Webber to Hit Great Hall

(Broadway and the West End are a long way from the Far East, so Beijingers who think they might enjoy Broadway musicals should not miss the concerts being brought to the capital by the renowned Andrew Lloyd Webber.)

Webber is the superstar of the musical, a genre which has gained enormously in popularity over the past decades in good measure because of his work.

He has broken all box-office records with his musicals '' Les Miserables,'' "Cats," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Starlight Express" and "Evita." He has won six Tony Awards, three Grammys, five Oliviers, a golden Globe, and an Oscar.

Sponsored by Motorola and the China Performing Arts Agency, the concerts, which will present almost all the most-loved numbers from Webber's 10 best musicals will be held at the Great Hall of the People on September 27 and 28.

The concert will cost more than US$600,000 to stage and will feature original set designs and props to provide the audiences with the original flavour of the musicals as they were presented in New York.

It is the first time for Webber to personally introduce his music to China.

The concerts will also star Elaine Paige, "the First Lady of British Musical Theatre."

A diminutive stage and screen actress with a powerful singing voice, Elaine Paige has proven herself as one of the greatest musical actresses of all time, richly deserving the distinguished title she has been given.

Having played some of the most memorable roles in musicals, and having earned numerous awards and released platinum-selling albums, she is one of Great Britain's most beloved and recognizable stars.

Paige was born in Barnet, in England, in 1951, and her voice was first discovered when she was still at the Aida Foster Stage School in Golders Green, in northern London.

During the 1960s and early 1970s she appeared in several musicals before she made her West End debut in 1969 as a member of the cast of "Hair."

The turning point in her career came in 1978 when she was chosen by Hal Prince to play Eva Peron in Andrew Lloyd-Webber's musical hit "Evita."

Despite the fact that Julie Covington had already had a UK smash hit with the musical's principal song "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," Paige stunned the critics and made the role her own.

She became a superstar in England overnight and won the Variety Club Award and The West End Theatre Award of the Year.

In 1981 she stepped in at short notice to create the role of Grizabella in another Webber hit "Cats," replacing Judy Dench, who had injured her ankle in rehearsals.

She stole the show with her rendition of the song "Memory."

She would score another hit single in 1986 after appearing in the premiere of the play "Chess." In a duet with singer, Barbara Dickson, Paige sang "I Know Him So Well" from that show. The song held the number one position on the British charts for four weeks. As a result, Paige garnered another Variety Club Award for ''Recording Artist of the Year.''

In 1989 she accomplished the dual role of starring in and co-producing the musical "Anything Goes" in London and for her efforts she was nominated for a Olivier Award for Outstanding Performance of the year.

"Piaf," written by Pam Gems, was her next accomplishment. Paige played the role of the tragic chanteuse Edith Piaf in 1993. For this role she was once again nominated for an Olivier Award for "Best Actress in a Musical."

In May 1995, she took the leading role of Norma Desmond in the West End hit "Sunset Boulevard."

And the next year, her dream of acting on Broadway came true as she was invited by Andrew Lloyd- Webber to play Norma Desmond in the New York production of "Sunset Boulevard." Approaching the role with a sassy vigour, Paige took command of the stage and wowed US critics.

Two years later she returned to London's West End to star as Celimene, the duplicitous widow, in Moliere's scathing comedy "The Misanthrope."

Another eye-catching star for Chinese audiences at the concerts will be Kris Phillips, or Fei Xiang in his Chinese name.

If you were already listening to Chinese pop way back in the early 1980s, you will be familiar with the Chinese name.

The Taiwan-born heartthrob, whose mixed-parentage good looks helped fuel his popularity, is best remembered for songs like "Clouds of My Hometown" and "Fire in the Winter" from the 1980s.

Then he went to New York and became one of the few Chinese to make it onto Broadway.

Now, in his 40s, the singer doesn't look like he's aged much. But the songs collected on his new album released in China show a distinct trace of maturity. Songs like the epic ballad, "Love," with its smoldering, R&B-flavoured words should still continue to please his old fans and perhaps win over some new ones as well.

According to Cao Wei from China Performing Arts Agency, Fei has made a great effort to help bring the musical concert to China.

"It is really a rare feast for audiences to be able to enjoy so many hit songs from Webber's musicals at one concert," said Fei.

As for the language barrier, Fei said: "The different language is not a problem, since people's emotions are universal."