Tim Rice & ALW's EVITA

SenorSwanky wrote: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.

I met Bradley Dean when he was playing Che in the Hal Prince tour. He was amazing. He was also my first signature on a program/brochure.

Ah, he played Che, not Peron. I'm sure he'll be understudying that then.

Good to see George Lee Andrews has found decent employment again! Does anyone know if he had any involvement in any of Hal's productions? What with him having a history with Hal and everything... Would be interesting if he did and then to know what he thinks of Grandage's production.

I am surprised that not all of the creative team from the 2006 production are doing this. The lighting by Paule Constable at the Adelphi was excellent... I guess generally though this won't look much different with the same director and set designer though.

I just want to know what days they decide the alternate will do before I book! Unless I just book for a day when Elena's more likely to be on, like a Friday.

According to the Italian Wikipedia, he was a replacement for Peron in the original production. Seems like I remember reading that, but my memory might have been deceiving me. That's awesome. I'd forgotten that connection.

Evita on Broadway here I come! Got tix booked for 28 April. Anyone else fancy coming? I'm sitting in the front mezz.

Thanks to Scorp, seeing it as well. So, a group viewing would be lovely!

Wish I could. If I take a vacation this year, it'll probably be to either Chicago or Florida.

I'm mighty jealous of you guys! As so often, I live on the wrong side of the pond, so I cannot join. But I hope you'll come back with a report on how it was.

Scorp, are you seeing any other musicals when you're there? And how long is your stay in NYC?

operafantomet wrote:I'm mighty jealous of you guys! As so often, I live on the wrong side of the pond, so I cannot join. But I hope you'll come back with a report on how it was.

Scorp, are you seeing any other musicals when you're there? And how long is your stay in NYC?

I'm surprised Scorp is not staying an extra week, but he's leaving the same day as me. (We're staying April 28th - May 5th.) We plan on seeing Rebecca and Jesus Christ Superstar, and probably Evita again, Book of Mormon and Phantom. So a week should give us time to do all that we can in terms of musicals.

Scorp is trying to get me to see EVITA twice.

ML6 wrote:

Scorp is trying to get me to see EVITA twice.

And he won.

Elaine Paige, meanwhile, has finally got to play Evita on Broadway...sort of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YlDG4apU1-Q#! (skip to 5:05).

Scorp wrote:

ML6 wrote:

Scorp is trying to get me to see EVITA twice.

And he won.

Elaine Paige, meanwhile, has finally got to play Evita on Broadway...sort of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YlDG4apU1-Q#! (skip to 5:05).

I wish I could see Evita there...!

Great clip with Elaine Paige, I like the funny things about shows!

Scorp wrote:

ML6 wrote:

Scorp is trying to get me to see EVITA twice.

And he won.

Elaine Paige, meanwhile, has finally got to play Evita on Broadway...sort of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YlDG4apU1-Q#! (skip to 5:05).

Yeah, you did win. :p

Anyway. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO REVEAL WHO THE MISTRESS IS?

ML6 wrote:Anyway. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO REVEAL WHO THE MISTRESS IS?

Reading that out of context is rather amusing.

operafantomet wrote:

ML6 wrote:Anyway. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO REVEAL WHO THE MISTRESS IS?

Reading that out of context is rather amusing.

Tee-hee.

ML6 wrote:

Anyway. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO REVEAL WHO THE MISTRESS IS?

They already have done. It's someone called Rachel Potter. Anyone know anything about her?

Scorp wrote:

ML6 wrote:

Anyway. WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO REVEAL WHO THE MISTRESS IS?

They already have done. It's someone called Rachel Potter. Anyone know anything about her?

She didn't do much except fill in for replacements in Wicked and Addams Family. This will be her first show she originates a role. (She is also a country singer, or a 'breaking out' country singer...)

Apparently the first and second preview of Broadway's new Evita was cancelled due to "flood on stage", Oh my.

Are there water effects? Or did Elena Roger break down and do what she told Argentina not to?

SenorSwanky wrote:Are there water effects? Or did Elena Roger break down and do what she told Argentina not to?

From what I heard, it was a part of the fire safety system...some sort of tank above the stage that literally deluges everything with water in the even of a fire on the stage. Apparently, there was very expensive damage as a result.

