#TheatreReview: Evita
Portrait of an Argentinian Icon
Full disclosure. Evita is not one of my favourite musicals. Some of the songs are amazing, like Another Suitcase in Another Hall; High Flying Adored; On This Night of a Thousand Dreams; You Must Love Me and, of course, Don’t Cry for me Argentina, but the other songs I don’t really enjoy. I think it’s the odd timing of Buenos Aires, or the sheer craziness of some of the other songs, but it’s never really hit the emotional core of Phantom of the Opera, or Cats, or Jesus Christ Superstar, or the other musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber, for me at least.
That said, the performance of Evita, happening right now at the Teatro at Montecasino, is completely amazing. I’m often astounded by the level of talent in musical theatre in South Africa and this show is no different.
Before I look at the on stage mastery, let’s look at the story of Evita.
Starting at the point of her death and then going back, Evita tells the tale of Eva Duarte, played by Emma Kingston, a young, impoverished girl, living in a small town in Argentina, with plans of much more. She manages to make her way to Buenos Aires, with the help of the reluctant performer Magaldi, played by Anton Luitingh, and starts making a name for herself. Of course, the way she does that is by sleeping with and manipulating any man that can increase her profile and standing. This culminates in a meeting with Juan Peron, played by Robert Finlayson, a Lieutenant General in the Argentinian Army who, with the help of Eva, rises to become president of the country. Eva becomes the spiritual leader of the people, the poor and disenfranchised, who look at her like she’s a saint, however, the upper class of Argentina are less favourable of the actress that has become the first lady of their country. This creates tension between them and the president, as well as the people, and while she seems to be doing everything for the people and Argentina, it soon becomes apparent that she’s looking out for number one, and as cruel and ruthless as the people she ousted in taking power. Nevertheless, she is loved by the people, and when she passes away it’s a massive loss for the country.
It’s an interesting exploration into the old parable of power corrupting, but, if you look more closely at the storyline, you can see that Evita was corrupted long before she ever took power. It’s more an investigation into a woman that would, and did, do anything to achieve her goal of a better life, no matter what the cost. Kingston plays her beautifully. It’s a difficult role, playing this girl coming from nothing, a wide eyed, naïve girl, into a manipulative woman, doing whatever it takes to ascend, into the states woman, cool and confident, into the woman that is dying and trying to cling to the life she fought so hard for. Kingston has one of the best voices I’ve heard on stage, and the way it changes throughout the performance, to show the declining strength of the character, is great. Of course, it would have been nice to have a South African in the role, but Kingston is so good that I’m glad I got the chance to see her perform it.
The role of Che Guevara, an Argentinian revolutionist and the narrator of the musical, is played by our favourite South African musical star, and a stable at Montecasino, Jonathon Roxmouth. He has just the right balance of revolutionary, charmer and comedian, and catches the audience’s attention with each moment he’s on the stage. And don’t even get me started on the man’s voice. He is truly an icon in South Africa musical theatre and I’ll happily watch anything he is in.
Luitingh’s Magaldi is camp and creepy and funny, and his rendition of On This Night of a Thousand Stars, is wonderful, while Finlayson’s Peron is a statesman through and through. You get the sense that he really loved Eva, regardless of her obvious flaws, and he plays it well.
Each and every person on the stage, which was very effectively set up, with minimal sets, only some props and lighting strips which were used to great effect, are amazing singers and performers. From the kids, who looked too little to be on such a big stage, but had voices to fill it, to the dancers and singers making up the ensemble, they all did fabulous jobs. A special mention needs to be made of Isabella Jane, performing without the aid of Rosie. Her rendition of Another Suitcase in Another Hall gave me chills. She has an amazing voice and a stellar stage presence, and I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of her in the future, hopefully in starring roles, which she will completely kill.
This is the show of the year, so go and see it while it’s running at the Teatro at Montecasino.