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New production of a classic musical relies on a single, spellbinding song
From the rockin' stable of 1970s Brit musicals that was the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice partnership comes this, the Serious Non-Biblical One. Evita is the story of Eva Perón, Argentina's legendary first lady of the postwar period, who arrived in Buenos Aires as a two-bit working-class actress from the sticks, but whose ruthless ambition ensured that she ended up on the arm of the fascist leader Juan Perón. The biographical musical was first produced in London in 1978, where it ran for seven years. The title role was so utterly inhabited by Elaine Paige that, when Madonna played Evita in the 1996 Alan Parker movie, some commentators felt Paige had been snubbed.
Giving the part this time around to an Argentinian actress, Elena Roger, has again caused a flurry of articles, because Evita is one of those roles which don't, you know, go to an "unknown". However, from the opening moments when she appears, dressed in funereal black, the diminutive Roger takes hold of this Evita and, with a dazzling smile and some knockout dancing, claims the part as rightfully hers.
© New Statesman
