Evita

[duncan]

Aug 8, 2017 12:06:52 GMT ali973 said:

Ali973 said

On your final comment and the consequences of what would happen to British theatre outside of London, I'm generally against half-ass productions touring the provinces, as I genuinely believe the standards in UK commercial theatre in the provinces needs to improve. But I also understand the limitations. What I do hope would happen is that if these productions must exist, they should exist outside of London, thank you very much.

Another example of the vile snobbery that exists within the metropolitan elite on this board. Theatre in the provinces is doing fine thanks, we survive without the hideous tosh of Londons less than glittering West End and its continual cycle of piss poor musicals and 1950s throwback plays. Us poor plebs in the provinces thankfully have far more variety of works than the inner city scum of the south - I'm lucky to have seen so many World Premieres this year that have been vibrant, new, different and which as they have been speaking to the people of the country rather than the out of touch metropolitan elite will certainly never see the inside of one of the over priced houses of the slums of London.

[Deleted]

Unfortunately you will always get the snobbery from certain people on here

[SageStageMgr]

Aug 9, 2017 14:47:40 GMT duncan said:

Aug 8, 2017 12:06:52 GMT ali973 said:

Ali973 said

On your final comment and the consequences of what would happen to British theatre outside of London, I'm generally against half-ass productions touring the provinces, as I genuinely believe the standards in UK commercial theatre in the provinces needs to improve. But I also understand the limitations. What I do hope would happen is that if these productions must exist, they should exist outside of London, thank you very much.

Another example of the vile snobbery that exists within the metropolitan elite on this board. Theatre in the provinces is doing fine thanks, we survive without the hideous tosh of Londons less than glittering West End and its continual cycle of piss poor musicals and 1950s throwback plays. Us poor plebs in the provinces thankfully have far more variety of works than the inner city scum of the south - I'm lucky to have seen so many World Premieres this year that have been vibrant, new, different and which as they have been speaking to the people of the country rather than the out of touch metropolitan elite will certainly never see the inside of one of the over priced houses of the slums of London.

I think feelings are running a little high here. Vile snobbery? We all love theatre and everyone is entitled to their view.

[westendwendy]

Aug 9, 2017 14:47:40 GMT duncan said:

Aug 8, 2017 12:06:52 GMT ali973 said:

Ali973 said

On your final comment and the consequences of what would happen to British theatre outside of London, I'm generally against half-ass productions touring the provinces, as I genuinely believe the standards in UK commercial theatre in the provinces needs to improve. But I also understand the limitations. What I do hope would happen is that if these productions must exist, they should exist outside of London, thank you very much.

Another example of the vile snobbery that exists within the metropolitan elite on this board. Theatre in the provinces is doing fine thanks, we survive without the hideous tosh of Londons less than glittering West End and its continual cycle of piss poor musicals and 1950s throwback plays. Us poor plebs in the provinces thankfully have far more variety of works than the inner city scum of the south - I'm lucky to have seen so many World Premieres this year that have been vibrant, new, different and which as they have been speaking to the people of the country rather than the out of touch metropolitan elite will certainly never see the inside of one of the over priced houses of the slums of London.

Actually you have a point. Sheffield Crucible, Manchester Royal Exchange, Liverpool Everyman, Playhouse and Royal Court, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Hull Truck Theatre to name just a few oop north. I also find London centric people unfriendly mostly rude, obsessed with class, closed shop mentality and PC crazy.

[d'James]

Can we stop this conversation right now as it's offensive all round. This is a thread about Evita!

[Scswp]

Let's hear about people's favourite Evas over the years and the reasons why you felt they gave the 'best' performance.
From the Evas I've seen live (Jacqui Scott, Paula Simpson, Madalena Alberto, Marti Webb - twice, Rachael Wooding, Abi Jaye, Elena Roger and a bootleg recording of Rebecca Storm), the best was Jacqui Scott for me. She had the belting range to sing the part as written and her acting was superb. She really made the transition from young 'tart' to First Lady in such a convincing way. Her persona throughout the performance really altered. Then, when she dies at the end, she became extremely frail - you genuinely believed she was dying. It was the most fantastic performance both vocally and in terms of acting. I think her Peron was Michael Bauer, who was also very good (and went on to play Max in Sunset Boulevard in London for years!!!!)
Interestingly, I didn't see any of the original Evas in London, but from posts on other boards that I've read over the years, Marti Webb appears to have been many people's least popular (I thought she was ok when I saw her years later in the UK tour), whereas Stephanie Lawrence seems to be surprisingly popular. I say surprisingly because I just can't imagine her having the vocal power to sing certain parts of the score (e.g. Rainbow High, A New Argentina). Would have loved to hear her sing this score - difficult for me to imagine this with her vocal style, but I know several people have said how good she was in the role (the best London Evita, according to some).

