Sam Waite – Writer & Reviewer

What’s the story?

Eva Perón’s rise from unknown would-be actress to rising star and eventually to Argentina’s First Lady and Vice Presidential hopeful is charted in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic musical, in a “radical reimagining” from director Jamie Lloyd.

In the interest of full disclosure, please be aware that this was a paid theatre visit towards the end of the show’s preview period.

Where is it playing?

The London Palladium until September 6th – https://www.evitathemusical.com

Spoiler-Full Thoughts

I won’t waste time, my own or that of any potential readers, with dancing around spoilers. With the official invitees largely if not entirely already having seen Jamie Lloyd’s Evita, and the better part having shared reviews across the past week, the endless Tweeting and commenting seems proof enough that we are well past the point of getting into specifics.

(Stop reading now if you’ve managed to remain unspoiled and want to stay that way)

That being said, let’s get the balcony out of the way. For anyone somehow unaware, Rachel Zegler takes to the balcony of the Palladium each night shortly after the second act begins, to sing the classic “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” directly to the gathered crowd on Argyll Street. So much has been made of this number, of the execution, of the potential rich vs poor dichotomy represented, but my main question when the sequence began was how it would translate through Jamie Lloyd’s multimedia lens. With multiple cameras both on and around the balcony, as well as down in the street, the Palladium audience are treated to a broadcast not dissimilar to a real-life political address, and the effect is largely compelling.

For my taste, certain shots could have been held for longer, other angles dropped entirely – but that being said, the parts I found less engaging to watch did add to the idea that we were watching a real statement being made, with the media trying on the fly to capture the perfect angles. Within the auditorium, the on-screen performance begins moments before the song itself, and with Lloyd’s now-signature aesthetic of sleek, minimal costuming, the image coming into focus is the first time we see Zegler not as Eva, but as Evita. A Golden Globe winner for her debut professional gig (María in Spielberg’s West Side Story) Zegler acquits herself well to the approach, where on-camera and on-stage acting styles are asked to mesh. Ultimately, the thing that makes the scene a success is the strength of her instrument, but more on that later.

Despite the roaring success of his Sunset Boulevard revival on both sides of the Atlantic, Jamie Lloyd’s directorial vision is a hotly debated one. Light on props, typically near-bare of set, and leaning into the harsher tones of the texts he approaches, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the tremendous heart and humour of his Much Ado About Nothing, while I know I was far from alone in being disappointed by his take on The Tempest mere weeks before. Tackling his second Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Lloyd may have found a perfect match in these twin tales of celebrity-gone-awry, and Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice may find themselves with a new hoard of Gen Z fans.

What Lloyd’s Evita loses in the substance of its story – the sung-through libretto is easy to lose track of without clear settings and events, and the rock-band volume of the music doesn’t help where non-stop lyrics need to be caught – it mostly balances with a tonal substance that telegraphs the idea of Evita the figurehead over the story of Eva the person. Zegler’s Eva is revealed power-posing in a black two-piece set, visibly and energetically the Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter of early to mid-20th century Argentine politics. With this concept in mind, the volume makes sense, and the sparse staging becomes a posthumous concert not unlike Six‘s historical sing-off – add in handheld microphones chiefly employed by Eva and her primary detractor, and dazzling on-stage lighting from Jon Clark, and the illusion is complete.

The longer I sit with this Evita the more it makes sense that we see her in full costume only on the balcony and at the curtain call – in these moments, she is presenting herself as “Evita”, as the woman Argentina gave their devotion to, and when back in her minimalist wardrobe and with her dark hair hanging down, she is Eva, the human being they never truly saw. When we next see her after she has waved farewell to the crowds below, still magnified on-screen, we find her midway through shedding that public persona before returning to the stage, in what stood out as one of my favourite moments.

Throwing themselves gamely into their director’s sleek, emotionally-repressed aesthetic, the cast deliver a fine set of performances with no weak links to speak of. James Olivas suffers somewhat for how little Colonel Perón really has to do once Eva has taken the reigns on his life, but he handles his moments in the spotlight well and delivers strong, charismatic vocals. Bella Brown, the alternate for the title role, makes the most of a single number in a powerful “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” which gives us a glimpse of the unseen life of the Mistress who Eva dismisses upon her entry into Perón’s life and home. The ensemble work seamlessly, hitting every beat of Fabian Aloise’s choreography, while Aaron Lee Lambert turns in a stellar vocal performance as Eva’s ill-fated lover whom she pushes to bring her to Buenos Aires. That I wish some of these players had more to do cannot be blamed on this production, but it still strikes me as a shame when the talent at hand is so evident.

Che, presented in some productions as a stand-in for Che Guevara, as Guevara himself in others, and as simply a representative of the working classes in many more, is played by Diego Andres Rodriguez in a spectacular West End debut. Rodriguez pulls off the complex balancing act of making Che charming enough that we don’t dismiss his endless criticisms of our leading lady, but also hard-edged enough that we don’t see him as too embraceable a figure in his own right. With a dynamic physicality and a clear, expressive voice, he is a star in the making who deserves endless accolades for his performance. Tasked with opening the show and with going toe-to-toe with a heavyweight performance from Zegler, Rodriguez powers through to make his own work completely unforgettable and incredibly resonant.

Completing the company, of course, is another strong West End debut courtesy of Evita herself, Rachel Zegler. Already established as both an actor and a vocalist thanks to West Side Story and her work as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Zegler proves here that she is a triple threat and a force to be reckoned with. Never missing a beat in ensemble dance numbers and bringing a ferocity at odds with her youthful appearance to the part, the clear tone and seemingly-endless flexibility of her voice prove to be the greatest of her assets – so many of which are on display in this immaculate performance. Lloyd’s approach doesn’t lend itself well to subtle acting or sympathetic characterisation, but Zegler brings a captivating iciness to Eva which adds to the narrative of her manipulating her way to the top. It’s a harsher view of Eva than some may prefer, but one a good number will agree with, and a viewpoint which further establishes Che as both omniscient narrator and member of the huddled masses.

After a difficult few years in which public opinion has seemed so often barbed in regards to the actor, Zegler proves with Evita that her undeniable talent and genuine passion for her work are what has brought her to this triumphant moment.

Rating and final thoughts

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full-Throttle. High-Octane. Thrilling.

This is an Evita that pulls no punches, even though in the process it could lose some oomph for more traditional theatregoers. True, some of the rock orchestrations could stand with being toned down, but what is lost in traditional storytelling seems more than made up for in consistent tone. Not as accessible to some as past productions may have been, but undeniably intense and carried beautifully by a spectacular cast, this is event theatre at its most provocative, and well-worth the visit to Argyll Street whether in your seat or watching from the pavement.