Rein it in, Elaine Paige!- Page 5
Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
#100Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:06pmEven if one reads this whole thread, it's still impossible to comprehend a single thing you're trying to say.
#101Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:08pm
If Namo as wouldbe pet poodle had done your homework and bothered to read the thread, you might have seen, if you bother to read, that the Feingold quotes were already listed, and Feingold's failure to even mention Paige speaks volumes.
No, it really doesn't, actually. If you're at all familiar with Feingold's style, you'll know that he rarely singles out performers in a show (good or bad) and sometimes writes entire articles where he doesn't mention the performances as separate from the production at all. I suggest you do some homework by re-reading a handful of Feingold's reviews.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#102Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:13pmIf one lacks either intellect or education, Mildred, I'm sure that's true.
#103Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:15pmThat must be it, Nutty!
TulitaPepsi
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
#104Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 6:14pm
"I'm Still Here" is the big number. FOLLIES queens have been performing it in their bathroom mirrors since they were ten years old. It's the ultimate fabulous/glamour/star/ hardened/diva/been through-the-mill/survivor number. No matter how it is done, it is guaranteed to whip the FOLLIES audience into an orgasmic froth of screaming applause.
Paige is very,very aware of this.
That's the reason her version is so sledgehammer, here-I-am-and-here-we-go-kids wrong.
henrikegerman
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
#105Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 6:49pm
Seems to me this thread is making clear that Paige is very different depending on the performance you are seeing. Of course, not a bad thing, unless the variation extends - as it appears from many of the comments - to quality (varying widely), and to basic expectations such as intelligibility and proficient diction.
The night I saw Follies, Paige was wonderful and Peters was ill (so I understood from the number of people weighing in about her work that weekend), a trouper for showing up, commendably, but not up to anywhere near her usual standards as a performer.
sabrelady
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#106Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/15/11 at 8:39pm
"walking her beaver on a leash "
Hmm, only time I walked my beaver was when it was hungry for wood.
And then I usuall let it off the leash.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#107Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 1:16amI always see a few when I am up north. You Canadians have the cutest beavers.
#108Rein it in, Elaine!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 1:32am
Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy night for critics... The enterprise known as FOLLIES will yield lukewarm reviews.
You were wrong!
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#109Rein it in Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 4:39pm
Follies was sure to get good reviews with such an orchestra and so many great performances. To me it was the must-see show of the season so far. I don't blame the earlier poster for expecting some problems for Follies, though, because there comes a time in it when the sadness and bitterness of the leading four characters is piercing and not fun, but that's part and parcel to the show.
Elaine Paige was certain to get flak and she did, but I am hopeful that will get fixed.
It would be interesting to hear if her performance changes at all from those who see it as the show progresses.
#110Rein it in Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 6:17pm
Elaine Paige was certain to get flak and she did, but I am hopeful that will get fixed.
Yes, I'm sure Sondheim and Schaffer are in Paige's dressing room right now beating a new interpretation into her head after the twenty raves and near-raves she received, which are conveniently posted right here in this thread.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#111Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 6:54pm
Oh, it wouldn't be hard for her to change it. Come to think of it, she had a sweet, lighter, genuine and slightly comic bit at the beginning of the women's tap dance sequence as she was being coaxed by others to fall in line to get the dance going. Very different from what she became in "I'm Still Here" and much more suited to character.
Oddly, that moment as I recall did seem to have the certain joie de vivre and delightful quality that she might send the house down with for "I'm Still Here." She got a mediocre, even weak reception to the song the night I attended. The other performances got far warmer responses.
Updated On: 9/16/11 at 06:54 PM
#112Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/16/11 at 6:59pmMaybe you should stop by the stage door and give her your notes sometime.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
ravnquest1
Stand-by Joined: 7/8/09
LW2
Chorus Member Joined: 9/8/11
#115Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/17/11 at 2:13am
I was there tonight also, ravnquest, and immediately thought of this thread. If she didnt bring the house down, she certainly brought the electrical system down. The woman has a powerhouse voice, I'll say that. I was sitting in the second to last row of the orchestra and heard her sans mic. Particularly enjoyed the rock concert style lighting effects as the light board was resetting or whatever that was. The lights upstage were going crazy while downstage, Paige was in near total darkness, belting her face off. Did you notice, ravnquest, that all the chaos ensued just after she stomped her foot?
Full disclosure: I've seen the show 3 times now and have never heard her flub a lyric and am in the camp that loves her performance, anger, hysterics and all.
ravnquest1
Stand-by Joined: 7/8/09
#118Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/17/11 at 3:06pm
I didn't love Paige's performance. It's definitely not one of things that I would use to recommend the show.
But maybe if she did the master cleanse and got rid of all the toxins in her body, she'd be better.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#119Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/17/11 at 3:56pm
It must have been the Phantom of the Marquis!
Those phantoms have it in for Carlottas!
TulitaPepsi
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
#120Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/17/11 at 7:06pm
Elaine Paige was certain to get flak and she did, but I am hopeful that will get fixed.
She's ONLY going to get worse.
sabrelady
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
#121Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/17/11 at 10:53pm
Canadians have the cutest beavers.
Why yea-us we DO. Tho most beavers are more south than northern.
Such thick glossy fur just asks for stroking but only when looking for wood.
And beaver tails are DElicious to snak on !
YUMMMM!
JohnBoy2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/06
#122Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/18/11 at 12:45amDoes anyone actually believe this production to even been in the same league as the original? I certainly do not. Not even close.
#123Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/18/11 at 12:52amIs anyone arguing that it is?
SondheimFan5
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
#124Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Posted: 9/18/11 at 2:22am
Her performancce was great tonight
She changed one line of dialog but it was very good.
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