Evita at the Adelphi Theatre, London

7 months ago 29th Sep 15:51

‘Oh What A Show!’

-This review would be suitable for a ‘quality’ broadsheet newspaper

Andrew Lloyd Webber seems to be having a ‘comeback’. He has succumbed to the money making machine that is reality television and produced the successful ‘How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?’ which allowed the public to find their very own Maria for the new production of The Sound of Music. This of course drew in the crowds that wanted to see ‘the girl off the TV’.

However, the new production of Evita has stayed faithful with the traditional orchestration in casting its characters, with tremendous success. Elena Rogers truly shines as Argentina’s very own Princess Diana - Eva Peron, the second wife of President Juan Peron. The much loved musical chronicles her life as Argentina's most complex and powerful figure, against a backdrop of political unrest, until her tragic death of cancer in 1952.

The show begins with a harrowing cry from an Argentinean woman who has just heard the news of Eva’s demise. To begin with the reaction of Eva’s death is a moving and insightful contrast to the death of her own father which we see in the following scene when Eva is very young and is shunned away as they are the father’s ‘other’ family. This is a clever device to show how far Eva came in becoming a much loved figure for Argentina.

We are taken through Eva’s rise to fame. This begins with her move to Buenos Aires at the age of 15 with her lover the tango singer, Magaldi, played with excellent comic timing by Greg Castiglioni. Here we are treated to a toe tapping new orchestration by Lloyd Webber of the song ‘Buenos Aires’ which is one of the many highlights of the show. The choreography is precise and erotic as it is mainly based on the tango – which originated at that time in Argentina.

Another highlight of the show is Christopher Orams overwhelming set, from the grand balcony on which Rogers movingly sings perhaps the most famous song of the show ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’ to the pillared palace parlour where most of the action takes place. The cascading brown and yellow light over the set bring a nostalgic aura which helps transfer the audience to 1940’s Argentina.

More about Evita at the Adelphi Theatre, London on page 2