Evita National Tour - Don't Waste Your Time or Money

[bwayboi4life42]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 10:30am

Okay, so I went to Evita in Houston really excited. It's one of my favorite musicals of all time- definately my favorite ALW. We had third row seats and I was nearly jumping up and down when the show began.

First off, Keith Byron Kirk is absolutely amazing!!! He has an incredible voice and fabulous facial expressions. He was definately the highlight of the whole show!!! Mandy Patinkin is a god, but I think I like Keith better.

Now... Kathy Voytko is HORRIFIC as Eva!!! She doesn't have any of the high notes. She sounded really strained and just plain god-awful. I don't know how the heck she played Christine in the tour of Phantom. She was also EXTREMELY melodramatic. It looked really tacky. It happened a lot during "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and during the end, especially during "Eva's Final Broadcast." Also, during "Eva's Final Broadcast," you somewhat thought she was going to die. Her voice was weak (weaker than usual) and she could hardly stand up (all overdone, of course.) Then, during "The Lament," when she was laying in bed, she had nearly perfect posture, and a really strong, kind of belty voice. Then, when she was done singing, she went back to the melodramatic crap and died. It was almost comical.

Philip Hernandez as Peron... well, he's better than Jonathan Pryce. Just so-so.

Gabriel Burrafato as Magaldi. He also stole the show. I'm not a big fan of "On This Night of a Thousand Stars," but he was great. I wouldn't mind hearing that song again, if he was singing it.

Heidi Dean as Peron's Mistress. "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" is one of my favorite songs, and she sang it all right. I was blown away by it, but I definately wasn't disappointed.

I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the Ensemble. They seemed really off with the choreography, mainly in "Buenos Aires" and "The Money Kept Rolling In." In "Buenos Aires," Kathy started singing really slowly, and I mean REALLY slow. Then, during the first dance break, the orchestra started picking up to the normal speed, and the dancing became a big pile of crap as they tried to catch up. In "The Money Kept Rolling In," they just didn't seem to have much energy.

Also, the show didn't flow very well. It's supposed to run one song right after another, no pauses. There were some awkward scene changes done without any underscoring, that ruined the flow of the show.

Overall, I was thoroughly upset with this production. It was terrible. I mean, I was at the point where I almost wanted to start crying. I cannot stand crappy productions of my favorite shows. It really aggravates me!!!

[timote316]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 10:46am

I saw the tour just after it kicked off in Boston. I think I disagree with just about everything you said (except Keith Byron Kirk - I saw Bradley Dean). Sorry you didn't like the show, everyone has off nights.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 10:50am

Yes, everyone I have talked to LOVES this production.

My thoughts are with them during Rita...thankfully it looks like they will be ok.

Updated On: 9/24/05 at 10:50 AM

[hannahshule]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 10:52am

Maybe it looked so overdone because you were so close. Performers have to make it big for the people way in the back.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 10:55am

I saw this tour in Los Angeles and also thought it was horrid. Kathy Voytko is probaly the worst Eva I had ever seen and the whole show was on the tacky side. I am not surprised it got the critical pounding it did. What a mess.

[kelzama]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:03am

Reviews like this exemplify nothing more than the ignorance of the reviewer.

Have you considered that "Buenos Aires" was written with the tempo changes? That the acting choices ("She was also EXTREMELY melodramatic. It looked really tacky. It happened a lot during "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and during the end, especially during "Eva's Final Broadcast.") were based archivally on how the real Peron actually delivered her speeches? That historically, as Peron "declined" the VP nomination, she indeed nearly fell over the microphones? That Voytko was hand-picked and directed by Hal Prince, who just might know a bit more about the art than you? That you've listened to a digitally remastered CD one too many times? That definitely is definitely spelled with an "i" and not an "a"?

A CD flows from one song to the other. A movie is seamless. This is live theatre, complete with all the dramatic pauses.

Although I haven't seen the Houston show (I've seen it elsewhere) the Houston Chronicle disagrees with your assessment:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/3363860

"For fans of the score, the best reason to attend this latest tour is the strong singing of its three leads.

Kathy Voytko makes a persuasive and powerful Eva, with a determined glint in her eye and a steely conviction in her singing (despite the loss of precision in her very highest notes). She modulates her overriding ambition proficiently, from the raw push of her arrival in Buenos Aires to her velvet-glove-sheathed seduction of Perón in I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You."

In today's spoon-fed society, sometimes a little homework is actually required. So is an open mind to different interpretations.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:08am

"Reviews like this exemplify nothing more than the ignorance of the reviewer. "
Excuse me darling.. but I think the ignorance is all yours. There was no new interpretation on behalf of Kathy. Just bad melodamatic acting, poor singing voice, and a total lack of stage presence.

