, oh it's Elaine Paige so it's great...
Updated On: 9/11/11 at 04:29 PM
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#19Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:32pm
I suppose I shouldn't mention that I hated Bernadette just a tiny bit less than I hated Paige?
I thought I'd wind up seeing the production 10 times. But I don't even think I'd see it a second.
I agree, nomdeplume. It really is an easy fix. But, light a great deal of the production, there are several things the director doesn't seem to want to fix.
#20Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:32pm
Don't you think a critic will notice it? You think they'll all say, oh it's Elaine Piage so it's great...
We'll find out tomorrow if your opinion of Paige is shared.
Ed_Mottershead
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/20/05
#21Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:35pmI may be shot at dawn for saying this, but I thought Paige's performance was one of the weakest elements in this show. Nowhere within light years of Ann Miller, Elaine Stritch, Delores Gray or, yes, Yvonne DeCarlo.
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#22Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:35pmI'm actually very curious to see all of the reviews. The person I was with felt similarly, but I found a lot of others haven't. No matter what, I wish the production well simply because it is so great to have FOLLIES back on Broadway!
#23Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:36pmCan't believe you went out of your way to personally insult the woman and call her a mare. Really wasn't necessary.
#24Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:38pmI recently heard her on Sirius XM on Broadway, when she was doing temporary hosting duties, in the absence of Christine Pedi. It was a brief moment that I heard her, but I thought Elaine sounded a bit...er...what's the word...."soused"? I could be mistaken, but she sounded like she had had a couple of drinky--poos before her shift began. from RC in Austin, Texas
Videos