[SageStageMgr]

Aug 9, 2017 20:05:37 GMT Scswp said:

Let's hear about people's favourite Evas over the years and the reasons why you felt they gave the 'best' performance.
From the Evas I've seen live (Jacqui Scott, Paula Simpson, Madalena Alberto, Marti Webb - twice, Rachael Wooding, Abi Jaye, Elena Roger and a bootleg recording of Rebecca Storm), the best was Jacqui Scott for me. She had the belting range to sing the part as written and her acting was superb. She really made the transition from young 'tart' to First Lady in such a convincing way. Her persona throughout the performance really altered. Then, when she dies at the end, she became extremely frail - you genuinely believed she was dying. It was the most fantastic performance both vocally and in terms of acting. I think her Peron was Michael Bauer, who was also very good (and went on to play Max in Sunset Boulevard in London for years!!!!)
Interestingly, I didn't see any of the original Evas in London, but from posts on other boards that I've read over the years, Marti Webb appears to have been many people's least popular (I thought she was ok when I saw her years later in the UK tour), whereas Stephanie Lawrence seems to be surprisingly popular. I say surprisingly because I just can't imagine her having the vocal power to sing certain parts of the score (e.g. Rainbow High, A New Argentina). Would have loved to hear her sing this score - difficult for me to imagine this with her vocal style, but I know several people have said how good she was in the role (the best London Evita, according to some).

Great post. Abi Jaye is the favourite of the ones I've seen live. (Elena Roger, Abbie Osman, Louise Dearman, Rachael Wooding, Madelena Alberto plus two more whose names escape me).

I love love LOVED Abi. She was such a total complete bitch. Yet somehow completely relatable (make your jokes here)... sang it beautifully, looked the part and totally embraced the role.

In my review back in the day as a theatre critic, I described her Eva as "definitive"...

[daniel]

I've only seen Madalena Alberto and Emma Hatton, and much preferred the former. Would've loved to see Louise Dearman had I gotten into theatre a couple of years earlier!

[musicallady]

Aug 9, 2017 20:05:37 GMT Scswp said:

Let's hear about people's favourite Evas over the years and the reasons why you felt they gave the 'best' performance.
From the Evas I've seen live (Jacqui Scott, Paula Simpson, Madalena Alberto, Marti Webb - twice, Rachael Wooding, Abi Jaye, Elena Roger and a bootleg recording of Rebecca Storm), the best was Jacqui Scott for me. She had the belting range to sing the part as written and her acting was superb. She really made the transition from young 'tart' to First Lady in such a convincing way. Her persona throughout the performance really altered. Then, when she dies at the end, she became extremely frail - you genuinely believed she was dying. It was the most fantastic performance both vocally and in terms of acting. I think her Peron was Michael Bauer, who was also very good (and went on to play Max in Sunset Boulevard in London for years!!!!)
Interestingly, I didn't see any of the original Evas in London, but from posts on other boards that I've read over the years, Marti Webb appears to have been many people's least popular (I thought she was ok when I saw her years later in the UK tour), whereas Stephanie Lawrence seems to be surprisingly popular. I say surprisingly because I just can't imagine her having the vocal power to sing certain parts of the score (e.g. Rainbow High, A New Argentina). Would have loved to hear her sing this score - difficult for me to imagine this with her vocal style, but I know several people have said how good she was in the role (the best London Evita, according to some).

Paula Simpson and Becky Norman, bith alternates were the best I've seen.

[richey]

The two I have most enjoyed were Louise Dearman and Emma Hatton on the tours. The first I saw was Marti Webb on a tour years ago and she was dreadful. I remember being very disappointed with Elena Rogers, thought she was very screechy.

