'Evita' Flies High at Foothills Theatre Company

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Book and Lyrics by Tim Rice

Director/Choreographer Robert Bianca, Musical Director Fred Frabotta, Lighting Designer Matthew Guminski, Sound Designer Ed Thurber, Scenic Designer Michael Kramer

CAST

Eva, Sarah Corey 

Che, Matt DeAngelis

Juan Peron, Ron Wisniski

Magaldi, Andrew Giordano

Peron's Mistress, Abby Leigh Rose

Performances through April 2, 2006 Box Office 508-754-4018

www.foothillstheatre.com

Sarah Corey embodies Eva Peron in the Foothills Theatre Company production of "Evita," the long running Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice rock opera. Surrounded by a talented ensemble cast who sing and dance their hearts out, Corey plays her dream role as the ambitious woman who rose from poverty and ignoble beginnings to the pinnacle of fame and influence as the First Lady of Argentina.

The story opens in 1952 in a Buenos Aires cinema with the light from the movie screen flickering across the faces in the audience. When the film is interrupted for the announcement of Eva's death, the grief felt by her people is palpable and played out visually with mournful interpretive dance moves. Following her funeral, a young Che Guevara leads us back in time and place to 1934 Junin, when Eva Duarte, then just fifteen, sets her sights on the capitol city. She has a brief affair with nightclub singer Agustin Magaldi and convinces him to take her to Buenos Aires. Once there, she works her way through a string of suitors and improves her social circumstances until, by being in the right place at the right time, she meets Colonel Juan Peron at a charity concert in 1943. His star is ascending in the Argentine government and she attempts to convey to him how they can collaborate ("I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You"). Corey and Ron Wisniski size each other up for whatever personal gain is possible, while a couple performs a steamy tango to emulate their dance.

Having come from a humble background herself, Eva is able to drum up support for Peron from the poor and disenfranchised, while drawing the ire of both the Army and the Aristocracy. Her ambition is greater than her husband's, but strong enough to propel him into the presidency. The crowning moment in her life (and in the play) occurs when she steps out onto the balcony of the Casa Rosada on the day of Peron's presidential inauguration and greets the chanting throngs. Corey's rendition of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" is full of emotion and bravado and enhanced by her elegant appearance.

Eva sets off on her Rainbow Tour to promote Peron's Argentina (and herself) to Europe, while El Presidente remains at home in the arms of adoring senoritas. As he does throughout the story, Che represents the voices of all who questioned the regime and points out how little or nothing has improved for the working class. Eva establishes the Eva Peron Foundation to help the poor, especially the children, elevating her in the eyes of those who are helped, but really raking in the money for the Administration. This results in Che's total disgust with Eva whose response is that "evil is ever around, fundamental."

At this point, Eva realizes that she is ill and, as she loses strength, Peron is losing his grip on the government. The military's anti-Eva feeling has heightened and Che has continued to bombard the Administration with his list of its failures and abuses. While she really wants to become vice-president, Eva finally acknowledges the futility of it all, as neither her body nor the opposition will allow it. Knowing that she is dying, she makes a final broadcast to the nation, rejecting the position that she knew she could never win. Barely able to stand without assistance, she musters up the actress inside to sell the people one last sham.

In her last hours, a montage of images from her life flow through Eva's mind and she wonders if she might have been happier living in obscurity. Che gets in the last words, informing us that the late Evita's body went missing for seventeen years. (As for Peron, he was removed from office by a coup and spent many years in exile.)

"Evita" has been on the boards for nearly thirty years, running for 2,900 performances in London and 1,567 performances in New York. It won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and for its original stars Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. There have been numerous revivals and touring companies, as well as the 1996 film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. So it is quite a feat that Foothills and Robert Bianca have mounted this exciting, energetic, and compelling production of a show that has truly been around the block. I have not been a huge fan of "Evita" in the past, but was moved by the voices, dances, and acting chops of these performers. DeAngelis was able to modulate his singing from the sweetness of "High Flying Adored" to the forceful anger of "A New Argentina," yet his fair coloring and boyish good looks did not jibe with my vision of Che Guevara.

Matthew Guminski's lighting design was effective in setting the stage for many different scenes, especially at Eva's funeral and at the charity concert early in Act One. Bianca's choreography was inventive and evocative of the Latin culture, as were the costumes. The four-piece band provided strong accompaniment, but there were times when I found the music overpowered the voices even though the actors wore concealed microphones.  However, the pluses far outweighed the minuses in this staging and I encourage you to see this "Evita" – "She Is A Diamond."