Christina DeCicco as Evita

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 4/28/12 at 10:51pm

Has anyone seen Christina DeCicco as Eva? What do we think of her?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 5:55am

Like the rest of the production: I was not impressed. There was no warmth, no feeling. It was like watching auto-pilot.

I think the biggest fault lies with the direction, all characters were 2-dimensional and the pacing was mundane.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 8:29am

I've always thought EVITA's lack of warmth and the two dimensionality of its characters were two of its primary purposes and the reasons it is an important and harrowing show. The theme is a shallow one (or at least, one that exposes shallowness): the cult of celebrity. Haven't we become a society that accepts the cult of celebrity worship on auto-pilot and all too often without regard to the warmth, values, or talent of whom we worship? The show makes a great case that Evita Peron is the perfect example of that, and, harrowingly, truly ahead of her time. Before Kim Kardashian, there was Eva Peron.



Updated On: 4/29/12 at 08:29 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 8:39am

In THEORY, I hear what you are saying and think its really interesting -- but shouldn't I still have felt SOMETHING? Horror that it happened? That it still happens? That we need to be aware? I felt nothing, I learned nothing.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 8:47am

It's a good questions Dramama, and I'm not sure I can comment, especially since I haven't seen the revival. I would hope that the new production serves that idea. But I'm not sure that emptiness itself isn't precisely the affect the show generally seeks to create. However, if one can't feel a sense of horror at "A New Argentina," then something would definitely be wrong.

[AngelorPhantom1359]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 4:42pm

I thought she did great. I enjoyed her much more than Elena Roger

[ChildrenwillListen]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 5:01pm

Oooh I saw her play Glinda once. She's cool. I'm sure she's great.

[My Oh My]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 6:11pm

Maybe the reduced, redone orchestration injects a frigidity felt by dramamama. I know it can happen and have personally attended a performance of a show featuring a not only reduced orchestration but also a badly rewritten one, and I did not feel what I felt the 20-something prior performances of the same show. Music is serious business in musicals.

[philly03]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 6:16pm

I thought Chritina was terrific, better than Elena Roger as well. I've seen her in a slew of shows, thought her voice is more suited for other roles but it was still sung very well here. I blame the production/direction more than the actors/actresses for this one as well.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 6:39pm

She's better than Elena, but still lacking. Again, like drama said, there's no heart in the show,no passion. So both Elena and Christina have to deal with poor directorial choices and character choices.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 4/29/12 at 7:24pm

I'm in the "meh" camp. She may well be better than Roger; I haven't seen Roger. She sings the role technically well, but it ends there. She's not doing anything radically wrong in the role, but she's also not engaging. While I understand henrik's points on the character, that argument isn't worth very much if the character and, thereby -- in combination with Ricky Martin's fatally casual Che -- the show, is dramatically inert.

[PositivelyEmerald]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 3:35pm

I just saw Christina on Saturday...I thought she was fantastic. I thought her acting was fantastic, especially in Eva's Final Broadcast. She was vocally fantastic in every song, especially in Rainbow High, and A New Argentina. Hearing Elena on the new album, Im glad I saw Christina.

As for the rest of the production, Im surprised this show didn't win a Tony for best set design. It was truly beautiful, as was the choreography. I thought Rachel Potter was fantastic as the mistress. Another Suitcase... was definitely a highlight of the show. Michael Cerveris was, IMO brilliant as Peron. I also thought Max Von Essen had a fantastic voice. Ricky Martin was, surprisingly for me, actually quite good. He was an awesome dancer, and sang the score well for the most part, up until a waltz for Eva and Che. He seemed to me to be struggling with some notes in that song.

I did stage door after. It wasn't very crazy at the matinee. They told everyone Ricky wasn't coming out, and most of the people left. I stayed, and met, Rachel Potter, Max Von Essen, and Michael, who came out, and got all the way to me at the end of the line, (where there was no barricade set up) when a bunch of people came in front of me and pushed me to the back of the crowd. By the time Christina came out, almost everyone was gone. She was late coming out since she gave a tour, but it was worth the wait. She was so kind. A real class act.

As a side note, she said Elena and herself are both contracted through March, saying "hopefully we're still open by then"



Updated On: 6/25/12 at 03:35 PM

[Kalimba]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 3:50pm

Too bad they can't record Christina's tracks and let the consumer decide. There's already one horrendous recording with Elena Roger. I had it and couldn't even make it through the entire recording.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 3:57pm

"As a side note, she said Elena and herself are both contracted through March, saying "hopefully we're still open by then"

Wow. Better get my cast CD autographed soon.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 4:10pm

RainbowHigh, they're grossing over $1,000,000 a week on a regular basis. I don't think they'll have problems staying open until then. During the holidays, they'll likely be on fire.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 4:13pm

I'm concerned about the recent drop in sales and Ricky's vacation - the capacity is dropping drastically, but then again with the lack of discounts they should hold out in the million dollar per week range.

[keb2]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 10:47pm

I saw her and I thought she was doing as well as is possible in a near- (if not entirely) impossible role. Her voice is quite strong, and after hearing Elena on the cast recording, well, I'm all the more grateful I decided to see Ms. deCicco instead.

[PositivelyEmerald]

Posted: 6/25/12 at 11:17pm

This is the first press photo I've ever seen of Christina in Evita. I wanted to share it on here. Its from the souvenir program

[ajh]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 12:00pm

Thanks for posting that picture; it is interesting to finally see somebody in this role who looks like the real Eva Peron. There are some audios Youtube of Christina singing three numbers and I must say that she made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up (in a good way....she sounds terrific). Having seen and enjoyed Elena in the show both in London and NYC (less so on B'way, admittedly) am beginning to think I may have to try and catch Christina as Evita when I come back in the Fall.

Updated On: 6/26/12 at 12:00 PM

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 12:08pm

That's a wonderful photo of Christina! I loved the photo by Rick the wig wrangler for the "How You Doin'" series last month.

I'm looking forward to seeing the show again with Max as Che and hopefully Christina, though I'd hate to miss Elena.

Updated On: 6/26/12 at 12:08 PM

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 12:13pm

Thanks for posting that picture; it is interesting to finally see somebody in this role who looks like the real Eva Peron.

I always thought Elaine Paige looked an awful lot like the real Eva Peron. (to say nothing of Madonna)


It's funny to see an Eva who seems so tall, though.

[little_sally]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 2:55pm

I thought Christina was fine but it was a bit like she was playing dress up. I didn't buy her as Eva.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 2:59pm

^That's the same thing I said regarding Sarah Litzsinger's performance as Eva in the tour a few years ago.

[dreaming]

Posted: 6/26/12 at 4:09pm

Dottie-You and me both. (Did you notice how she sounded like Belle singing Evita? The Che was very good and so was Peron. But, she sounded like she was going to burst into Disney music.)

[BroadwayBrandon]

Posted: 6/28/12 at 1:10am

That's crazy "Disney Music" she is one of the only women that I have heard that even comes close to Patti Lupone's vocal performance! She was near flawless when I seen her in May!