Evita

Evita
Lyrics by Tim Rice. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Opera Australia and John Frost in association with David Ian Productions. Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, from September 18 to November 5, 2018, then Arts Centre Melbourne from December 5

Just as Eva Peron was a deeply polarising political figure, so too is the latest production based on her life. On one hand some members of the audience rose to their feet at the end of the musical to salute the brilliant individual performances and spectacle. On the other hand, I spoke to a couple as they were walking out at interval, frustrated at the lack of pace in the first act.

Eva Peron has been described as the most loved and loathed woman in Argentinian history – Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber attract similar sentiments. The musical’s challenges are that it opens with a coffin entering the stage and ends with the star in a hospital bed dying from cancer. In between there is a swirl of political unrest and upheaval in the immediate aftermath of World War Two.

It requires some pre-reading to understand exactly what is going on. Rice and Lloyd Webber can make their audience do some homework. Jesus Christ Superstar also has major gaps in the narrative – but audiences are more familiar with that story-line.

The backdrop to this production is a giant screen showing the newsreel footage of the time. Much of it is fascinating, some of it repetitious. It was most spectacular when we saw the actual adoring crowds greeting Evita as she spoke from the balcony of the pink palace, neatly dovetailing with the stage balcony spinning around to see the President and the First Lady from behind, and leaving the chorus facing the audience.

Other visual treats abounded. The goose-stepping soldiers and tango dancers provided welcome relief from the political intrigue.

None of the stars disappointed. Kurt Kansley was charismatic as the narrator – Che, based on the legendary South American revolutionary. Baritone Paulo Szot was a commanding and utterly convincing Perón, bringing together movie star looks and a wonderful voice. 

Tina Arena brought the house down with her rendition of ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’. Our Princess of pop had the perfect combination of talent and star power to play this role.

The musical might feel a little old hat – but you can’t deny the brilliance of the source material. Tim Rice heard a documentary about Eva Perón on the radio and immediately thought he was onto something. His hunch that a musical about a shooting star who died in her prime would be musical theatre alchemy was spot on.

David Spicer

Restaging Hal Prince’s landmark production of Evita comes with its share of contrasting delights and disappointments, as David mentions.

Strong principal performances, dominated by Tina Arena’s Eva Peron, dazzling, as David says in ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, yet equally powerful in decline, as she battles her failing health. In addition to Kurt Kansley’s Che and Paulo Szot’s Perón, mentioned above, Michael Falzon’s preening, primping Magaldi and Alexis Van Maanen’s touching ‘Another Suitcase In Another Hall’ cameo as Peron’s Mistress, deliver strong support.

While David’s intermission escapees mentioned the lack of pace in Act 1, my disappointment was, rather, that the Wow Factor which the ensemble brought to the original Broadway, West End and Australian productions is missing. The once dazzling precision (and underlying satire), which could out-Pyongyang a North Korean military pageant (albeit on a smaller scale), lacks the quintessential drill and attitude of those earlier incarnations, which simply took your breath away.

Neil Litchfield 

Photographer: Jeff Busby

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