Just discovered a high school classmate is in the Broadway production's ensemble and understudying Eva! She had been an Elphaba u/s in one of the Wicked tours, the one that was about to open here, so I was going to message her on FB and see if I could meet up with her. But I guess I'll have to get to NY to do that. Must be awesome to make your Broadway debut in a cast with the three leads, Brad Little, George Lee Andrews, Bradley Dean, Timothy Shew, et al, and get to understudy the lead role.

SenorSwanky wrote:Just discovered a high school classmate is in the Broadway production's ensemble and understudying Eva! She had been an Elphaba u/s in one of the Wicked tours, the one that was about to open here, so I was going to message her on FB and see if I could meet up with her. But I guess I'll have to get to NY to do that. Must be awesome to make your Broadway debut in a cast with the three leads, Brad Little, George Lee Andrews, Bradley Dean, Timothy Shew, et al, and get to understudy the lead role.

Indeed! Small world. One of my friends found out that one of his old classmates is Mary Magdalene in the JCS revival.

Seeing this on Saturday. CANNOT WAIT. I'm rather disappointed the US critics have been comparatively hostile to Elena Roger, given the unanimous raves she and the production got in London. Apparently you're not allowed to play Eva Perón in the style of anyone other than Patti LuPone on Broadway.

BTW, there's a movement going on Facebook/Twitter to ensure the cast recording is a full one this time (we were robbed in London of a complete recording, which I thought was stupid given that Lloyd Webber had reorchestrated the whole score) -- click here.

Have they been hostile? What about for Ricky Martin and the rest of the cast? Haven't paid attention to reviews. Wish I could go see it. Pay attention to Laurel Harris; she's a rising star.

I definitely liked that FB page. My favorite recording is still the movie soundtrack because of its relative completeness and the orchestrations; plus, I think Banderas was a fine Che. The original concept recording is my second favorite; that's what introduced me to the show, and I like its 70s rock sound, and Julie Covington and Colm. I love Elaine Paige, but I'm not a big fan of the OLC. Not a big LuPone fan.

SenorSwanky wrote:Have they been hostile? What about for Ricky Martin and the rest of the cast? Haven't paid attention to reviews. Wish I could go see it. Pay attention to Laurel Harris; she's a rising star.

I definitely liked that FB page. My favorite recording is still the movie soundtrack because of its relative completeness and the orchestrations; plus, I think Banderas was a fine Che. The original concept recording is my second favorite; that's what introduced me to the show, and I like its 70s rock sound, and Julie Covington and Colm. I love Elaine Paige, but I'm not a big fan of the OLC. Not a big LuPone fan.

Well, I'm delighted to say the cast recording IS going to be complete this time (apparently, according to the producer's statement, partly as a market-savvy reaction to the movement on Facebook and Twitter to make it complete), which has made my month! It comes out on 26 June. Recording began and finished last week.

Yes, the US critics have received the revival completely differently to the out-and-out raves the production (and, notably, Elena) got in London. While I completely disagree with them, it seems a lot of Americans (not so much the many Latinos) in the average audience at the Marquis Theatre have similar thoughts. Hal Prince's original production appears to be held in higher esteem on Broadway than it is in London, even though it ran twice as long in the West End (part of me suspects there is still an element of nationalism in the reviews -- this time the director is British, not American). The main complaints all centre, curiously enough, around Elena Roger, and not Ricky Martin, who is a competent singer (he forgot lines once or twice, though, and does not even attempt some of the dizzying vocal heights that Matt Rawle reached), good dancer but poor actor (he delivers his speeches with no real understanding of what they're about; either that or he's been directed to deliver a completely whitewashed Che). Whereas Elena was nominated for the Olivier Award in London for her electrifying performance (and she only missed out on it narrowly because the competition that year was incredibly strong; she won it for Piaf, though), she has been completely snubbed by the Tony Awards committee. The major complaint concerns Roger's singing. My opinion? I think everyone on Broadway is expecting and wanting Patti LuPone, and they want a Patti-soundalike. Everyone keeps saying they want 'A New Argentina' to be belted as LuPone did it (never mind that it almost destroyed her voice to do that, and that Elaine Paige didn't belt out those top Es), and that Roger just "can't sing".