[hitmewithurbethshot]

Live:
***Hannah Grover*** (cannot stress this enough, she was incredible)
Emma Hatton

Bootlegs:
Christina DeCicco
Caroline Bowman

[lonlad]

Emma off both shows today, apparently (she was definitely off at the matinee) --- necessary vocal rest

[Deleted]

Ive not seen many stage Evas bit agree Abi Osmon was brilliant, conniving and complete bitch. Although for me Madonna has been the best Eva ive seen

[SageStageMgr]

Aug 10, 2017 17:32:49 GMT @outlander said:

Ive not seen many stage Evas bit agree Abi Osmon was brilliant, conniving and complete bitch. Although for me Madonna has been the best Eva ive seen

I hated Abbie Osman in this... but I rather liked her as Galadriel in Lord of the Rings

[Deleted]

For those still desperate to see the iconic original - Hal Prince's Evita will be staged in Sydney
www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/evita-set-to-be-staged-in-sydney/news-story/8ef836b4889e1a5f22333f740531cee9
Would that I could afford the plane fare!

[Oleanna]

Aug 11, 2017 6:33:37 GMT @sharpe12 said:

For those still desperate to see the iconic original - Hal Prince's Evita will be staged in Sydney
www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/evita-set-to-be-staged-in-sydney/news-story/8ef836b4889e1a5f22333f740531cee9
Would that I could afford the plane fare!

Goodness, can we get that in London please!?

A shame really, if Kenwright hadn't brought this tour in twice in the past few years, it would have been a wonderful opportunity to have the Hal Prince production play the ENO for a limited season.

Now, sadly, I wonder whether there'd be the appetite for it...?

[Deleted]

Aug 11, 2017 10:52:18 GMT Oleanna said:

Aug 11, 2017 6:33:37 GMT @sharpe12 said:

For those still desperate to see the iconic original - Hal Prince's Evita will be staged in Sydney
www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/evita-set-to-be-staged-in-sydney/news-story/8ef836b4889e1a5f22333f740531cee9
Would that I could afford the plane fare!

Goodness, can we get that in London please!?

A shame really, if Kenwright hadn't brought this tour in twice in the past few years, it would have been a wonderful opportunity to have the Hal Prince production play the ENO for a limited season.

Now, sadly, I wonder whether there'd be the appetite for it...?

Those were my thoughts exactly - such a shame!

[Scswp]

No, I don't think there would be the appetite for more Evita in London (or regionally) tbh. Also, having seen the original version several times (as well as the newer versions), I doubt newcomers to the musical would prefer the older Hal Prince version nowadays. There was very little staging to this version and virtually no set to speak of. I think people would expect more of a set now, given the prices for tickets.

However, there were certain images/motifs that were memorable (e.g. The revolving silver door in 'Goodnight and Thank-you', Eva singing 'A New Argentina' in a dressing gown beside her and Peron's bed (a motif of how she had arrived in this position), Peron's game of musical chairs using rocking chairs, the 'High Flying Adored/Rainbow High'
dressing sequence and, of course, Eva's final broadcast with just an armchair and a clutch of microphones). Iconic images these were, some of which are sort of maintained in the newer productions

[BurlyBeaR]

And eventually we'd have "so bored with this version" as we do with West Side Story.

Even if people dont like every production at least its evolving.

[ali973]

So apparently the Australian remount is the third stop on an international tour. It'll first open in South Africa (Johannesburg then Cape Town), Tokyo and finally in Sydney. Prince wants to take it to Broadway. Given that the Broadway revival did so so around 2012, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up there in 2019 or so. But Hal Prince beware- this time Evita needs to be played by a beltress. Essentially, he'll have to cast a Patti LuPone clone for this to work in New York. Jackie Burns?

[theatremadness]

Aug 11, 2017 17:48:26 GMT ali973 said:

So apparently the Australian remount is the third stop on an international tour. It'll first open in South Africa (Johannesburg then Cape Town), Tokyo and finally in Sydney. Prince wants to take it to Broadway. Given that the Broadway revival did so so around 2012, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up there in 2019 or so. But Hal Prince beware- this time Evita needs to be played by a beltress. Essentially, he'll have to cast a Patti LuPone clone for this to work in New York. Jackie Burns?

That would make sense!

