Product Details

• Actors: Elaine Paige
• Directors: Produced by Northstar Media
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: PBS
• DVD Release Date: July 20, 2010
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003J7HOBE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,671 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Pbs Release Date: 07/20/2010 Run time: 60 minutes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The official title is "Elaine Page: Celebrating 40 Years on Stage", July 11, 2010

By 

Steven I. Ramm "Steve Ramm "Anything Phon... (Phila, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elaine Paige Live (DVD)

Elaine Paige's name is not a household word in the US though she's played many roles on Broadway. But in London's West End, where she originated many of the roles in Andrew Lloyd Webber's productions, she's a huge star. When a lot of ALW's shows transferred to the US, Paige stayed on and an American actress took over the role. Think Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Sunset Boulevard. She is probably best known in the US from appearing in Chess and Cats.

Its been 40 years since she first stepped on a West End stage - a last-minute fill-in for a lead role in Hair. And to celebrate those 40 years she presented a concert - not in London, but at the State Theater in Sidney, Australia. The 1-¾ hour long show consists of more than her hits. For some reason she sings "Tomorrow" from Annie, a show she didn't appear in, and later "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miz, the role she turned down to take a role in Chess instead! There is also some "special material" written for her about her vertically challenged frame (she's admittedly short) and the oddball song ""Shoot The Breeze" which was written by her friends Dustin Hoffman and Bette Midler (yes, they write songs). The "Hits" are here too - songs from Sweeney Todd, Evita, Piaf, Chess, Sunset Boulevard. And she still sounds great after 40 years.

The bonuses on the DVD include one outtake ("Grow Young") and a 33-minute interview. The interview is not all talk. Paige usually repeats a story you heard during the concert and parts of the concert performance as blended into the interview so its fairly repetitive.

Paige fans - and I know there are many of them - will want this DVD for their collection. Theater fans in the US will enjoy hearing her perform her versions of songs sung by others on Broadway and hearing what the original lead actress sounded like when the shows premiered in London.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Fans Old And New, July 22, 2010

By 

fshepinc - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elaine Paige Live (DVD)

I've just finished watching this, and all I can say is, "Wow!" After a career spanning forty years, Ms. Paige is still in glorious voice, with a relaxed-yet-total command of the stage. If you bought the CD, you still have to get the DVD as there are several songs and passages that were not included (also, the CD is not taken from this concert -merely the same playlist). Brilliant as she is, Elaine is not well known in the US, as she was never given the opportunity to take the roles she made famous in London (Eva Peron in Evita; Grizabella in Cats; Florence in Chess) to Broadway. She finally arrived in New York to breathe life into Sunset Blvd. for its final year on Broadway.

The songlist is mostly classic:
Overture
Life Goes on
Tomorrow
Easy To Be Hard
Broadway Baby
I Don't Know How To Love Him
Small Packages
Hello Young Lovers
Shoot The Breeze (by Dustin Hoffman and Bette Midler)
Yesterday
Don't Cry For Me Argentina
As If We Never Said Goodbye
By The Sea
I Get A Kick Out Of You
I Dreamed A Dream
Someone Else's Story
I Know Him So well
Poor Old John
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
If You Love Me
Cry Me A River
Memory
With One Look

There are bonus features, including a behind-the-scenes interview, and she performs with a first-rate orchestra. Especially notable are her performances of songs from Sunset Blvd. and Piaf in character and costume. Stunning!

If you love musical theatre and/or classic vocalists then you'll fall in love with Elaine Paige. If, like me, you're a long-time fan -You'll fall in love all over again.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stunning DVD, July 24, 2010

By 

Patricia Tilton (Dayton, OH, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Elaine Paige Live (DVD)

I have been eagerly waiting for the U.S. release of Elaine Paige's Celebrating 40 Years on Stage. Wow -- what a stunning performance by the first lady of British musical theater! She is truely an actress on stage which makes the performance even more exciting. And, I believe as she matures, the quality of her voice is even better -- there is a sassy quality about her stage performance. So many have sung the lead roles in Cats, Evita, Hair, Chess, Sunset Boulevard -- but she sang most of them first in London's West End and on Broadway. No one sings "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Memory" and "I Know Him So Well," like Elaine does. She pours her heart into every aspect of this performance, which was filmed in Sydney. The interviews were excellent -- added to the entire DVD. Well done Elaine! Please perform in America.