GlindatheGood22 said: "wiggum2 said: "I just got back from seeing it and while I'm still processing here are some thoughts
1. I really liked the actor playing Che... however I completely missed the older/younger version of Che concept it seems
2. I was not impressed with Shereen... maybe she was having an off night but she missed many notes and I've never heard quality sung with so many syllables
3. The direction/choreography in Buenos Aires seemed to contradict itself... Eva is portrayed as being a victim when she came to BA in this production yet the lyrics make it clear she will do whatever she needs to... like Blanche Devereaux, she is willing to pay with nature's credit card"
I was at the matinee and Shereen wasn't on. One of the ushers told me she has a concussion, so maybe she's on a reduced performance schedule?
Anyway, I largely agree with the points above. Buenos Aires needs to be restaged, along with, and I hate to say it, Don't Cry for Me Argentina. Spoilers below.
Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content- Evita has always been a dance-heavy show, and this production is no exception, but I was perplexed as to when the dancing was supposed to be furthering the story and when it was dancing for dancing's sake. Buenos Aires does both. It's the standard "Eva dances in the streets" at first, and then, during the dance break after the polo match, we get a montage of Eva being repeatedly groped and harassed by the men of the city, which is then immediately followed by the joyful final chorus. They're obviously trying to highlight the exploitation the real-life Eva no doubt faced, but in the midst of such a celebratory song it makes no sense and doesn't work.
- As for DCFMA, I thought Isabella Lopez sang it beautifully by the staging was all wrong. This is the only time when we see the "stair" motif that's appeared in production photos, and the moment of Evita on the balcony manipulating her adoring public has been changed to her alone on a stage full of flowers, with no audio of the cheering crowds. During her post-song speech the stairs ascend and we see Eva on a pedestal in the middle of the stage while the ensemble bow on the floor around her.
- I was interested in the concept of Che as a former Peronist who later defects, but he's dressed in modern day street clothes, and I have zero idea what that's supposed to imply. Costuming all around was a bit of a missed opportunity. The ensemble wears gray, and Eva only ever wears white (with black accents during The Rainbow Tour.) Feels like a missed opportunity to take a show like this and suck out all the color, but I guess that's not what this production cares about.
*Edit* It occurs to me that Che's shirt is red, which is the only real pop of color we see aside from the blue and white of the Argentinian flag. It seems like this indicates something about him being in the present as we watch the past like a black and white movie, but who knows. On that note, the "Cinema in Buenos Aires" opening has been cut. I don't remember if it was in the 2012 production.
-As for what the production DOES care about, that's still a little murky. As evidenced by the poster, they're clearly trying to highlight the duality of Eva's life, but aside from having her watch her younger self get thrown out during the (wonderful) Another Suitcase in Another Hall, that's never exploited as much as it could be. This is obviously hooked up somehow to the two Ches, but again, I'm not sure things are as clear as they could be.
Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content
Overall, I enjoyed it, and preferred it to the 2012 revival, but I think the show is always gonna suffer from the original director and leading lady having set an impossibly high standard."
Trying to respond to the spoiler content without spoiling, myself (don't know how to do the toggle thing). For reasons that are somewhat unfathomable to me, there is this push in recent years to try to turn stagings of Evita into "The 100% True and Authentic Story of Maria Eva Duarte de Perón." The musical just won't sustain that. It's a cynical satire of political corruption, and the effacement of real politics for the politics of celebrity. A topic still very relevant today and in our own country. I get that Evita's historical evaluation is complex and that Tim Rice likely used very bias sources (though it's actually very unlikely that Evita: The Woman with the Whip was his main source, despite what countless internet sources suggest--without actually providing any concrete evidence). The point of Evita isn't to be historically accurate. Anyway, the attempt to "balance" the real Eva Peron with Rice and Lloyd Webber's conception just doesn't gel. Do the show or create a new one.