Just been reading an interview in the Guardian with Elaine Paige. She says that nobody who was already in theatre would dream of going on ADWD.

Bit of a divaish comment surely? Seems like she hasn't watched it anyway or she would know that she is wrong.

"What's the greatest threat to theatre today?

Reality TV shows like Any Dream Will Do. Actors already striving in the theatre wouldn't dream of putting themselves on these shows; it means that only about 10% of the talent out there is being auditioned for parts."

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/d...085160,00.html

What do we think?

I hope she's told her 'good pals' ALW and John Barrowman

G

Ah she's just trying to get herself some media attention for the new musical she's in.

I thought her answer quite odd - not because she was derogatory about ADWD but because of the question that came before it. How is ADWD the greatest threat to the theatre today……I can understand that she may not be happy about the way lead roles are being cast. However, shows like this and Greece must raise public awareness of the theatre in general and that has to be a good thing overall doesn't it? I would have thought there are much greater threats to the theatre than this!

I thought several of her answers were distinctly odd. The biggest sacrifice she'd made for her art was "time". Surely time spent doing something you love isn't a sacrifice. Think the interviewer was fishing for a husbands/kids/family answer but she was dodging the issue. She also says she sang along to Natalie Wood on the LP of West Side Story - anybody in show business should know that Natalie Wood didn't do her own singing in WSS.
Does she suffer for her art? Yes (but she forget to add but only when I can't get away with only doing two of my scheduled 8 performances a week).
Must admit I liked her ironic answer about Madonna playing her in a film of her life (considering how bitter Ms Paige was at not landing the movie of Evita).
Think there's a grain of truth about a lot of theatre people avoiding being in shows like ADWD but I think that it's fear of public failure rather than the artistic snobbery which I think she is implying.

That seems a bit silly of her - surely the biggest threat to the theatre is dwindling audience numbers and an hour long advert for the west end is liable to hurt that.

Def divaish! I think that you have to take whatever route you need to in showbusiness to get to where you want to be. What was the last thing elaine paige did anyway? just curious, does anyone know?

http://http://www.elainepaige.com/biography.html

Mostly concerts and one or two straight acting roles in recent years. Has a good leading role coming up.

Edit Sorry that link doesn't work. I'll try again.
Last edited by froglet : 22-05-2007 at 19:39

http://www.elainepaige.com/biography.html

Yay! That's better.

10% after giving up a couple of roles? Someone needs to tune up this woman's maths.

Oh, and not let her sing at Wembley.

...oh wait, that was Brightmann.

I'll take a look, thanks for the info and link

What she means is that lots of good people who are already working in the theatre won't audition if it's done through a show like this, partly because they might find it demeaning and partly because they'll have to give up work to have the time free. Therefore potentially really great performers aren't getting a look-in in favour of new 'talent'. I'm sure these shows are good from the point of view of raising public awareness of the theatre, but she's seeing it from a performer's perspective.

I can't take her position seriously. My problem with the West End is with mediocre tv stars replacing proper theatre performers. I'd wanted to see The Pyjama Game for years, then they ruin it by casting the underpowered Lesley Ash. I have no problem with hungry unknowns with great voices getting a chance. I remember as a child being taken to see Michael Crawford in the musical Billy, which also included probably Elaine Page's first big part. I can remember this unknown girl's huge voice blazing across the theatre.

I presume that casting these 'mediocre' tv stars is a way to boost dwindling attendances to various shows though isn't it? I saw Abba The Musical some years back in the West End and I don't recall a tv personality anywhere in sight because the production just didn't need it.

The greatest threat to theatre today is the over inflated ticket prices, especially in London. I have seen productions of Guys and Dolls and Footloose in Glasgow and the cast was comparable to London (in fact Footloose had an identical cast) and yet the top ticket prices were almost HALF what it would be to see the same show in London.
The knock-on effect of this is that people aren't going to experiment and will only go to see either revival shows or shows that they already know they are going to like (because of a previous movie or back catalogue of a famous band).
TV show like this are not a threat to theatre. In fact they are the very opposite. Bringing "theatre" into the homes of millions, many of whom may not go to see musical theatre, either locally or in London and who may do now.
There are plenty of productions for those already in theatre to audition for. It's not as if they are going to extend this and all casting are going to be done this way. This is just harmless entertainment. And if we find some stars from it, then that can only be good for theatre in the long run and getting people in the door and on the seats.

Good sense! Ways of getting a part are going to change and develop with time just like everything else. Anything which brings theatre to people's attention is good. As for casting, it's all about publicity and having the right profile as well as talent- TV or no TV. Musical theatre is quite unforgiving anyway. You have to be able to cut it or it's just not going to work for you. There is nowhere to hide.

£50 plus ticket prices for a good seat, booking fees of up to £7, TV stars that don't deliver top notch performances. These are threats. Add to that the cost of travel to and accommodation in London and it's not great for the West End. I'm lucky, I've got an Oyster card and live 10 minutes away by bus. And I STILL bitch about the price of tickets and how far in advance I have to book to get a good seat.