High Flying Adored? The Return of Evita

By Obed Medina

Early into the show, a young Evita Peron asks the question, “What’s new, Buenos Aires?” By the time she does ask this question, I am beginning to wonder if there is, indeed, anything new in this new re-production of Harold Prince’s Evita playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.

Twenty-seven years after it first premiered at The Prince Edward Theatre on June 21st 1978, this musical (or at least this production) has lost the luster it held for audiences with its innovative use of crowd effects to mimic masses on stage and the unique staging devices that moved the story along. Perhaps because we are now so used to the high tech gimmicks employed to lure an audience to a show, we have come to expect it—even of revival shows such as this one. But this is an exception. A show with such a richly diverse score can easily translate even to a no-budget high school production and still produce likeable effects.

However, this new touring company boasts original choreography and direction reproduced by Larry Fuller with the entire production supervised by Harold Prince himself. Credits such as those would surely hint at a glimpse of what the audiences experienced when they first saw this show in the late 70’s and early 80s.

At the night of this review, the audience was palpably restrained as Kathy Voytko (Eva Peron) struggled to hit some of the notes. In fact, the audience remained so through the end of Act I. It seemed a long night lay ahead even as Bradley Dean (Che) gave a somewhat lackluster interpretation of what should be the first big number, “Oh, What a Circus.” Sadly, his efforts fell short and the results came off as rehearsed and, tragically, uninspired. And that is unfortunate, because it set the tone for the rest of the first half. Notable exceptions: “The Art of the Possible” succinctly and effectively pantomimed the rise of Peron in a political musical chairs number that produced a few muffled laughs from the audience. Also noteworthy was Kate Manning’s (Mistress) sweet and pathos-inducing “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.”

Act II came as a relief. Somewhere between the curtain in Act I and the Entr’Acte, the actors found their voices. The much anticipated show stopper “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” was flawless. This time around, the stillness from the audience was not a reaction to the actors but a reaction to Evita. From then on, the remaining numbers rolled off nicely. Had this happened from the onset, I think the show would have been a much more tightly executed experience with none of the technical drawbacks to detract from Rice’s lyrics and Webber’s music.

Or maybe this “rock opera” is one that spoke only to the time in which it was released. It hadn’t been long when this musical first opened that Peron returned to Argentina as president once again. It wasn’t until then that Evita Peron’s body was returned to her homeland in 1974. Like the aspirations of one day becoming the “Santa Evita” of her nation, today, it is only the music and the lyrics that seem to evoke the urgency and poignancy of Evita's cause.

Or maybe all it really needs is a bit of an innovative interpretation that can connect with the audiences of today.