On Thursday 25th July I was absolutely delighted to attend the Celebrity Lunch With Elaine Paige at West Green House as part of their Annual Opera Season.
Following the delicious lunch Elaine was interviewed by a member of the West Green House Staff.
Here are some of the main points from the interview.
Quick fact first of all. Did you know that Elaine originally wanted to be a Professional Tennis Player? Unfortunately that dream was soon dashed by one of her teachers by telling her that she was too small. It was after this that Elaine thought very hard about Musical Theatre and after watching West Side Story, her mind was made up. Through her inspirational teacher Elaine achieved her dream.
Finding out about Evita role.
The role of Eva Perón was one of the most sought after roles in Musical Theatre at the time. Every woman who auditioned had dreams of standing on the stage as this iconic lady. Elaine had been to her auditions and had been told she was in with a great chance. One night, Elaine and her Mother were in Elaine’s house in London. It was very late and the doorbell rang. Even back in the late 70s when your door goes late at night you are very cautious. As Elaine approached the door the person behind it told her not to worry as it was only her Agent. Elaine let her in (at this point Elaine put on a brilliant Canadian Accent as her Agent at the time was Canadian). To cut a long story short her Agent came in all dressed up in a cape and after several minutes Elaine managed to get the information out of her. Elaine was informed that she had got the role as Eva Perón. As her Agent was telling her she threw back her cape revealing a Magnum of Champagne and that was the start of Elaine’s life changing journey.
The fifteen minute standing ovation.
Elaine loved playing Eva Peron in Evita. Her life was changing really quickly from hardly being recognised to being stopped constantly by the press and fans. After one performance in particular, following the curtain call, Elaine received a fifteen minute standing ovation with the crowd shouting ‘Elaine Evita’. Elaine had a Friend in the audience who recorded it and to this day Elaine has the tape.
Elaine put the word ‘Midnight’ into Memory
Yes this is true and now I understand why Elaine calls Memory her ‘signature Song.’
One evening after returning home, Elaine put on the radio and the first thing she heard was after midnight we will play the tune from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Cats. Upon hearing it Elaine recognised it to be Memory. She knew at that time the role was not her own as it belonged to Dame Judi Dench at the time. That was all to change.
The role of Grizabella
It was after midnight that Elaine received a phone call from Andrew Lloyd Webber asking her if she wanted the role as Grizabella in Cats. Judi Dench had been told to rest and was unable to take the role. Elaine was told that her new role was not big and not to expect big highs that she got from Evita. Elaine took the role and asked Andrew if the song she was to sing was Memory. Andrew said yes and Elaine pressed him to let her add the word Midnight at the start as it meant to much to her. Andrew said yes and the rest is history.
Elaine and Barbara Dickson did not make I Know Him So Well together.
We all know it, we can hear it in our head, yes I Know Him So Well From Chess. The song originally made famous by our lovely Elaine and Barbara Dickson. However, they may have sang together but they did not make the song together. In fact Elaine did not even meet Barbara Dickson until they both took part in a European Tour to promote the song. Elaine was in Sweden and Barbara was in Scotland at the time the song was being put together. They both recorded their parts in separate studios and they were put together to create the duet we know and love today.
Elaine has hinted no more Musical Theatre but no retirement.
Elaine mentioned that Musical Theatre was very demanding. With eight shows a week, songs, dances and lines to remember it can get too much. It’s very sad but Elaine has said she won’t be doing any more musicals but has said she would not rule out doing a play.
Elaine is not retiring any time soon either. She enjoys her work/life balance. She loves doing small concerts, doing EPOS on Radio 2, pursuing TV roles, small events and gatherings and not forgetting her unseen work she does for various charities. So although there will be no more musical theatre there will be plenty more of Elaine Paige
My Thoughts
It was a great honour for me to meet Elaine on the day. She was lovely and was so friendly. I would have no hesitation whatsoever to go and see her again.
In fact following Elaine’s attitude towards me It makes me want to do more to support her.
Elaine Paige Fans 