Jason Manford tonight hosts The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals on BBC1, showcasing the best of West End and touring productions.
But some of the finest music is in the movies, and here singer Elaine Paige – star of Cats, Chess and Evita – picks her top 10 and explains what they mean to her.
Elaine, 75, hosts a BBC Radio 2 show on Sundays, and is also an ambassador for the Royal Voluntary Service’s Coronation Champions Awards. She says: “If you know someone who goes the extra mile to help in the community, then we want to know who they are.”
* See royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk
1. West Side Story (1961)
Stars: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn
“When I was a school girl I went to see this film, and it became my inspiration. That was how I knew I wanted to be in musical theatre or perform on screen. I just remember that musical film hitting me between the eyes and knowing that’s what I wanted to do.
I just thought it was the most exciting, wonderful film with all those orchestrations, all those different rhythms. It was a cross between classical and modern music.”
Best song: “I love the opening to the song America. It has all these different changes of rhythm and style within the score.”
2. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
Stars: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynold, Donald O’Connor
“This is a Hollywood musical tour de force. It’s got great songs, it’s got great choreography, and it has a perfect cast. It shines a spotlight on the transition between silent movies and talkies.
There is a very funny sequence in it when they’re filming in the studio, and they first hear the silent movie star Lina Lamont, played by Jean Hagen, with that strong Brooklyn accent. They then know she has to be dubbed. I also love Donald O’Connor’s Make ‘Em Laugh sequence where he does all those backflips and he dances up the walls in perfect timing.”
Best song: “My favourite is, of course, Singin’ in the Rain, that smooth cool charm of Gene Kelly dancing.”
3. My Fair Lady (1964)
Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
“This is one of the all time classics, and Eliza Doolittle is a role I would have loved to have played. The film is one of Audrey Hepburn’s best performances, although she didn’t actually sing; she was dubbed.
The scene set at Ascot Races is brilliant, all those amazing Cecil Beaton costumes with Audrey in that huge white hat, and full length gown and all the men wearing top hats and tails. The choreography is all very stylized.”
Best song: ‘I Could Have Danced All Night. I used to sing this song at singing lessons when I was a child. It is the start of Eliza falling in love with Henry Higgins.”
4. Grease (1978)
Stars: Olivia Newton John, John Travolta
“I sang with Olivia on an album of mine once, and she was a wonderful person. She was perfect for the role of Sandy as they were quite similar, so lovely and kind.
The film appeals to all generations and the music is great to sing along to. You still see people in karaoke bars desperately trying to hit John Travolta’s high note. I played Sandy in 1976, and always looked forward to the final scene where I got to rock on down in leather with a cigarette.”
Best Song: “You’re The One That I Want. It’s when Sandy transforms from the sweet innocent girl to the leather clad siren. It brings back happy memories for me.”
5. Cabaret (1972)
Stars: Liza Minelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem
“John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote this brilliant musical where all the numbers take place inside the weird and wonderful Kit Kat Club. The subject matter of this musical is actually quite dark because it’s around the time of the rise of the Nazi Germany.
I’ve heard a story that when Liza Minelli knew she was going to be making the film, she was a bit taken aback and joked, ‘What are they going to call it, The Nifty Nazi Pollys?’. There’s this dangerous underlying political wobble going on in the film. It’s a really, really clever musical.”
Best Song: “Mein Herr is the song that everybody remembers with Sally Bowles performing that dance number with a chair, wearing the bowler hat and halter neck corset.”
6. A Star is Born (2018)
Stars: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper
“This film comes along every time for its own generation, first Judy Garland and James Mason which I loved, then Barabara Striesand and Kris Kristofferson, but I have to choose the most recent one. Bradley Cooper told me at dinner that he was going to be in it with Lady Gaga years before it was filmed. That woman has the most amazing voice, I love her.
The scene where she is invited on stage by Bradley’s character Jackson at a huge concert, and she is nervous but takes the plunge, I can really relate as it has happened to me. That moment of standing in the wings just before you’re about to go on, and you’re nervous and then you just go, and you’re on.”
Best song: “Shallow, written by Lady Gaga, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando and Mark Ronson. It’s a collaborative effort that is so brilliant.”
7. Elvis (2022)
Stars: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge
“I was so disappointed Austin Butler didn’t win the Oscar, it would have been so deserved. His incarnation of Elvis was just miraculous. He managed to get every aspect of the movement, the look and the voice but also the subtlety of the man himself; the true character of Elvis.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann it has fantastic cinematography, the costume design was amazing, the production design, the musical sequences, the whole thing is amazing. I went to the cinema three times to see it.”
Best song: ‘I can’t decide between the scene where Austin sings Suspicious Minds in Las Vegas, or when he sings Trouble at Russwood Park. Don’t make me choose!”
8. The Greatest Showman (2017)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zendaya, Zac Efron
“Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are relatively new writers on the scene, but they keep coming up with these fantastic songs. The Greatest Showman has a fabulous cast including Hugh Jackman who I first saw in Oklahoma at the National Theatre years ago.
The best scene is the Greatest Show song which is set in the ring at PT Barnum Circus. It’s a full production number, with animals and circus performers, lots of special effects; the whole kitchen sink really. It is such a spectacle and pretty thrilling.”
Best song: “This Is Me is a powerful song with great lyrics. It is an anthem for anybody that feels slightly out of place in the world.”
9. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Kylie Minogue
“I just thought this was the most extraordinary movie. It’s directed by Baz Luhrmann of whom I am a huge fan, and would love to work with. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGergor were also brilliant in it. The setting is amazing from the sweeping backdrop of Paris, to the bejewelled dressing room inside a huge Elephant.
And, of course, there is the score. All those wonderful popular songs, like Nature Boy by Nat King Cole, Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend and Like a Virgin by Madonna, The Show Must Go On, and Your Song, the list goes on.”
Best song: “The one that stands out for me is the Elephant Love Medley. It has got dozens of popular songs all sort of mashed together sung by Ewan and Nicole.”
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin.
“This is one of those classic movies that always hits the right note. It’s probably most people’s first musical film, and I think it was mine. It was the film that made Judy Garland a star and it just stands the test of time.
There were no computer graphics back then, but there are fantastic special effects. The most iconic scene is that transition from sepia to colour when Dorothy opens the door of her house to the Land of Oz. That was pretty spectacular.”
Best song: “Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Everybody remembers Judy Garland pouring her heart out while sitting on a tractor and wondering why oh, why she can’t fly over the rainbow.”
