Evita
September 20–22, 2019
The Majestic Theatre, Dallas
This seven-time Tony Award-winning musical tells the passionate and unforgettable story of Eva Duarte de Perón and her meteoric climb from the slums of Argentina to one of the most powerful women in the world as the First Lady of Argentina. The international hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice features some of theatre’s most well-known songs, including “On this Night of a Thousand Stars,” “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” and the unforgettable “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”
Lyric Stage’s EVITA proudly featured an entirely local company of singers, dancers, actors, and musicians, which was led by Catherine Carpenter-Cox as the title character, Eva Duarte de Perón. Carpenter-Cox reprised her role as Eva Perón, having first played the charismatic First Lady in Lyric Stage’s 2006 production of EVITA.
“Last year, when putting together the 2019-2020 season, I knew I wanted EVITA to be a part of ‘The Wonder Women of Season 27’ but only if Catherine would reprise her role as Eva. EVITA in our 13th season was Catherine’s first full production with Lyric Stage, and I’m so glad she agreed to revisit this role and headline this production for the opening of our 27th season,” said Lyric Stage Founding Producer Steven Jones.
In its commitment to developing local artists and talent, the company of EVITA boasted not only local professional actors, but collegiate theatre artists from Theatre TCU and DFW high school students featured in Lyric Stage’s 2019 Schmidt & Jones Awards.
Starring alongside Carpenter-Cox were: Hector Garcia as Juan Perón, the military leader and eventual President of Argentina; Brandon Wilhelm as Che, the show’s narrator; JT Snyder (Theatre TCU) as Magaldi, the tango singer with whom Eva has her first love affair; and Anna Grace Woodard (Theatre TCU) as Perón’s Mistress. The ensemble of this hit musical featured: Abi Abel; Grace Bradbury (Booker T. Washington, 2019 Schmidt & Jones Awards Best Actress Nom); Sarah Caldwell; Kristin Cox; Jeremy Davis; Christopher J. Deaton; Damian Gomez; Jacob Hemsath; Osmar Y. Martinez; Jonathan McInnis; Canali Miller (Theatre TCU); Ryan Nuss; Melinette Pallares; Bailey Poe; Brett Rawlings (Theatre TCU); Tasia Jewel Robinson (Theatre TCU); Katie Sperry; Carlos Strudwick; Caleb Summers; Jordi Viscarri; James Williams; and Xavier Williams (Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy, 2019 Schmidt & Jones Awards Best Ensemble). Patrick Bilbow, Emma Grace Freeman, Sophie Rose Kirkham, Jessie Prince, Patrick Shukis, and Summer Stern rounded out the cast as the youth ensemble.
Len Pfluger—whose most recent directorial work with Lyric Stage includes Camelot, Grand Hotel, and South Pacific—served as Director/Choreographer for the production, having directed and choreographed Lyric Stage’s 2006 production of EVITA as well.
Scott A. Eckert—whose most recent work with Lyric Stage includes music directing Daddy Long Legs ” and The Human Comedy—served as the production’s Music Director as well as the Conductor of the nineteen-piece orchestra.
Larry Fuller—who earned a Tony nomination for Best Choreography for his work on EVITA—served as the Choreographer for the Original 1979 Broadway production of EVITA, as well as its subsequent tours. Having worked with Mr. Fuller on EVITA, and with Fuller’s permission, Director Len Pfluger reset Fuller’s Tony-nominated choreography for Lyric Stage’s 2019 production.
Catherine Carpenter-Cox as Eva Perón and Hector Garcia as Juan Perón.
Evita: TheaterJones review
Up in Arms Again
The earthy Evita seduced in Lyric Stage’s stylish one-weekend production at the Majestic Theatre.
Martha Heimberg
published Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Eva Perón, the ambitious street girl who slept her way to stardom and demi-sainthood as Argentina’s first lady in the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice bio-musical Evita, would love her recent incarnation in the Lyric Stage production at the grand Majestic Theatre. The show, which opened on Broadway in 1979, continues to lure old and new admirers, and this well-sung, handsomely costumed production, was energized by an alluring young dance ensemble that surely upped the local fan base.
Director/choreographer Len Pfluger, who directed the company’s 2005 production at the Irving Arts Center, restages the show in the gilded splendor of the historic vaudeville and movie palace, with a strong 30-member cast and a rich 20-piece orchestra conducted by Scott A. Eckert.
Mezzo Catherine Carpenter Cox returns as a sensual, knowing Evita, a woman born with the grit to make it to the top, and the daring to attract fans and fanatics, alike. The role demands a brave and brassy singer to lift the title character out of the casket in the opening scene and into the beds of the rich and powerful, as well as the hearts of the people. Cox is terrific, especially belting out songs in her bravado style as the bottle-blonde sex bomb. Despite a bad wig that reveals all the glued-on edges from the seventh row, this gal radiates crowd confidence.
Cox delivers Rice’s rough-and-tumble lyrics with clarity and a wink in “Goodnight and Thank You,” her brisk pace indicating how much she enjoys her easy mastery of the men who must “do up your trousers and go.” Yet, she also sings “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” with a raw, hoarse authenticity that sounds completely heartfelt. Cox, whether in a simple white slip or a perfectly fitted Dior suit, is all sparkle and triumph in “Rainbow Tourm,” smiling at her European admirers and dismissing detractors with a mini-shrug.
Brandon Wilhelm is a cynical fly-on-the-wall as Che, the doubting narrator whose running comment disavows the heroine’s sincerity. His diction is perfect as he speeds through the mourning or adoring crowds, but we also hear a certain admiration for the woman he mocks in “Peron’s Latest Flame.” There’s no rebel sexiness, however, in Wilhelm’s journalistic version of events, even when he dances face to face with his subject. This Che is more cautious of Evita than drawn to her, unlike the white-hot tête-à-tête made famous by Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin in the original Broadway production.
Hector Garcia’s Juan Perón, a man with a stunning profile but wearing an ill-fitted black wig, is an adoring strong man, putty in the hands of this seductive actress. Their duet, “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You,” is less chemistry and more power-brokering, at least on her part. Garcia’s best song is his touching defense of his dying wife in “She Is a Diamond,” when his voice quavers just slightly as he recalls Evita’s shine and hardness, now suddenly vulnerable.
Lyric Stage has a longtime collaborative history with Texas Christian University’s theater department, and this partnership delivers two first-rate performances to the production. Soprano Annabelle Grace Woodard is tough and touching singing “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” as Perón’s young mistress kicked out of Perón’s bed when Eva moves in. JT Snyder is a svelte romantic tenor as Magaldi, the tango singer Evita runs off with as a teenager. His rendition of “On This Night of a Thousand Stars” sets the theme of sexual desire that drives the show.
The high, lilting sound of the children’s chorus singing “Santa Evita” reminds us of the innocent veneration with which many Argentinians held Eva Perón. Whether she deserved such adoration is another question.
Pfluger’s recreation of Larry Fuller’s original tango-inspired choreography is beautifully delivered by a young dance ensemble, and costume coordinator Nichole Hull dresses the peasants in subdued tones, the better to accentuate the golden tassels of the military uniforms and the glitz of Evita’s glamourous outfits. The evening flies by, and when Cox lifts her arms in the famous gesture of inclusion at the end of the show, we’re all swept up in that desperate last heat wave.
Too bad this production only lasted one weekend.