Rein it in, Elaine Paige! — Page 2

#26

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 4:40pm

And at least in that song, Ed_M, her performance could be easily fixed.

Carlos A, the "mare" reference is all in the metaphor of "reins" and "clotheshorse." She is mature, so not a filly. It is not intended as any insult.

#27

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 5:02pm

Patti LuPone FANatic, she does a weekly radio show in the UK and seriously sounds like that every week. Did you guys get to hear her (in)famous laugh?

#28

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 5:37pm

Saw Elaine Paige in City Opera's SWEENEY TODD a few years ago. Her performance wasn't very special, but the whole production was lackluster.

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"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#29

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 5:39pm

Yeah, I saw that too, Dolly, come to think of it.

#30

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 5:41pm

That whole performance was a wasted trip to the city for me. Usually the "Kiss Me Quartet" give me goosebumps but that wasn't the case at City Opera.

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"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#31

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 5:47pm

I vaguely recall it being gruesome and humorless as to the murders and such. I recall people in my section being shocked and leaving during the show.

#32

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 6:36pm

Obviously you haven't heard Stritch sing it lately. Check out the Sondheim Birthday version. Obviously she went to the Lucille Ball School of Singing where you shout lyrics instead of singing them. Unfortunately this is only audio and you are spared watching Stritch try to shimmy.
Sondheim is still cringing

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If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

#33

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 6:39pm

Wait! Is this REALLY the way Elaine Paige laughs or is it a hoax?
Elaine Paige laughing

#34

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 6:46pm

I'm thinking that iluvtheatertrash and nomdeplume may be the same 14 year old girl/boy...just a hunch...

I personally think Paige gave a marvelous performance in DC. Carlotta is an over-the-rop character.

To each his own...

#35

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 7:09pm

Sorry, SondheimFan5, but no.

Why do you think I'm a 14 year old? I've been nothing but respectful and I have a right to my opinion.

I was not a fan of many of the performances in the show. I thought Bernadette was incredibly miscast. I'm sorry, but I'd like to see someone who can act AND sing the role. Bernadette, while giving a lovely performance in the acting department, can hardly sing the score. Not my cup of tea. I thought Elaine Paige missed the mark in a cheap imitation of Elaine Stritch's successful take.

I was disappointed by the revival. I'm allowed to be.

There's "over-the-top" and then there's "just-plain-hammy". I thought she was hammy.

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"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#36

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 7:11pm

I wasn't a fan of her performance, but I'll give her this -- her laugh is adorable!

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"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#37

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 7:37pm

You are right, everyone is entitled to an opinion.

And sorry for referring to you as a 14 year old.

#38

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 7:41pm

No harm, no foul.

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"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman

#39

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 7:58pm

I thought Paige was a very good Carlotta. I liked her in DC and even moreso on Broadway, but I know I'm in the minority on that. However, I do agree that there are some very strange moment in her "I'm Still Here". The performance I saw, she sang, "Black sable one day............nextdayitgoesintohock." The backphrasing is a little much sometimes. I do think that it's part of a great performance, though, so I'll forgive it. Not that it doesn't also vary from performance to performance...it never seems to be the same with her.

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"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim

#40

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 8:10pm

The best of actors give COMPLETELY different (but very good) performances night to night.



(.....except Merman.....)

#41

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 8:31pm

Except Merman, indeed! (I happened to see her twice, a week apart, in two different theaters. Like Memorex. And totally brilliant!)

But I'm curious about reports that Paige is singing "I'm Still Here" angrily. Any sense of where she gets the anger? I don't see that in the lyrics.

#42

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 9:02pm

Any word yet on who's covering for Paige in Nov? Understudy? Major star? How long till they announce? Is this hurting ticket sales that week?

#43

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 9:09pm

No idea about who's covering Paige, but considering it's only one week, I'd imagine it would be her understudy Florence Lacey. I thought they might bring someone else in when it was reported that she'd be out for three weeks, but I doubt they'd do that now.

We'll see.

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"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

#44

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 9:19pm

Gosh, that laugh is CREEpy! It sounds like something the clown in Stephen King's "It" would utter. from RC in Austin, Texas

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"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)

#45

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 10:39pm

How there is a facebook page (Facebook Paige?).
Musical Theater Fans Against Backphrasing

#46

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 11:11pm

Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy night for critics... The enterprise known as FOLLIES will yield lukewarm reviews. It is (and always will be) a problematic show.


I imagine many of you are scouring the ground for the proper rock about now... Mark my word... Ow!!!

Updated On: 9/11/11 at 11:11 PM

#47

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 11:17pm

"The best of actors give COMPLETELY different (but very good) performances night to night."

I have to strongly disagree. The best actors give the SAME performance every night, but make it seem brand new and fresh.

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"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson

#48

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/11/11 at 11:54pm

""No idea about who's covering Paige, but considering it's only one week, I'd imagine it would be her understudy Florence Lacey. I thought they might bring someone else in when it was reported that she'd be out for three weeks, but I doubt they'd do that now.""


And if Schaeffer has any say in it, I'm sure Lacey will be on...wondering how she'll be as Carlotta?

#49

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/12/11 at 2:24am

Yes, that is genuinely her laugh! xD

#50

Rein it in, Elaine Paige!

Posted: 9/12/11 at 2:35am

What Paige is doing is not giving a fresh performance every night. What she is doing is changing the way she sings her only solo song. And that is a different ballgame. It sounded different both times I saw it live, and it has sounded different each other performance I've "listened" to. I'd also venture a guess it'll sound different on the recording. As I said in my last post, I'm a fan of Paige's performance, but "I'm Still Here" undeniably lacks consistency in her hands.

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"Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos."-Stephen Sondheim