Listen: Elaine Paige and Tim Rice Reflect on EVITA in Honor of the Show's 40th Anniversary
Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, the winner of over 20 major awards, including two Oliviers and seven Tonys - celebrates its 40th anniversary this month.
Elaine Paige starred in the original production, in the title role. She was recently joined by Sir Tim Rice on her radio show, Elaine Paige on Sunday, to reminisce about Evita's evolution and glittering history, 40 years to the week since their stars aligned.
Listen to the full episode here!
Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual 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 Awardfor Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.This has been followed by a string of professional tours and worldwide productions and numerous cast albums, as well as a major 1996 film of the musical starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. The musical was revived in London in 2006, and on Broadway in 2012, and toured the UK again in 2013-14 before running for 55 West End performances at the Dominion Theatre in September-October, 2014.
Videos
