Review – Evita 2006

“An Evita well worth seeing”

Published: May 4-10, 2006

In the world of musical theatre, few shows are as challenging as Evita. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s first post-Jesus Christ Superstar collaboration, Evita is a contemporary opera (with rock flourishes) that chronicles the life and death of Eva Duarte, who, as the wife of Argentinean dictator Juan Peron, was elevated from small town girl to “spiritual leader of the nation” before dying of uterine cancer at 33. difficult to sing, play and even to watch – manipulative sexpots and fascist dictatorships aren’t exactly the usual stuff of song and dance – Evita has still managed to win audiences since it was first mounted in 1978, even surviving Madonna’s rather lame 1996 movie version. First tackled by the Victoria Operatic Society back in 1995, the sophomore effort largely succeeds thanks to a powerhouse performance by Tara Britt in the lead.

Rice and Weber themselves described Evita as an opera, which goes a long way to explaining the complete lack of dialogue. But, much like Superstar and Rent, part of the reason Evita works so well is that cast and audience alike have to buy into the operatic conventions for it to work – bear that in mind if you’re checking out this production and you won’t be as frustrated as some of the opening night crowd, who were rather unsure when to clap. Director Chris Moss also seems to be embracing the more operatic aspects of the production, especially in his staging, which (choreographed musical numbers aside) tends to be more of the “stand and sing” variety; indeed, while he creates nice pictures with his cast, I generally prefer a bit more movement in my musicals.

That said, however, the performances are quite strong. Britt definitely has both the pipes and range to bring the title role to life with style and flair; her cruise ship experience is evident here and, even if she seems ready and willing to do more with the part, she’s clearly enjoying what she describes as her “dream role.” Slightly less confident, but equally enjoyable is Chris Newstead as the politically troubled narrator Che; while his voice was strong and clear, he often seemed a bit unsure as to what to do with himself on stage…but, perhaps that was just opening night jitters. In the smaller part department, Newstead’s “Four Neat Guys” compadre Dwayne Gordon is excellent in both voice and presence as Augustin Magaldi, and Michelle Boone turns in a memorable performance of her only solo, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” – which, for my money, is a better song than the iconic “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.” Gary Moss does well enough as Juan Peron, but lacked either the age or gravitas to be believable as the older dictator. (Too bad Gordon and Moss hadn’t switched roles, as Gordon would have made a better Peron.) Also quite good are both femaie choruses.

I’m pleased to report two long-standing problems I’ve had with VOS have both been fixed: the sound is crisp and defined (as long as you’re not to close to the stage), allowing Rice’s biting lyrics to shine through, and designer Rick Thomas’ sometimes problematic sets have been replaced with a clever, clean and well-used central arch that makes good use of the theatre’s height. Lighting designer Adam Wilkinson once again proves how well he knows the Mac, making excellent use of light and fog to create mood, colour and movement; less impressive was his use of historical projections, most of which were totally lost. (Better to have done more with the drops and banners that made the Act One closer “A New Argentina” such a memorable number.) And kudos to music director Robert Cooper and his 22-person orchestra for their generally strong work with what is once again challenging material.

All in all, this is an Evita well worth seeing – especially if you’ve only seen the significantly altered (and terrible niced-up so they could shoot in Argentina) movie version. As a talent to watch, Britt alone is worth the price of admission, but anyone who enjoys serious musicals will find a lot to like here.