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The Original Glamour Cat O
NE NIGHT IN 1981, ELAINE PAIGE CAME HOME TO ter on my first vision of that cat.” a surprise guest. “I get to the front door,” she says, “and Paige asked director Trevor Nunn if she could give Grizabella I see this dilapidated, rather thin, scraggly, mangy black a limp. “I remember saying, ‘Do you think it's a bit much? I cat strolling toward me. It really was pathetic. It looked on its don't want people to think I'm playing Richard the Third in a last legs, to be honest. So I gave it a saucer of milk. Needless to cat outfit.’ And he said, ‘No, no, add it!’ It helped me age her say, it stayed the night.” up a bit, because I was obviously much younger then. I wanted The next morning, Paige was woken by a frantic call from Grizabella to have some kind of weight and age to her, to make producer Cameron Macintosh. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new her song land.” show Cats was just days away from opening in London’s West The response at the time was phenomenal. “Nobody had End and Judi Dench, slated to play Grizabella, the Glamour Cat, ever seen anything like Cats at all. It was completely fresh and had injured herself. Could Paige, who had originated the role of new and innovative. John Napier, who designed the show, is a Eva Peron in Webber’s Evita to tremendous acclaim, take on the master. And Andrew managed to pull out all the stops musically role? Oh, and they opened in less than a week. in that there's every kind of style: rock, jazz, and the haunting “It was all such a rush,” says Paige. “I had only a matter of melody of Memory, which I think is probably one of his greatest days to learn what this show was all about. It seemed so odd melodies ever written.” and peculiar to me when I first saw them rehearsing in these Paige revived her now legendary rendition of Grizabella in wonderfully painted jumpsuit skins, with this wild 1998 for a special filmed version of the theatrical Click Here makeup and mad hair. It was sort of like Disney production, which will be livestreamed free for on stage.” 48 hours starting Friday, May 15, part of a weekly to Watch Paige put a lot of thought into how Grizabella series of Webber’s works that has already showwould present. “Her song, ‘Memory,’ is all about reflection and cased the hits Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ, Superstar. looking back on her life of glamor that it was,” she says. “It's an “The 1998 film is as it should be seen really — it really is probably emotional appeal about loneliness and longing for something the best version,” says Paige, gently dismissing the 2019 movie that's gone.” Paige used the black stray, which ultimately lived derided by critics and audiences alike. “If you're not able to see out its life with her, as inspiration. “She was really thin and Cats live in a theater, then this is the version to see. Because it is dilapidated and straggly and everything. So I based my charac- presented where it belongs: in a theater.” —Randy Shulman The 1998 version of Cats will stream for free starting on Friday, May 15, at 2 p.m., and will be accessible for 48 hours, through Sunday, May 17. Visit www.youtube.com/theshowsmustgoon. 6
MAY 14, 2020 • METROWEEKLY.COM
