Turning the final Paige

SHE is often regarded as “First Lady of Musical Theatre” with a career spanning five decades, and in December Elaine Paige is making a stopover in Australia as part of her farewell world tour.

With shows in Sydney and Melbourne only, Paige will perform a set list of well-known songs from award-winning Broadway and West End productions, accompanied by the 30-piece Broadway Orchestra guided by Maestro Guy Noble.

A major contributor and influence to the modern musical, London-born Paige started her career on stage at the age of 16 in 1964.

She made her West End debut in London in the 1968 production of Hair, but it was her role as Eva Perón in the first production of Evita in 1978 that shot her to fame and win the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a musical.

“It was the show that changed my life – overnight,” Paige told The Guardian on September 9, before reflecting on how she had originally not wanted the role of Perón.

“I’d just told my agent I wanted to concentrate on ‘serious’ acting. But when the Evita LP came out, she said I had to listen to it, the part was perfect for me.

“I rushed out and bought it and saw exactly what she meant. Eva was a wonderful actress: strong, forceful, but with a vulnerable side. I just had to play her.”

Speaking on what she thought of fellow gay icon Madonna taking on the role for the film adaption in the 1990s, Paige did not hold back.

“People are always asking what I think of the film version. Well, I haven’t seen it, not all the way through,” she told The Guardian.

“It came out 16 years after, when I was in another show on Broadway. The last thing I felt like doing on my day off was going to a cinema to watch Madonna in a part I’d originated.

“From what I saw, she did a good job. She certainly died well.”

While she may not enjoy the soaring success of Madonna in terms of record sales and popularity, Paige’s longevity and legacy in musical theatre is something the Queen of Pop could never match.

Thanks to the success of Evita, she also went on to be the first person to take on the role of Grizabella in Cats, and a song from the show, Memory, became a UK top 10 hit for her.

Soon after there was further success with Anything Goes, a duet with Barbara Dickson from Chess, which topped the UK chart and to this day still holds the UK record for the biggest selling record by a female duo.

Since then, Paige has performed in countless musicals both in the West End and New York’s Broadway, in productions like 2004’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Grease, Sunset Boulevard, The King and I and many more.

As a recording artist, Paige has released 18 solo albums, and has made numerous TV and radio appearances. She has performed at the White House as well as perform at the White House, Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the Bolshoi, Carnegie Hall and Australia’s own Sydney Opera House. 

Paige received an Order of the British Empire for Services to Musical Theatre in 1995 and has received numerous other industry accolades.

ELAINE’S MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS:

– Hair (West End debut; 1968–1970)

– Grease (West End; 1973–1974. She played Sandy)

– Evita (West End; 1978–1980. She originated the role of Eva Peron. Won Laurence Olivier Award)

– Cats (West End; 1981–1982. She originated the role of Grizabella)

– Chess (West End; 1986–1987)

– Sunset Boulevard (Broadway and West End; 1994–1997)

*     *     *

ELAINE PAIGE

WHERE: State Theatre, Sydney and Arts Centre, Melbourne

WHEN: December 5 (Sydney) and December 6 (Melbourne)

INFO: www.ticketmaster.com.au

**This article first appeared in the October issue of the Star Observer, which is now available. Click here to find out where you can grab your free copy in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional areas. The November issue will hit the streets on Thursday, October 16.