Updated On: 9/24/05 at 11:08 AM

[kelzama]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:10am

Dear, dear, one. Maybe you should have paid more attention in your Theatre 101 class.

[nycdncr]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:12am

thank you kelzama! being a cast member on this tour, i was upset by the ignorant review posted this morning, but i wasn't going to say anything. you said exactly what was on my mind. i'm quite partial to everyone in the cast!

oh, and by the way....i'm one of the dancers in Buenos Aires and Money. i don't dance behind the beat or spend my time onstage catching up to the orchestra. parts of BA are choreographed to look frantic. sections of the choreography are refered to as 'cacophany' and 'devil dance'.....if that says anything about what they should look like. 'cacophany' is choreographed with the men and women doing the same choreography on different counts. women dance on the counts and men dance on the +'s.

maybe bwayboi4life42 should do a little research on the show.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:13am

Paid attention? I have my BFA thank you very much. And I don't need a theater class to know when something fails to move me and is poorly acted and horribly sung. And neither does your average theater goer.

Updated On: 9/24/05 at 11:13 AM

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:27am

I saw this touring production. And on a scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 2. Eva was painful to watch. You didn't believe her for one second. What you saw was a actor giving a performance. And a bad one.

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:30am

Oh and nycdncr;
Why would anyone have to do research on a show? As a audience the experience is about what is there. And what is there is a miscast, mediocre production at best. Sorry. For me it was a waist of money.


Updated On: 9/24/05 at 11:30 AM

[nycdncr]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:37am

this show is the most faithful version of hal prince's original broadway production that you can see anywhere at the moment. hal prince and larry fuller still have a very active hand in keeping this show up to snuff. maybe if you have a problem with it, you should take it up with them.

maybe people are so critical because they've listed to a studio recording of patti (who is amazing, by the way) for years or only have seen madonna plod through the movie.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:40am

No. I don't think people are critical of it for that reason at all. i think they are critical of it because of whats on stage. And you have no way of knowing what it is they are seeing since you are on that stage with the show. So sorry. Iam glad you have a job and I am sure it is a wonderful experience for you. This production is still dull.

[kelzama]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:41am

Well, now, we get to the crux of the matter. If you don't care for the tone of Kathy's voice, that's one thing. "Horribly sung" might just be the fault of the composer. One Broadway music director said that Kathy is the first Eva to sing the score as written. Yep, not even Paige, Lacey, or LuPone.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:44am

It has also nothing to do with the tone of her voice ( as bad as it was). She is just not believable as the character. not even for a second. It is all bad acting up there.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:47am

I saw this tour in San Diego and was thoroughly impressed with all involved. Especially Kathy, and Bradley Dean who I thought was fan-fu*king-taskic. Even the ensemble, having to run around as the Beurocrats, Peronists and Solders and other various groups I thought did an awesome job. The staging has a very grand opera feel to it. I loved it. So add me to the list of people who disagree with the above comments...

[theaternut]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 11:50am

Well thats the beauty of live theater. Different people can come away with different experiences. I really wished I had enjoyed it. I didn't. I thought it was awful. But I am glad you liked it.

[kelzama]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 12:02pm

theaternut:
In the days where you could see a Bway show for under $20, I can understand why a person might go into a show blind.

But when I'm shelling out $100+ per seat, I will find out as much about a show as I can. And for a sung-thru show, I find it enhances the experience tremendously to at least be familiar with the story.
Updated On: 9/24/05 at 12:02 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 12:05pm

Well.. you shouldn't have to do that. Especially at $100.00 a seat.

[nycdncr]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 12:15pm

take that complaint to mr. lloyd weber

[DAME]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 12:33pm

No need. In this instance I don't think it is entirely his fault. I think it is the fault of poor casting and a production that is caught in a ghost of its past.

[Iris Chacon]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 12:41pm

I wanted to point out that Evita was not a critical hit when it first opened. Audiences at the time were also mixed about it. I also believe that the shows huge popularity has more to do with the success of the studio album with Lupone and Patinkin. Having said that...

I have seen many production of this show thoroughout the years. I found this touring production to be dull, uninspired, and poorly cast. I would have thought that by this point of the tour some change in the lead would have taken place. She is terrible.

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 1:14pm

I actually seen many productions of Evita (including this one), and I find that, the way it is staged, it always makes it seem very tedious.

I hope that if there is a London revival, that they will come up with a more engaging approach to staging the musical. The Hal Prince staging makes me go zzzzzzzz

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 9/24/05 at 1:22pm

Grow up. Why does there always have to be one long continuous arguement...