Well, I spent the first few bars of Elaine Paige shouting at the telly, 'But it's a young woman's song! You should be singing Memory!' Then the incomparably gorgeous Natalie arrived and I didn't care about anything else. But it got me thinking later about fantastic parts in musicals for older women. Grizabella, of course, and Spider Woman/Aurora, which I think was written for the then-60-year-old Chita Rivera - oh, and that makes me think of Anna, also written for her. Some great ones out there. I have a soft spot for Evita because it was one of the first (of very many) musicals I saw on student standby - but come on Elaine, there so many wonderful songs that suit who you are and how you sing now.
I surprised myself by shedding a small tear when Rob RInder thanked Oxana last night. He was either very genuine or an extremely proficient actor (or both, I suppose) - and Oxana looked pretty overcome. I hope she's back next year. I watched Ore's dance long enough to feel very sorry for those poor dancers having to be flowers/sweets or whatever they were - they looked absolutely ridiculous and must have been mortified. I think they should get together with the instrumentalists from Andre Rieu's toilet roll orchestra (thanks, Monkseal!) and form a union against demeaning costumes.