Now I love Roger's voice (I love Patti's too), and I readily admit that she is scratchy in her upper register, but the occasional shrillness is what I find thrilling about her performance -- Eva Perón was exactly the same, and that's what makes her believable. For me, it's Roger's sheer charisma and energy that make her so great (not to mention that she can dance, and I mean REALLY dance, like no other Evita can...and Patti couldn't really, indeed the dancing was toned down for her when the show premiered on Broadway, as she couldn't do the moves Elaine Paige did). Roger's voice is raw, not remotely like anything heard on Broadway and very different. That's what they were going for when they were casting the role (ALW kept saying how they found her after hearing a lot of people doing what felt like impressions of Paige or LuPone or Madonna), but it appears US audiences really do want to hear Patti all over again. It seems the LuPone-Evita connection on Broadway is extremely strong and etched firmly in everyone's memories, in a way that quite never happened with Julie Covington or Elaine Paige here, so my personal belief is that Broadway audiences are more resistant to a completely new interpretation. I will admit that Elena seemed to have more energy in London, but it's still an amazing performance IMHO, and plus she's six years older now. Perhaps the reaction would have been more approving/welcoming if the transfer had been quicker, rather than taking 6 years to materialise. It seems a shame the audiences don't find Roger at least more than makes up for any vocal deficiencies (even though I could listen to her sing all day) in her acting and dancing. Roger also doesn't play Eva as a diva-bitch and opts for a far more sympathetic and softer approach. This works well for the Latino contingent of the audience, some of whom I suspect would have been horrified if they saw how Eva Perón was played in the 70s, but it doesn't appear to satisfy the traditional Broadway audience, who I think desire the diva-bitch-chewing-the-scenery element. I still find Roger larger than life on stage, despite her diminutive stature, just like Elaine Paige.

I continue to find the production beautiful and in many respects improved over the London staging. It's mostly the same, but some scenes have been restaged. The completely reworked beginning I don't find as effective as the London version, but I do enjoy the new flags in 'Rainbow Tour' (although this caused a major blooper in one performance I saw) and love the even more Argentinian-style orchestrations, where the bandoneón is more prominent now. Cerveris is excellent as usual and Rachel Potter is every bit as good as the Mistress as her London counterpart. On the basis of the reviews, though, I don't think this production would last very long were it not for the amount of advertising (significantly better than the lame job in London) and the fact Ricky Martin is in it. Fortunately, the latter two have counteracted the effect of the reviews, and this is selling out at the moment. I can't imagine it doing that well after Ricky leaves, though, more's the pity.

Thanks for your thoughts. Glad to hear we'll get a full recording. When is Ricky leaving? I also didn't realize Tony noms were out.

I'll be seeing the show in early July! Very excited to see Elena and Ricky, as well as a local from my area Michael Cerveris!
Also excited to hear about a complete cast recording with Elena! An dyes US critics havent been overly fond of her...I honestly am not a LuPone fan..I think she has two volumes "on" and "off" and love Elena in the role, and also feel ( from what I have heard/seen) she is much more authentic all around as Eva.

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I honestly am not a LuPone fan..I think she has two volumes "on" and "off" and love Elena in the role, and also feel ( from what I have heard/seen) she is much more authentic all around as Eva.

THIS!!! Whereas I can see what ticks them off with Elena Roger's voice (I feel the same), I actually think this raw quality is very suited for the Evita role. If it's all a beautiful face, perfect clothes, soft voice and the attitude of Bambi (as Madonna in the movie) you loose sight of the ugly sides of this lady.

And as for Patti LuPone, the "on and off" comment is spot on. I acknowledge she's a great performer, however I never liked her much. After two songs you've heard all she has to offer.

How long is Ricky Martin contracted for, by the way?

Both Elena and Ricky are contracted for a year.

I love Patti's Eva, just as much as I love Elaine's, Julie's and Elena's. I think there's room for all of them.

STUD, I think Ricky's on holiday in the first week of July. When are you seeing the show?

I'll be going I believe the evening of the 6th or 7th (have to double check the tix); Id be bummed if Ricky is out, but Im mainly going for Elena

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I'll be going I believe the evening of the 6th or 7th (have to double check the tix); Id be bummed if Ricky is out, but Im mainly going for Elena

Ricky's holiday dates are 1st to 7th July, so I have a feeling you won't catch him. I'll be very interested to hear what you make of the understudy Che! I wonder if it's Max von Essen (Magaldi). I'll have to check.

I imagine Bradley Dean is one of the Che understudies since he performed the role on tour.