Che, Eva & Peron have been cast already according to the Cape Town info page. Emma Kingston is playing Eva (as has been previously mentioned I believe) who was apparently "personally chosen" by ALW, Tim Rice & Hal Prince. She's done a bit in London; Les Mis, In The Heights & currently in Fiddler in Chichester. She has quite the voice on her, I'm sure there'll be quite a bit of her singing on YouTube if you fancy a listen. If she's been personally chosen, would she be the one to be taken to Broadway, I wonder? If it comes to fruition, of course.

www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/evita-artscape-theatre/

[showbizkid]

Aug 11, 2017 18:06:29 GMT theatremadness said:

Aug 11, 2017 17:48:26 GMT ali973 said:

So apparently the Australian remount is the third stop on an international tour. It'll first open in South Africa (Johannesburg then Cape Town), Tokyo and finally in Sydney. Prince wants to take it to Broadway. Given that the Broadway revival did so so around 2012, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up there in 2019 or so. But Hal Prince beware- this time Evita needs to be played by a beltress. Essentially, he'll have to cast a Patti LuPone clone for this to work in New York. Jackie Burns?

That would make sense!

Che, Eva & Peron have been cast already according to the Cape Town info page. Emma Kingston is playing Eva (as has been previously mentioned I believe) who was apparently "personally chosen" by ALW, Tim Rice & Hal Prince. She's done a bit in London; Les Mis, In The Heights & currently in Fiddler in Chichester. She has quite the voice on her, I'm sure there'll be quite a bit of her singing on YouTube if you fancy a listen. If she's been personally chosen, would she be the one to be taken to Broadway, I wonder? If it comes to fruition, of course.

www.whatsonincapetown.com/post/evita-artscape-theatre/

Isn't every actress in a show "personally chosen?" Trevor Jackson, Pippa Allion, Debbie O'Brien, Jill Green or David Grindrod are in theory just office admin!

[chernjam]

honestly as I've heard about this over the weekend, I've grown less interested in it. For all its flaws the recent Grandage revival in the West End and Broadawy at least moved the piece a bit forward - new orchestrations (which were beautiful) the addition of "You Must Love Me" - an attempt to actually define "Che" as a character (rather than he is Che Guevera/he's not Che Guevera). The original might appeal in a nostalgia sense and for those who are interested in a more minimalist staging of things... But to me, without the new orchestrations and "You Must Love Me" - it's more like going back to the workshop version of the show.

[ali973]

So interesting. I don't mind the new version at all, but TBH I dislike the new orchestrations, especially during A New Argentina. There's nothing like the blaring brass during that number, which I thought was lacking in the new orchestrations.

[Scswp]

Aug 14, 2017 5:52:10 GMT chernjam said:

honestly as I've heard about this over the weekend, I've grown less interested in it. For all its flaws the recent Grandage revival in the West End and Broadawy at least moved the piece a bit forward - new orchestrations (which were beautiful) the addition of "You Must Love Me" - an attempt to actually define "Che" as a character (rather than he is Che Guevera/he's not Che Guevera). The original might appeal in a nostalgia sense and for those who are interested in a more minimalist staging of things... But to me, without the new orchestrations and "You Must Love Me" - it's more like going back to the workshop version of the show.

Yes, I tend to agree that it is taking the piece in a reverse direction. I really think that newcomers to the piece (and maybe some of those who are familiar with both Prince's and Grandage's versions) would much prefer the newer version, despite hearing how 'iconic' and 'masterful' the original version was. I'm not so sure the original version would compare well nowadays. People expect something of a set (which the original didn't really have).

Productions are down-scaled and altered all the time for touring purposes, but this is different. Although I like the original version, I do think this is taking the piece backwards. Theatre and its expectations back in the seventies were very different to the expectations almost forty years later. What Prince achieved worked well, but I fear it may look dated nowadays and the piece must continue to move forwards. Just as with full-scale productions of Rogers and Hammerstein material e.g. more recent productions of The King and I and The Sound of Music in London and on Broadway, the music is still fantastic and stands the test of time, but the costumes/sets/production values are much more elaborate than their originals - and this shows the 'evolution' of those shows, which is at it should be. Maybe Prince has ideas about how to take his version and make the necessary changes to enable the piece to evolve. A replica of the seventies production per se makes me just think : 'Why?'