Review: Elaine Paige at The Birchmere

Last Thursday at 8:06 p.m., the earth stopped when a musician at a black Steinway piano played the chords: D-D-E-G-E-G-E-D and a 4’11, 64 year old British lady announced to the crowd, “It  won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange…”  Yes, the time-space continuum of the nation’s capital paused, sat and listened to Elaine Paige make her American concert debut in one of the greatest shows to ever be performed in the history of Washington, DC.

Paige is not a household name, and you’ve probably never heard of her; however her voice has dominated radio and the international theater scene for the last 40 years.  She was the first EVER woman to portray on-stage, Eva Peron in Evita, Grizabella in Cats, Florence in Chess, not to mention reviving some of the theater’s greatest female roles  including: Edith Piaf in Piaf, Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and most recently Carlotta in the Kennedy Center’s smash hit production of Follies.

Despite becoming an overnight sensation with Evita in 1978, Paige never made it to America until two decades later replacing Tony-winner Betty Buckley in the original Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard.   Even after receiving rave reviews on the Great White Way, recording numerous hit records, having a top rated BBC radio show and performing for countless heads of state (including President Reagan), Paige never embarked on a US concert tour, until now.  Hence what made last Thursday so special.

Paige’s show is a combination of her two albums: Encore and Elaine Paige – Celebrating 40 Years on Stage, making it part autobiographical and part hit parade.   For her musical hits, Paige performed each song in the character and context of the show.  This is quite a departure as her theater contemporaries tend to put their own spin on a song.

Not Paige, she stuck with the music, lyrics and even stage direction for how she originally performed each song.  The result of her performance showcased the beauty that is the perfect marriage of music and lyrics in a show tune.  Each song became a mini-scene from her performance repertoire.  If that wasn’t enough she even performed one song in French, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” from the show Piaf.

It was clear throughout the 90 minute concert that the audience recognized Paige’s extraordinary performance and they rewarded with her several, roaring standing ovations throughout the show.  Paige was clearly touched, as she even teared up at the audience’s response to her performance of “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”  When the audience cheered her mention of the flop musical Chess, Paige became overcome with emotion.  A bond had formed between performer and audience.

Paige is currently touring the US with her show, and you should use every LEGAL method possible to get tickets.  Her show is testament to the notion that great performers simply only need an empty stage and a piano to create something truly special.  At the end of her show, it seemed that Paige had played every audience request except one: please keep performing in the states!

And with her grand departure from the stage, the earth resumed its rotation and Washington went about its business.

Ms. Paige’s set list includes: All That Jazz, Broadway Baby, Hello Young Lovers, Easy To Be Hard, Yesterday, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, As If We Never Said Goodbye, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Non Je Ne Regrette Rien, If You Loved Me, I Know Him So Well, Memory and With One Look.

Ms. Paige’s Tour Schedule maybe found here: http://www.elainepaige.com/news.html

Obama’s Sunset Pivot

Last week I bought an interesting poster off of eBay from the original London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard.  The poster simply contained the show’s logo and a statement which read:

“Following its overwhelming success, the Los Angeles Award-Winning production [of Sunset Boulevard] will now be seen in London.”

On first glance the statement is an enigma, but when read between the lines, a motive appears.  Something similar happened last week with President Obama’s speech from Afghanistan.  The line itself didn’t generate much coverage, but it maybe what wins him re-election.

Sunset Boulevard was supposed to be Lloyd Webber’s big splashy new hit musical in 1993.  After the show opened to dismal reviews in London, Sunset was reworked for its pre-Broadway tryout in Los Angeles.  The changes were a smash hit, and the London production was immediately overhauled to incorporate elements of the Los Angeles production.  The poster I bought was printed announcing the changes, but was really also saying, “Look, we learned our lessons the first time, and hope you’ll give us a second chance.”

Now you’re asking, “How does any of this relate to Barack Obama?”  In his speech last week Obama said this about his Afghanistan policy:

“As we move forward, some people will ask why we need a firm timeline. The answer is clear: Our goal is not to build a country in America’s image or to eradicate every vestige of the Taliban”

So what’s the significance of the quote?  Well in 2008, candidate Obama was continuously attacked as ‘weak on defense’ for supporting the idea of a timeline in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Yet, Obama never rebutted his critics’ charges.  Until last week!

Obama’s Afghanistan speech was very interesting.  The text presented centrist policy goals, and stated why this was the right direction.  It showed that Obama had not only listened to his critics, but gave a thorough and valid response to their questions.  This demonstrates a maturity in the Obama presidency, and an asset that will serve this president well in re-election.  One only wonders, how different his first term would have been had he used the same skills during the healthcare debate.

In 1995, Sunset Boulevard went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.  In 2012, Barack Obama is struggling to win re-election.  He will only accomplish this if he is able to listen and directly respond to his critics and the concerns of the electorate.  A skill he’s now demonstrating he not only has, but is willing to use when communicating from the pulpit that is the American presidency.

To read President Obama’s speech from Afghanistan: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/01/remarks-president-obama-address-nation-afghanistan