Here
are some new
photographs as well as
reviews for Elaine's starring
role in the 2011 Broadway
production of Stephen
Sondheim’s "Follies":
NY DAILY NEWS
British star Elaine Paige
stops things cold 75 minutes
in with a punchy and
perfectly calibrated "I'm
Still Here," a wry ode to
unsinkability.
NY TIMES
As Ms. Paige performs “I’m
Still Here” — with a
galvanizing fierceness that
makes this much-performed
song sound fresh and
stinging — it’s not just an
anthem of survival but also
of rage against ravaging
time.
VARIETY
Elaine Paige, the Brit
star who in years past
created such roles as the
title character of "Evita"
and "Cats" highlight
Grizabella, ups the
evening's voltage with
flashes of humor and an
effective "I'm Still Here".
NY MAGAZINE
And here’s none other than
Elaine Paige, who shows up,
more or less, to handle the
Elaine Stritch Moment: Her
“I’m Still Here” delivers
the goods, though more than
half of it consists of Paige
being, well, there.
NY POST
Rising to the top is
British star Elaine Paige,
who displays unexpected
comic self-awareness as
Carlotta, the aging diva
trumpeting the up-yours
anthem "I'm Still Here."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paige's "I'm Still Here"
is a sassy cabaret triumph.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
There are also jewels among
the book songs. Elaine Paige
wrenches every ounce of
bruised experience and jaded
humor from “I’m Still Here.”
No matter how many times
you’ve heard them,
Sondheim’s lyrics to that
survivor’s anthem, charting
the decline of a screen
goddess to a Vegas act, a
camp icon, and finally, a TV
fixture (back when
television was a demotion,
not a fresh career
opportunity), make the song
a peerless example of the
wry character confessional.
NEWSDAY
...the savviest
I'm-still-here anthem (slyly
nailed by Elaine Paige).
WASHINGTON POST
The delights now include
a lighter, tighter portrayal
by Elaine Paige of the boozy
floozy Carlotta. She’s
turned the has-been Carlotta
into a funnier, and
therefore sexier, creature,
and her barn-burning
survivor song, “I’m Still
Here,” really is a
show-stopper.
PHILLY INQUIRER
Paige gets to sing the
in-your-face "I'm Still
Here," and gives it
gangbuster treatment - it's
one of those Broadway songs
written for the rafters, and
Paige is happy to shake
them. Happy - who is and who
isn't, and to what degree -
plays a big role in this
reunion and so does success,
as in all reunions.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
...as the ever-intriguing
Elaine Paige reminds us,
“Follies” is about still
being here just as much as
wondering what happened —
then recede whenever loss
and regret overwhelms.
THEATERMANIA
As film star Carlotta
Campion, the diminutive
Elaine Paige completely
brings down the house with a
magnificently executed "I'm
Still Here," which begins
almost conversationally and
ends with a burst of
defiance. In her hands, this
now-beloved song is truly
the anthem of a
still-thriving survivor
rather than a final
summation of a long career.
NORTHJERSEY.COM
In a somewhat similar vein,
the veteran British musical
star Elaine Paige, drolly
playing a resilient
performer who's become a TV
star, does a rousing,
swing-from-the-heels version
of "I'm Still Here." It's
awesome, but it comes across
as much a statement of
Paige's presence as of the
character's.
HUFFINGTON POST
Elaine Paige's
wise-to-herself Carlotta
Campion also expresses
practicality in "I'm Still
Here," although her
show-stopping rendition is
doused in more bitterness
than most interpreters
allow.
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
One after the other,
performers step up to
produce thrilling versions
of songs including "I'm
Still Here" (Elaine Paige)
which is a sassy cabaret
triumph.
THE MORNING CALL
Without the device ever
seeming crass or
manipulative, these
sepia-toned lovelies of the
pre-war years alternately
flare up with the force of
nostalgia and resilience —
and, as the ever-intriguing
Elaine Paige reminds us,
"Follies" is about still
being here just as much as
wondering what happened —
and then recede whenever
loss and regret overwhelms.
CAPITAL NEW YORK
The show's rousing "I'm
Still Here" is given to
Elaine Paige. This song
about triumphing over life's
adversities is tough to pull
off, but Paige drops her
party-girl persona enough to
give us a glimpse at the
pain underneath. Paige gets
the star treatment from
costume designer Gregg
Barnes.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
''I'm Still Here'' …
performed by dynamite
British diva Elaine Paige
NY1
Elaine Page's stunningly
forceful take on the iconic
"I'm Still Here."