I was very much anticipating to see Sunset Boulevard in London for the sixth time. I couldn’t wait to see the show (yet again), especially that it had a totally new cast.

Alex Hanson and Cathy Porter played Joe and Betty (respectively). My biggest anticipation was for Elaine Paige.

I admired (repeat-admirED) Elaine Paige greatly, after listening and watching TV clips of her singing songs of "Cats" and "Evita". I thought that she would be perfect as Norma Desmond. I also heard people saying that she has been getting wonderful notices. Perfect, I thought!!! Little did I know!

The cast was very fresh and showed great energy. Alex Hanson was shinning through the entire show. He had a wonderful and lighter approach to the character than Kevin Anderson and John Barrowman did, since they played the part more angrily. His "pop-like" vocal trademarks make the score sound like a totally new one that I haven’t heard at all. Catherine Porter is indeed one of the best Betty’s out there, having a great voice and steady acting.

Elaine Paige. The first thing that caught me was her accent. Through the entire show, I couldn’t decide if it was intended as British, American, or fake American. I found that very distracting.

Her singing was certainly beautiful, although I did notice that she spoke-sung a lot. Her "I’ll be me" is electrifying, especially when she produces the loudest "me" I have ever heard (sounding "may").

Her acting was indeed very (VERY!) bad. Wait-let me correct that. Her acting isn’t bad. What’s so bad is her portrayal. The way she acted perfectly illustrates her (bad) portrayal. If her portrayal of Norma was right, I am positive she would have been one of the greatest Norma’s ever. The problem is, the way she pictured Norma was all wrong.

What’s wrong in her portrayal is how fake and unsympathetic -her- Norma is. She didn’t capture the childlike, fragile creature inside the powerful shell we see. The way she spoke her lines were totally fake, over-the top making her sound very ridiculously and "amateurish". Her movement was very odd and exaggerated (I know, Norma is grand, but not the way SHE walked). Those factors were what made her Norma totally inhuman and unbelievable.

The non-serious scenes of hers are very good, however. The New Year Eve "party" she throws is very fun! The way she tangos brings a smile on faces, and the way she bumps into Joe while they tango, making her produce a moan ("oah") is hilarious!

I would like to thank Elaine for one thing, though. The extension of the word "home" in "As If We Never Said Goodbye". Not that her rendition is "jolly good", but that segment did sound very special and affecting.

All in all, it was a good performance. Except that I was very disappointed (eventually made me very angry) at Ms. Paige, whom I probably won’t have much fondness for any more.

A True Star

Unofficial review by Alex

Elaine had it.

She was fabulous. I needn't really say any more, but I will...

Elaine paige can sing. And act. And hold an audience captivated by her pure power. Her strength. Elaine was a great Norma. In those few weeks when Betty Buckley (wonderful too!) was ill, Elaine Paige stepped in, and I saw her for the first time. Elaine improved on Betty Buckley's performance - notice I say performance, not singing - and that is a hard task.

So what did she bring to the role that Betty didn't have? I'll tell you. A down-to-earth grittiness. Perhaps, yes, perhaps she was not quite as vocally accomplished as Betty, but the overall impression you got was stronger. I don't care if they had to lower the banister for her to peer over, her presence was huge. A small figure was the focus of the stage. I was impressed.

Elaine was warm and feeling in 'The Perfect Year', overpowering (in a good way) in 'With One Look' and she brought the house down with 'As If We Never Said Goodbye'. Plus, Elaine was very good at going mad. There was not a giggle from the audience throughout the entire scene. She even carried off that most difficult of lines... "She kisses his mouth, She kisses his mouth, She kisses his mouth...". Yes, we believed her - she was captivating.

Elaine Paige was an astonishing Norma Desmond