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Last weekend, I flew to London to see the Michael Grandage's excellent revival of Evita before it closes in May. I absolutely adored this high-flying, soaring production. It is by far one of the best shows I've seen throughout the past year.
Credit Grandage's direction with once again revitalizing a musical in a most breathtaking, dazzling manner. As in 2005's revival of Guys And Dolls, Grandage has teamed up with choreographer Rob Ashford to effectively and vivaciously move along the story, this time of Eva Duarte Peron.
Fortunately, unlike in the film version, the darker side of the Perons remains intact within the book; Ashford's mesmerizing choreography brings the backstabbing struggle for power within Argentina's military to life, showing Juan Peron as a man who could only be trusted at a soldier's own peril.
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Philip Quast brings a deceptively steely charm to his characterization of strongman Juan Peron epitomizing why he and Eva would be "surprisingly good" for one another.
