Jamie Lloyd Previews 'Explosive' New Production of EVITA in London
The new production will open at The London Palladium on 1 July, with previews from 14 June, and runs until 6 September.
By: Josh Sharpe Jun. 05, 2025
Fresh off the massive success that is Sunset Blvd., Jamie Lloyd will soon debut his highly anticipated production of another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical: EVITA. During a recent interview with Deadline, Lloyd previewed the production, which he called "radically different from Sunset Blvd," and likened this new version to a concert.
"It’s kind of got the energy of a rock gig," said the director. "It’s almost like Eva Perón does Coachella... Fabian Aloise, who is our amazing choreographer, has done the most exceptional work, as he did on Sunset, but EVITA is wall-to-wall dance. I mean, we really have turned it into a dance show, and his choreography is outstanding, and this cast is working up a sweat in every single number."
He went on to tease new elements of the show, which he has presented as a kind of "fever dream" concert. "I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve that people will discover from the first preview, but it certainly has a very different energy to Sunset because, of course, they’re very different shows...If you think of EVITA, you know, you leap from one song to the next, almost like a concert, and you can kind of jump-cut, almost, cinematically from one to the next. You know, one minute, you’re in Junín in Argentina, and the very next moment, you’re in Buenos Aires. So it’s kind of like allowing it to feel like a fever dream, allowing it to feel like a gig, and to be really, really kind of explosive."
He also praised the cast, led by Rachel Zegler and Diego Rodriguez. "[They] are singing this material like I never heard it before. I think it’s going to feel like an entirely new EVITA for a whole new generation." As for whether the production will make its way to Broadway like Sunset Blvd, Lloyd remains open. "All I’m concentrating on, at the moment, is that we’ve got to get it open in the London Palladium, but I mean, I love working in New York, and I love coming to Broadway, and I love transferring work there. So let’s watch this space. Let’s see what happens."
The new production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, opens at The London Palladium on 1 July, with previews from 14 June, and runs until 6 September. The cast, featuring Rachel Zegler as Eva Peron and Diego Andres Rodriguez as Che, also includes Aaron Lee Lambert as Agustín Magaldi and Bella Brown as The Mistress / Alternate Eva.
EVITA is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader, activist and actress Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows EVITA's early life, rise to power, charity work, and death.
The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical at the 1978 Laurence Olivier Awards, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical at the 34th Tony Awards.
Jamie Lloyd's reimagination of Sunset Boulevard is currently playing at the St. James Theatre and has just been extended for a final time through Sunday, July 20. The production has received seven Tony Award nominations, making it the most nominated revival of the season. In addition to this summer's West End production of EVITA, Jamie Lloyd's production of Waiting for Godot with Keanu Reeves will come to Broadway later this year.
Lloyd's past productions include the Broadway revival of Betrayal (2019) with Tom Hiddleston, the West End production of The Seagull (2020-2021) with Emilia Clarke, the Brooklyn Academy of Music's production of Cyrano de Bergerac (2022) with James McAvoy, and the Broadway revival of A Doll's House (2023) with Jessica Chastain.
