Suzy Klein travels deep into the world of musical theatre, and the colourful landscapes of Argentina, to discover the story of one of the West End's most celebrated characters. Intertwining the stories of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's creation with the true story of Eva Peron, she celebrates the extraordinary show in the 40th year after its creation. Meeting musical stars including Elaine Paige, Hal Prince and Tim Rice, she hears how the show came into being, all inspired by a face on a postage stamp. She then travels to Argentina, meeting politicians, performers and Eva fans to hear how this intensely divisive figure - loved by the poor, loathed by the rich - became one of the enduring icons of our time.
11-24-2018
59 min
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Elaine Jill Paige OBE (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16. Her appearance in the 1968 production of Hair marked her West End debut.
Following a number of roles over the next decade, Paige was selected to play Eva Perón in the first production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita in 1978, which brought her to the attention of the broader public. For this role, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Performance of the Year in a musical. She originated the role of Grizabella in Cats and had a Top 10 hit with "Memory", a song from the show.
In 1985, Paige released "I Know Him So Well" with Barbara Dickson from the musical Chess, which remains the biggest-selling record by a female duo. She then appeared in the original stage production of Chess, followed by a starring role in Anything Goes which she also co-produced. Paige made her Broadway debut in Sunset Boulevard in 1996, playing the lead role of Norma Desmond, to critical acclaim. She appeared in The King and I from 2000 to 2001, and six years later she returned to the West End stage in The Drowsy Chaperone. She has also worked sporadically in television.
In addition to being nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, Paige has won many other awards for her theatre roles and has been called the First Lady of British Musical Theatre due to her skill and longevity. She has released 22 solo albums, of which eight were consecutively certified gold and another four multi-platinum. Paige is also featured on seven cast albums and has sung in concerts across the world. Since 2004 she has hosted her own show on BBC Radio 2 called Elaine Paige on Sunday.
In 2014, Paige celebrated her 50 years in show business. Paige announced on her official website a "Farewell" concert tour and a new career-spanning album The Ultimate Collection to mark this milestone in her career. Outside of her work in musical theatre, Paige is a vice-president of The Children's Trust, a UK charity for children with brain injury.
Elaine Jill Bickerstaff was born and raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, where her father Eric worked as an estate agent and her mother Irene was a milliner. Her mother had been a singer in her youth, and her father was an amateur drummer. Paige stands at just under 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, which she says has caused her to lose out on leading roles. Her original ambition was to become a professional tennis player, at which point her headmistress pointed out to her "they'd never see you over the net", but Paige continued to play tennis and has referred to the sport as one of her passions. ...
Source: Article "Elaine Paige" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Hal Prince was an American theatrical producer and director, responsible for such megahits as The Phantom Of The Opera, Evita, A Little Night Music, Fiddler On The Roof, Cabaret, Kiss Of The Spider Woman, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. For his stage work, he received 21 Tony Awards.
Sir Alan Parker was a director, writer and producer. His feature films have won nineteen BAFTA awards, ten Golden Globes and ten Oscars. His films include Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, The Commitments, Evita, Fame, Birdy, Angel Heart and Angela’s Ashes. He was founding chairman of the UK Film Council, a position he held for five years, and prior to that was chairman of the BFI. Sir Alan received the CBE in 1995 and a knighthood in 2002. He was also an Officier Des Arts et Lettres (France).
