#1
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!!!
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!!!
"I believe that art does not exist only to entertain, but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, to engage in a constant search for the truth."
- Barbra Streisand
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