Rein it in, Elaine Paige! — Page 5

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.

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That must be it, Nutty!

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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.

I always see a few when I am up north. You Canadians have the cutest beavers.

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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.

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

Haha!

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.

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Updated On: 9/17/11 at 02:41 PM

It must have been the Phantom of the Marquis!

Those phantoms have it in for Carlottas!

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!

Is anyone arguing that it is?

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