Tim Rice & ALW's EVITA

ladygodiva wrote:I was looking at my vhs collection and I saw an interesting BBC the Southbank show with Eliane Paige, it has a rather large portion devoted to Evita,

Elaine went to Argentina and met with some people who revered the actual Eva Peron. and Elaine visited Eva at the graveyard, interesting.

I love that documentary. The sections on Sunset Blvd and Piaf are equally interesting. You can see it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HxwPENSSCI I just wish that the footage from Evita was actually of Elaine in the production itself rather than television appearances.

There are not many performances of the orignal cast of Evita on legit video, I do have a London award show with the whole High Flying Adored,

it is a shame that not many performances are on video

I also wished that they would have shown something substancial of Eliane paige when she was in Cats alas no.

I do also have on video the Tony award performance of Evita they performed A New Argentina, with Patti Lupone, Mandy Pantinkin, Bob Gunton, and this was back in the day when the performers lipsynced a track, thankfully they have not done that for ages

ladygodiva wrote:There are not many performances of the orignal cast of Evita on legit video, I do have a London award show with the whole High Flying Adored,

it is a shame that not many performances are on video

There is also this, which is a selection of clips from Hal Prince's staging of the 'Perón's Latest Flame/Dangerous Jade' number, which is masterly with the close-knit aristocracy who literally do not allow anyone into their ranks and the soldiers moving like wind-up toy soldiers. This is not the OLC; it's one of the final casts -- the Eva is Kathryn Evans, who was the last Eva in the original London production (the very same who was Norma Desmond in the London revival of Sunset), and Che is played here by none other than Peter Karrie.

As much as I enjoyed it, Michael Grandage's revival failed completely to stage this song in an interesting way (all that happened is that Eva and Juan are enjoying a drink in some nondescript high society establishment, while the aristocracy and the soldiers surround them and synchronise their handclaps and stamping respectively to the drum beats that punctuate the song). I do hope that when Grandage's revival goes to Broadway, they will work on this scene. I've noticed that Americans seem very attached to Hal Prince's original, which has achieved such an iconic status (at least it seems that way; I know the Brits are fond of it too) and I don't think a lazy staging would go down well at all.

That said, I am still very excited for the Broadway revival and found this...!

Is that really Karrie? My God, he is young there. Looks more like Colm Wilkinson, but it sounds like an American. Definitely not the PK sound we'd know a decade later in Les Mis and Phantom.

SenorSwanky wrote:Is that really Karrie? My God, he is young there. Looks more like Colm Wilkinson, but it sounds like an American. Definitely not the PK sound we'd know a decade later in Les Mis and Phantom.

Yep, it is Karrie. He was cast as London's final Che (and joined Kathryn Evans on the first UK tour directed by Hal Prince) after doing a stint in the original London production of Superstar as Judas. Though I thought he sounded quite British in that clip, especially the not-so-great way he pronounces 'Duarte'.

Scorp wrote:Yep, it is Karrie. He was cast as London's final Che (and joined Kathryn Evans on the first UK tour directed by Hal Prince) after doing a stint in the original London production of Superstar as Judas. Though I thought he sounded quite English in that clip, especially the not-so-great way he pronounces 'Duarte'.

Like him or not, that's at least one thing Banderas nailed... "Eevaa Dhooarrrte"... M-m-m...

[quote="Scorp"]

ladygodiva wrote:
As much as I enjoyed it, Michael Grandage's revival failed completely to stage this song in an interesting way (all that happened is that Eva and Juan are enjoying a drink in some nondescript high society establishment, while the aristocracy and the soldiers surround them and synchronise their handclaps and stamping respectively to the drum beats that punctuate the song). I do hope that when Grandage's revival goes to Broadway, they will work on this scene. I've noticed that Americans seem very attached to Hal Prince's original, which has achieved such an iconic status (at least it seems that way; I know the Brits are fond of it too) and I don't think a lazy staging would go down well at all.

That said, I am still very excited for the Broadway revival and found this...!

I was very fortunate to see the last tour of the Hal Prince staging when it came to Michigan with Kathy Votoko, Bradley Dean and William Paul Michaels. I enjoyed it, I found it to be incredibly gritty. And I loved the staging mainly because you spend the whole musical sitting there, watching Eva being bitchy to others, and finally watching the aristocracy being a bitch to her is just ... oh it was good. We also had this usher who was completely enamoured by the show and talked to me and my two friends about Eva's personal life and the Hal Pricce staging. (I forgot how many times he saw the show, but he knew a lot.) I wish I remembered more, this was back in 04.

