What can top a birthday celebration, like this, at the Royal Albert Hall? Andrew Lloyd Webber was the man of the hour, and in 1998 he turned 50 years old, to the accompaniment of a lavish, well-performed rendition of his stage musical masterpieces.
Elaine Paige was the lead in the 1978 debut production of "Evita." Eva Perón died at age 33, and at the singing of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" in the story, she was close to her end. Paige, a relative unknown at the time, fiercely wanted the role. So at 30 she was at the perfect age.
I love Sarah Brightman. Webber wrote the role of Christine Daaé for her, who caught his attention in the early 1980s. They were married by the time his adaptation of "Phantom of the Opera" debuted on Broadway in 1988, and to my ears Brightman will always be the defining voice for Christine.
Glenn Close won the Tony as Norma Desmond in the 1994 Broadway production of "Sunset Boulevard." She follows in a lineage of grand dames in that role, which began with Gloria Swanson in the Award-winning 1950 film. Both voice and acting cinch Close's performance.
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