David Pearce – Popular Culture and Personal Passions

As soon as I heard that Evita was being revived at the London Palladium I was determined to get tickets because I had been saying a couple of days beforehand that it was on my list of must see musicals. Watching the casting announcements prior to the show made me even more excited by the prospect.

In a sense, the story of Eva Peron is utterly familiar. The first lady of Argentina who became a charismatic presence on the biggest of stages in her home country. That turns out to barely scratch the surface. She was an illegitimate girl born in poverty who became a famous actress on Argentine radio and married Juan Peron in 1945, a year before he won the election to become President. Eva was installed as First Lady but was deeply unpopular with the elite at the top of Argentine society. She set up a foundation and began transforming the lives of the poor in Argentina. Despite, or almost certainly because of, this she became a target of people trying to bring her down. She died within 6 years of Juan Peron becoming President at the age of 33. (Not a spoiler as her funeral is the subject of the very first song!) Do you need to know all that? Not necessarily. Does it help? Definitely in the first half, that’s for sure! Does it affect your enjoyment? Not in any way! Well, let’s get on with the review then!

The Songs

We start with the Requiem but the first instantly familiar song follows it straight away. Oh What a Circus is best remembered by those of us who were around for the original as being one of David Essex‘s many hits. It is a song dripping with irony and sarcasm and it sets the tone for the show. Next, in terms of my personal highlights, was I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You. First of all, I forgot that this was a song from the show, and secondly I remembered it as a straightforward love song, recorded by Linda Lewis. It is, in the show, layered with meaning as both Eva and Juan indicate their ulterior motives. The highlight of the first act is one of my favourite songs ever, which was sung by Barbara Dickson on the cast album from 1977. The performance by Bella Brown absolutely matched it, and I don’t say that lightly. This part of the story reflects Juan Peron’s ruthlessness in casting aside his current lover as soon as Eva Duarte came on the scene. It was sung with real emotion and the way that she returns to the women who used to ply the same trade as she did was both shocking and genuinely moving.

The second act contains one of the most Goosebumps inducing moments I have ever seen on stage. A massive screen is set up on the stage to show the signature song of the show, Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina. The close ups are cinematic in scale with Rachel Zegler’s face sometimes filling the entire screen. The camera shows Eva Peron in her finery and precedes her walking along the corridor to the balcony. When she gets there, the camera looks over her shoulder at the massive crowd underneath waiting to hear her sing. Let me tell you that from the theatre I heard not one complaint about the scene taking place outside the auditorium. It is an audacious move that works for everyone inside and outside the theatre, while making a point about the way in which Evita often bypassed the rich of Argentina and spoke directly to the rest of the population. Pure genius in every respect and a moment I will return to later.

The other standout songs were High Flying, Adored which was beautifully sung and, in its restrained nature, which made an interesting contrast to Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina. Santa Evita is a really good song and the performance is a highlight because of the excellent acting and outstanding singing of ‘The Child’.

The Cast

Rachel Zegler was simply outstanding in the main role. She brought the journey of Evita from her early struggles as Eva Duarte, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, to her rise to the highest echelons of society as Eva Peron, wife of Juan, the Argentinian President. Her presence on stage was such that there were times I never really noticed the rest of the excellent company. Like the lead singer of a band there was that connection with the audience that demands we look at her, but on stage she was every bit a part of the larger company and she gave everyone the opportunity to shine. However, star quality is star quality and she has it in abundance. There are few performers who take the audience attention to that extent and it’s amazing to think that she is still so young. Who knows what heights she will reach in the years to come, and how many of those heights we may be lucky enough to see on the West End stage? She played the whole range of emotions from agony to ecstasy through her presence. The singing was incredible throughout and she delivered Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina with a quality that absolutely outstripped any other version I have ever heard. However, it was the mastery of the camera that showed her subtlety. As she was livestreamed walking towards the balcony she fixed the camera with a gaze f such intensity and power that it took the breath away. She was powerful and in total control of the crowd on the balcony, but it was only the audience in the theatre that saw the high point of her interpretation. At the end of the line ‘Have I said too much’ her predecessors have delivered that line in a pleading manner. Zegler realised that this was not the way a powerful and charismatic woman would behave. She delivered it with a lok at the camera which said, ‘Of course I have, and I fully intended to’. It was so right that it just lifted the performance from iconic to legendary. We also saw her in the dressing room, a brilliant piece of staging by the way, looking drained and more like Eva Duarte. Once again, Rachel Zegler got it spot on. Finally, the fear and despair that she felt when she realised that her life was going to come to a dreadfully early end just tore the audience apart with its visceral nature. She deserved every second of the long and loud standing ovation that she received, and when awards season comes along she should clean up, because nothing else can possibly match what we are seeing in Evita.

Diego Andres Rodriguez played Che with such panache and confidence that it is almost impossible to believe that this is just his second stage appearance. At the start, he is the sardonic, detached observer of the life of Eva Duarte, and it is difficult to place him in the story because he is outside of the story. Perhaps he is Che Guevara, although from what I have read, that is very unlikely, historically speaking. Perhaps he is the personification of the Argentinian people. Perhaps he is Eva’s conscience. Perhaps he is all this and more. Whatever the case, and I think it probably differs from actor to actor, he fulfils the role of narrator, confidante and audience to Eva’s rise with huge flair. His singing is outstanding, especially on the audience favourite Oh What a Circus and his acting makes him completely believable throughout whether he is making jokes, showing anger or portraying fear. He is one of the most charismatic actors I have seen on stage, and his final scenes are some of the most powerful in the play.

James Olivas played Juan Peron with a poise and confidence that made the relationship with Eva and his rise to power completely understandable. Although his role shows him as a man with his eye on the main chance, and leaves us in no doubt that he will sacrifice anyone to achieve power, he shows his softer side with Rachel Zegler’s Eva and they make a great team both vocally and as dance partners. Olivas’ easy grace is a testament to his talent, and he makes what could be a rather two dimensional role vibrant and vital.

I have already talked about Bella Brown’s incredible performance of Another Suitcase in Another Hall. What is perhaps most amazing about it is that the audience has just met her, but with Brown in the role we completely buy in to the relationship straight away. She is devastated by being ordered out of the home she shared with Juan Peron and we can sympathise even though we don’t know her. The week after I saw her she was playing Eva Peron and I can only imagine how good she was in the main role.

Aaron Lee Lambert played Augustin Magaldi who was Eva’s first lover. He was a nightclub singer who saw in her a thirst and determination to make a better life for herself. In the story he is portrayed as a sort of comic relief but Lambert also brings a nuanced reading to what could be a one note performance, meaning that when Eva ditches him so callously we feel sorry for him.

Final Thoughts

This is one of the most incredible shows I have ever seen as my review indicates, and the fact that it is only a 12 week run makes me incredibly fortunate to have got tickets. I am sure there will be a cast album, which I will definitely get, but what would be even better would be a filmed version of this stage show. Fingers crossed for that, because I would love to relive this incredible spectacle once again.