Though I like the new staging, sometimes I like the grittiness of the original too.

I saw Evita today in Glasgow. I've not fully collected my thoughts on it yet so I'm actually unsure whether I liked it or not. I wasn't overly fond of the majority of the first act but found the second act really connected with me a lot more.

I did go into it disappointed to see Earl Carpenter was off But, as always, I remained optimistic that the understudy (Jonathan Tweedie) would be just as good as I do, to be honest, love a good understudy! However, he really wasn't very good (vocally) and strained to hit the notes very often which was a shame. He was a good actor but didn't really showcase that until the very end really.

On the other hand, Che (Mark Powell) and Eva (Abigail Jaye) were both fantastic in their roles, and I absolutely adored Abigail's rendition of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina." I'll add more thoughts here once I've digested the whole show but something about it didn't quite sit with me. It may have been because for around the first 15 minutes I couldn't figure out what any one was singing so I sort of zoned out.

I saw it when it was in Edinburgh. I enjoyed it very much, but I see what you mean about the second act being better than the first. That's a shame you missed Earl. I thought he was an excellent Peron. He as excellent stage presence and I enjoyed his acting, and his voice suited the part perfectly. I got the alternate for Eva, Susie Griffin, who was excellent too, amazing voice and acting. I wasn't overly keen on the guy that played Che. I didn't buy a programme, but I assume it was Mark Powell. I don't know what it was about him. I liked his voice, but I felt there was something lacking in his performance that I can't quite put my finger on.

I've heard quite a few negative things about this tour and the fact it's a Kenwright production doesn't do anything to entice me either. I was told it's a bizarre mish-mash of the Hal Prince original with some steals from the Michael Grandage revival. I think the casting has been all wrong for this and I was dismayed to hear there are all of 7 instruments in the orchestra with a backing track used to cover most parts, and apparently a good deal of the show is mimed. I've avoided it so far and think I'll continue to do so.

I hope anyone who's never experienced Evita before doesn't judge the show on a production that appears to be second-rate.

Helen, this might sound mad, but if you had Mark Powell he has a really similar voice to David Shannon and he really reminded me of what a lot of people complained about David in Phantom for, seeming to really hold back in the first act and then starting to go a bit more "to town" in the second act. I'm still sad I missed Earl, his understudy was small, thin, no presence and had the squeakiest voice!

Scorp, I think you may be right on it being a mish-mash as now you've mentioned that I've actually realised there seemed to be moments (that I wasn't enjoying) that just didn't seem to flow or fit with one another. It was really very odd. When I realised it was a Kenwright production I did think that could be to blame. Unfortunately, while I was a bit more willing to not completely write it off from that one show today my mum has declared her absolute hatred for the musical. I did notice the very heavy use of backing track, I actually thought it was all a backing track to be honest, and I did pick out miming on one occasion (someone forgot their words and didn't even attempt to move their lips!)

I've heard from a lot of people that they absolutely adore Evita so I really think there must have been something off about this production though both Helen and a friend of mine seem to have really liked it. Ironically, it proclaims on the posters "I defy anyone to say they have seen a better production than this one."

starryeyed wrote: Ironically, it proclaims on the posters "I defy anyone to say they have seen a better production than this one."

I've seen that quote - it's hilarious and I think it's written by someone who's probably seen no other production! To say it surpasses the Hal Prince original or the widely acclaimed revival is just not a credible thing to say given the cheap budget and look of this tour.

On the basis of your and everyone else's comments I'm avoiding this tour like the plague.

Hope this doesn't make you write off Evita, though.

P.S. I dread the day Kenwright gets his hands on Phantom. Apparently at the event he hosted last week or the week before he made a joke about how he is known for cheap and tacky productions but made the point that at least that way he always makes a tidy profit. Sorry, couldn't give a s***, Bill, as an audience member and not a producer I want to see quality.

Oh no, this sounds quite horrible.

Evita is one of my all-time favourite musicals, ad I was lucky enough to catch the London revival some years ago. Absolutely loved it. Hearing they send it on tour with canned orchestra and a mish-mash of design, and even have the cast MIME parts of the vocal makes my heart bleed. How did Carpenter get involved in this?

starryeyed wrote:Helen, this might sound mad, but if you had Mark Powell he has a really similar voice to David Shannon and he really reminded me of what a lot of people complained about David in Phantom for, seeming to really hold back in the first act and then starting to go a bit more "to town" in the second act. I'm still sad I missed Earl, his understudy was small, thin, no presence and had the squeakiest voice!

