Rein it in, Elaine Paige!- Page 5
Rein it in, Elaine Paige!
Rein it in, Elaine! #100
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.
Rein it in, Elaine! #101
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
Rein it in, Elaine! #102
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:13pmIf one lacks either intellect or education, Mildred, I'm sure that's true.
Rein it in, Elaine! #103
Posted: 9/15/11 at 5:15pmThat must be it, Nutty!
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
Rein it in, Elaine! #104
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/29/05
Rein it in, Elaine! #105
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
Rein it in, Elaine! #106
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.
Rein it in, Elaine! #107
Posted: 9/16/11 at 1:16amI always see a few when I am up north. You Canadians have the cutest beavers.
Rein it in, Elaine! #108
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!
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
Rein it in Elaine Paige! #109
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.
Rein it in Elaine Paige! #110
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #111
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
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #112
Posted: 9/16/11 at 6:59pmMaybe you should stop by the stage door and give her your notes sometime.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
Stand-by Joined: 7/8/09
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #115
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.
Stand-by Joined: 7/8/09
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #118
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #119
Posted: 9/17/11 at 3:56pm
It must have been the Phantom of the Marquis!
Those phantoms have it in for Carlottas!
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/04
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #120
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/16/03
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #121
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!
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/06
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #122
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.
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #123
Posted: 9/18/11 at 12:52amIs anyone arguing that it is?
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
Rein it in, Elaine Paige! #124
Posted: 9/18/11 at 2:22am
Her performancce was great tonight
She changed one line of dialog but it was very good.
Videos
