JanMaxwellsBag said: "Ensemble10036 said: "I'm still scarred by the 2005 revival ... though it's been a minute and I probably should get over it. Love him or hate him, it certainly seems to have altered the career path of David Leveaux ..."
The West End revival was in 2006 directed by Michael Grandage. I saw the Broadway version in 2012 and I don’t remember anything particularly notable about the staging, it seemed pretty straightforward. While Evita wasn’t a hit in London, Grandage did quite well for himself in the years since, going on to win the Tony for Direction of a Play in 2010 for Red (which I guess helped secure Evita’s remount in New York).
People forget that the 2006 West End revival was a major critical hit (even if it didn't do as well as it should have commercially - there was a lot of competition that year in London for musicals, so the timing wasn't quite right) and had a major buzz in theatre circles. Even Riedel reported that Broadway was on the cards once the reviews came out, because at that time, those were the best reviews either ALW or Tim Rice had ever received in their careers. And regardless of what happened in New York, Elena Roger was sensational in that particular production.
I saw the Broadway revival as well and understand the complaints. 6 years took its toll, voices were shot, things became mechanical, casting was a bit weird, and it was all a bit muted. It's a shame the transfer didn't happen straight away with all of the buzz behind the London production, but the Broadway producers were insistent it could only sell with a big name so they were waiting all that time for Ricky Martin to become available.
Updated On: 2/28/23 at 01:09 PM