At 88, Janis Paige has long since lost the voice that carried her through a long cabaret and nightclub career. Her eyesight failing and her gait unsteady, once Paige settled onto a stool onstage, magic happened. In a half spoken/half sung style, she delivered Sunset Boulevard's “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” then segued into “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Both were totally believable and led into many autobiographical stories of a poor girl from Tacoma who sang for pennies and eventually reached the stars. A section of the show about her adoration of Fred Astaire dealt with her working with him on the film Silk Stockings. Stories of old Las Vegas included her secret crush on musician Matt Dennis and she performs his “Everything Happens to Me,” a hit song for Frank Sinatra.

Married to songwriter Ray Gilbert, Paige reminisces about their love and his passing with standout performances of the bittersweet “Who Gave You Permission?” and “Fifty Percent.” There was many a tear in the audience, as many were moved by her enduring will and grace. A story about Frank Sinatra’s generosity and kindness followed “That’s Life” (with special material by Eric Kornfeld) and preceded “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road).” This special evening ended with Jack Segal’s “Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart.”

Like a Julie Wilson or Tammy Grimes show, Paige’s performance is less about technical prowess and all about spirit, history and a lifetime of experience. Those in attendance were treated to something extraordinary from a very classy lady.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
September 26, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org