He did sound quite similar to David Shannon, now that you mention it! I'm sure it was him, the only understudy mentioned on the signs in the foyer and before the show was for Eva. To be honest, the only reason I saw it was for Earl. I'd originally planned to see it yesterday in Glasgow, but I was unable to, so I went in Edinburgh.

Michael Cerveris has been cast as Perón, for those who don't know yet. Wonder how he'll compare to Quast. Assume he'll wear a wig?

Not a bad choice. I was just wondering the other day who they might cast. Also interesting that his Mrs. Lovett originated the role he'll be married to, but some 30 years ago.

From Ricky Martin's Facebook page:

Today? Hard-core training 4 @evitabroadway! CHE, I love being challenged!

https://www.facebook.com/RickyMartinOfficialPage?sk=wall

Scorp wrote:
Alas, the removal of all the politics was the trade-off for getting to film in Buenos Aires and using the real Casa Rosada for the balcony scene (which they wouldn't have got if Madonna hadn't insisted on speaking to the Argentine president in person). Note that the stage version is still banned in Argentina.

Elena Roger commented on that. She went to see the musical "Eva", back in 2009 (when she was doing Piaf in Buenos Aires), and because of how the crowd behaved, it suddenly hit her that there was no chance in a zillion years of a National Production. Anyway, in that scene, Eva (in her usual loud yet charismatic tone) said something defying the oligarchy, and the whole audience started to cheer, as if it were a true speech (kudos to the actress, Nacha Guevara). And considering that Evita is far from being historically accurate (having no reason for it, which is perfect for me) and making emphasis on Eva's demons...well, I can't even picture how the audience would react.

Anyway...hope to catch Elena in New York!

Oh, Scorp, if you want to keep stalking her, I've been told that she goes quite often to El Progreso Bar in Barracas. I can give you the address

I wonder who they are going to choose as Migaldi and the the Mistress? Both have some interesting bits, too.

I can't wait: Scorp, you better introduce me to Elena!

Det Norske Teatret in Oslo is announcing their 2012 repertoire today.

Evita in autumn 2012. With Heidi Gjermundsen Brock as Evita. That is gonna be soooooo epic.
Like, Elena Rogers epic.
Wow.

There's a production in my city right now with Lauren Kennedy as Eva and Ray Walker as Che. I hope I can get some cheap seats while it's here.

First publicity photo for Broadway! SO EXCITED! I hope they're planning to give Mr Cerveris a wig though...Perón wasn't bald!

Awesome! I love the spray-painted aesthetic. The Marquis is where The Woman in White was, right? Hopefully this stays open longer than that.

I just have to have my first and only immature moment on this board:

OMG Ricky Martin OMG!

Sorry, carry on... when are you seeing the show Scorp?

Don't know if it has already been posted, but here it goes!

Behind the scenes at the Photo Shoot:

Just got back from the North Carolina Theatre production. Quite good. Lauren Kennedy was an excellent Eva, from ambitious, sultry young teenager to domineering first lady to weak dying star. Jonathan Hammond was also very good as Peron. Ray Walker was just alright as Che. The girl who played the mistress turned out to be a sophomore in high school, and I imagine she's going places. Crystal-clear voice. Kind of tepid audience, but she clearly impressed them with her Another Suitcase more than a lot of the other numbers.

For those that don't know, Kennedy is a Raleigh native who, shortly after performing this role for NCT in 1993, became the original Betty Schaefer in Sunset at age 20, where she met her husband, the original Joe Gillis, Alan Campbell. She was also Fantine in one of the final casts of Les Mis (original run) and a replacement Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, among other things. Very talented. Her voice reminded me of a cross between Elaine Paige and Julie Covington, which is obviously perfect for this role.

starryeyed wrote:I just have to have my first and only immature moment on this board:

OMG Ricky Martin OMG!

Sorry, carry on... when are you seeing the show Scorp?

Scorp and I are seeing the show sometime in the summer! All are welcome to party with us. We're probably seeing it twice.

I think the cast looks amazing.

Brad Little and George Lee Andrews have been cast in the ensemble.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Full-Cast-and-Creative-Team-Announced-for-EVITA-on-Broadway-20111208

Sweet! Hope Brad understudies Peron. I bet Bradley Dean will as well. Seems like he was Peron in one of the tours.

I also recognize the names Kristie Dale Sanders and Tim Shew.