Humax TV Tonight: Show Tunes at the BBC brings Musicals to BBC Two

Show Tunes at the BBC is on BBC Two tonight at 9.20pm

Hot on the heels of Big Night of Musicals by the National Lottery on BBC One this Saturday evening, BBC Two continue the theme at 9.20pm with this collection of hits features several of Elaine Paige’s personal favourites from the BBC’s song and dance archives. Amongst them are some of the world’s best-loved musicals, from Cats and The Lion King to Funny Girl and My Fair Lady, and from Sunset Boulevard and West Side Story to A Little Night Music and The Sound of Music. Together, they promise an irresistible mix for lovers of show tunes, highlighting some of the amazing performances that have lit up stage and screen over the past few decades.

The evening of showtunes continues at 10.20pm with a special programme, Andrew Lloyd Webber at the BBC.

To mark his 75th birthday, Andrew Lloyd Webber takes a nostalgic journey through the BBC archives, looking back on some of his biggest and best-loved songs.

Alongside performances from stars like Barbra Streisand, Elaine Paige, Diana Ross, Michael Ball and Michael Crawford are stories that Andrew shares from behind the scenes of his most popular works – shedding light on how he knew Madonna would perform Evita years before she did, how the cast of Starlight Express ended up on roller skates, and how Jason Donovan and his Technicolour Dream Coat had a whole new generation falling in love with musical theatre.

Elaine Paige on BBC Two this Saturday

It doesn’t end there though because at 12.20am there’s Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here. Award-winning actress, singer, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige has made a unique and major contribution to the development and production of the stage musical.

She has starred in more smash hit West End and Broadway musicals than anyone else of her generation: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy, Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. She has defined these musicals, set standards, and in 1995 was awarded an OBE for services to musical theatre.

Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here is a special concert that was filmed at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, and features ‘The First Lady of British Musical Theatre’, with the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

Full of great musical moments, Elaine performs musical numbers from some of the highlights of her extraordinary career, which saw her originating the roles of Eva Perón in Evita, Grizabella in Cats and Florence in Chess. The songs featured include Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, As If We Never said Goodbye, I Know Him So Well, Memory, a specially written version of I’m Still Here by Stephen Sondheim, plus many more musical theatre favourites and a few surprises.

Elaine Paige at the BBC

The musicals programme ends at 1.20am with Elaine Paige at the BBC. Elaine Paige OBE is Britain’s biggest and most enduring star of musical theatre, enjoying success for over four decades in the West End, on Broadway, and on TV, radio and the pop charts. This selection of some of her best-loved songs and finest performances at the BBC features huge hits like Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, Memory and I Know Him So Well. There are also rarely seen archive gems from the earliest days of Elaine’s career, as well as her own unique interpretations of musical masterpieces from shows like Chess and Anything Goes, which all underline why she has stayed at the very top for as long as she has.

Stream it on iPlayer.