ELAINE PAIGE
The diminutive powerhouse that is Elaine Paige took Boston by storm May 7 when she made her U.S. concert debut with the Boston Pops. The evening, which was the season debut of the Boston Pops Orchestra, was divided into three segments. The first section was devoted entirely to the Pops Orchestra, who, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, offered spirited renditions of Malcolm Arnold's "Four Scottish Dances" and Leonard Bernstein's "Times Square: 1944" from On The Town, among others. For the second segment, the Pops again played by themselves-offering the "Malambo" from Estancia and the North American premiere of a new work by Peter Maxwell Davies, entitled Mavis in Las Vegas--and together with Stefan Jackiw, a 12-year-old violinist prodigy, who brought the audience to its feet after performing Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Opus 22.

For the third segment (the one for which this writer traveled to New England) British diva Elaine Paige was invited onstage by conductor Lockhart, who announced, "Our next guest is truly a musical theatre legend. She has created the roles of Eva Peron, Grizabella and is the definitive Norma Desmond, and tonight she is making her American concert hall debut." Then, Paige, looking glorious in a beaded black gown with her upswept hair, took the stage to deliver her knock-out rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye," which built slowly and with crystal-clear diction to the climactic, "This world's waited longed enough. I've come home at last!"
After the roar of approval from the audience subsided, Paige joked about the casting of Dennis Rodman as the next Norma Desmond, and then she admitted, "I may have been the last Norma, but I was the first Evita." This statement was followed by her version of that show's anthem, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." It was a thrill to hear her perform "Don't Cry for Me" live after listening to the London cast recording for so many years.

Just to hear the exuberant way she sings, "So I chose freedom" was worth the trip to Boston. After finishing the song, Paige joked, "You know, I have to go and see that film," which elicited a roar of laughter from the Boston crowd. Paige then invited the audience to journey with her to Paris as she delivered three songs from her critically-hailed performance as Edith Piaf in the Pam Gems opus: "Ballad of Poor Old John," "Hymne a l'Amour (If You Love Me)" and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets)," the first two in English and the third in her flawless French. Paige had a bit of fun with the "Ballad of Poor Old John," accompanied by an accordionist who took centerstage with her, and then she returned to the microphone stand and sang the hell out of "If You Love Me," her voice soaring with the final words: "If you love me/really love/then whatever happens/I won't care."

ELAINE PAIGE
The diminutive powerhouse that is Elaine Paige took Boston by storm May 7 when she made her U.S. concert debut with the Boston Pops. The evening, which was the season debut of the Boston Pops Orchestra, was divided into three segments. The first section was devoted entirely to the Pops Orchestra, who, under the direction of Keith Lockhart, offered spirited renditions of Malcolm Arnold's "Four Scottish Dances" and Leonard Bernstein's "Times Square: 1944" from On The Town, among others. For the second segment, the Pops again played by themselves-offering the "Malambo" from Estancia and the North American premiere of a new work by Peter Maxwell Davies, entitled Mavis in Las Vegas--and together with Stefan Jackiw, a 12-year-old violinist prodigy, who brought the audience to its feet after performing Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Opus 22.

For the third segment (the one for which this writer traveled to New England) British diva Elaine Paige was invited onstage by conductor Lockhart, who announced, "Our next guest is truly a musical theatre legend. She has created the roles of Eva Peron, Grizabella and is the definitive Norma Desmond, and tonight she is making her American concert hall debut." Then, Paige, looking glorious in a beaded black gown with her upswept hair, took the stage to deliver her knock-out rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye," which built slowly and with crystal-clear diction to the climactic, "This world's waited longed enough. I've come home at last!"
After the roar of approval from the audience subsided, Paige joked about the casting of Dennis Rodman as the next Norma Desmond, and then she admitted, "I may have been the last Norma, but I was the first Evita." This statement was followed by her version of that show's anthem, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." It was a thrill to hear her perform "Don't Cry for Me" live after listening to the London cast recording for so many years.

Just to hear the exuberant way she sings, "So I chose freedom" was worth the trip to Boston. After finishing the song, Paige joked, "You know, I have to go and see that film," which elicited a roar of laughter from the Boston crowd. Paige then invited the audience to journey with her to Paris as she delivered three songs from her critically-hailed performance as Edith Piaf in the Pam Gems opus: "Ballad of Poor Old John," "Hymne a l'Amour (If You Love Me)" and "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets)," the first two in English and the third in her flawless French. Paige had a bit of fun with the "Ballad of Poor Old John," accompanied by an accordionist who took centerstage with her, and then she returned to the microphone stand and sang the hell out of "If You Love Me," her voice soaring with the final words: "If you love me/really love/then whatever happens/I won't care."

Plus, Kristin Chenoweth will lead master classes as OCU partners with Academy of Live and Recorded Arts for Master’s Program in Los Angeles and London.

Plus: Listen to Meg Toohey, Sara Bareilles, and more perform tribute to late Waitress co-star Nick Cordero.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the selections for the 2013 Next Link Project, NYMF's primary writer service program. Titles will be seen at the tenth annual New York Musical Theatre Festival, which will run July 8-28 in New York City.

Dear Evan Hansen and Contact reunions, a celebrity reading of The Thanksgiving Play, and more online offerings this week.

Hamilton Tony nominee Phillipa Soo stars in the musical adaptation of the Oscar-nominated film.

Tony Award nominee André De Shields will play the Stage Manager in Madison Repertory Theatre's Our Town in the 2005-06 season — a year when the Equity troupe moves to a new permanent home.

Gary Smith will no longer serve as executive producer of the CBS-TV Tony Awards, as he has for five years. Instead, Walter C. Miller, who has directed the show for 11 years, will move up to the executive slot.

Margot Harley, who has served as producer of The Acting Company since she co-founded it with director John Houseman in 1972, will relinquish her post effective Dec. 31.

Stage and screen stars Kevin Kline and Dianne Wiest take part in a staged reading of Carol Rocamora's I take your hand in mine ... the love letters of Anton Chekhov to Olga Knipper June 25 at The Kaye Playhouse.

Stage and screen stars Kevin Kline and Dianne Wiest will take part in a staged reading of Carol Rocamora's I take your hand in mine ... the love letters of Anton Chekhov to Olga Knipper June 25 at The Kaye Playhouse.

Jurnee Smollett, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Eva Marcille and Henry Simmons announced the nominees for the 18th Annual NAACP Theatre Awards May 20 at a press conference in the Hollywood Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel.

Playwrights Horizons will welcome Emmy Award-winner Christine Lahti back to the stage in the company's final production of the 2005-06 season in the world premiere of The Busy World Is Hushed by Keith Bunin.

Although the Theatre Lab at Utah's Sundance Institute is meant as a place where writers and directors can work on a piece without worrying about its commercial future, that doesn't mean a show can't seek a life outside the idyllic woods of Park City.

The Barrington Stage Company of Great Barrington, MA, will continue its 1999 summer season with the George C. Wolfe play, Spunk, playing through Aug. 8, at the Consolati Performing Arts Center. The play with music is based on three stories by the Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston. Rob Ruggiero directs a cast including Dyron Holmes, Keith Johnson, Lisa Renee Pitts, Godfrey L. Simmons Jr., Dathan Williams and Sheyvonne Wright.