Evita National Tour - Don't Waste Your Time or Money- Page 6

[theguyeric]

Posted: 1/15/06 at 6:36pm

Hello

I saw EVITA Jan 8 in Providence, RI and here are my thoughts. I would first like to say that the show has wonderful actors in the show and the music is just wonderful. From what I have read people are loving or hating the show. I feel the proplem with the show is not the actors or the music but the staging of the show it self. With Hal Prince's staging we are left with a show without depth. Eva and Peron do not have a spark between them. It would have been nice to see love or hate what I got was indifference. Peron just cames off as weak most of the time. For a man to have had the power he did would have had to be anything but weak. Eva it is her story to me she just is there to give Che something and someone to sing about. If you listen to the music and lyrics Hal Prince seems to be going against what is being said. I really think someone should just find a new feel for the show and put this staging of the show to rest. Those are just my thoughts and just that thoughts. Two people can see the same show at the same time and walk away with something different.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 1/21/06 at 3:47pm

What merchandise are they selling? Do they only have the highlights CD? Or do they have the complete recording, and if so, how much is it?

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 1/21/06 at 4:50pm

The tour stop in DC had the highlights version. They also had a window card and some other things. I enjoyed the tour very much- my review is posted on another thread though.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 6:55pm

I just saw the matinee show here in Huntsville, Alabama and I have to say it was wonderful. I rented the OBC with Patti and Mandy from the library prior to going to see the show. i wanted to hear the score and whatnot. I have to say, I much preferred what I heard in the theater. Sarah Litzsinger was our Eva and she was brillant. I thought she was a great actress and sang beautifully. Keith Byron Kirk was great. I much preferred his stronger voice to Mandy Patinkin's head voice type singing in "Oh what a Circus." I thought the sets and projections were interesting. It def. had an 70-80s feel to it. Although, I thought it sound way more modern in the theater. I recommend going to see it. The only thing I have a problem with is the ending. I know this isn't a trait of the tour,but of the show, but I thought the ending was horrible. I think it would have worked better with Che saying the things about Eva's tomb disappearing and then maybe the entire casting singing the "Don't Cry for me Argentina" but with the lyrics slightly altered or something. I thought the ending just left you cold. My other thoughts were, what was the point of the production? I throughly enjoyed the show, as did the ppl around me, but I didn't understand if they were trying to applaud Eva or say that she was just a pretty face? They had the song about her sleeping her way to the top and whatnot. I just wasn't sure what they message of the show was. My other question is where do they get "evita" from? I guess its a nickname of Eva right? But I just wasn't sure becasue they never really mention it and i just dont see the correlation b/w eva and evita? Anyways, a great show, go see it. its worth it.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 7:04pm

Evita essentially means "Little Eva." The addition of the morpheme "ita" in Spanish, essentially emphasizes the small or little nature of the noun it is attached to. Eva Peron was quite short and petite (I think maybe 5 foot or so?) so the addition of "ita" to her name, was a term of endearment that her supporters gave her.

Glad you enjoyed the show. I liked it alot when I saw the tour last month.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 7:55pm

Thanks KC, I didn't understand where it came from and was just wondering. I would have never guessed that - ha.

[soapguy17]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 8:34pm

I just saw it! I think RentBoy and I were at the same show. It was sort of eh! I loved the guy who was Che (Keith Byron Kirk) , as the original poster said he was amazing!! I thought most of the characters where great. I loved Heidi Dean. The chours, while not as bad as the original poster states, where just okay. Overall I loved it!! Rentboy, tell me you marked Aida on that survey they gave you!! I want so bad for it to come to Hunstville.

[DAME]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 8:43pm

I am confused. First you say it was EH! And then you say overall you LOVED IT. WHICH IS IT?

[soapguy17]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 9:02pm

I loved the musical. The preformance of the musical was eh. Sorry for not specifying. I've never seen Evita before.

Updated On: 2/4/06 at 09:02 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 10:18pm

I thought it was great. I thought it was a little hard to understand at times, but overall great. I still don't understand the whole "another suitcase in another hall" part where Eva just kinda threw the chick out, but whatever.

And you better believe I marked Aida! And Rent! and DRS and Little Shop & Captain Louie - I may not be a preteen, but I enjoy my captian louie.

[DAME]

Posted: 2/4/06 at 10:47pm

Thanks for clearing that up.

[DAME]

Posted: 1/15/07 at 9:49pm

bump

Posted: 1/15/07 at 10:12pm

So is this basicallya restaging of the Prince original? or does it use elements from the current London staging?

[DAME]

Posted: 1/15/07 at 10:18pm

God knows what they will do now. Hopefully this time they will hire a good Eva.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/15/07 at 11:22pm

I saw the tour a while ago and loved it. The Eva (I want to say that I saw Kathy) never really made me care about her, but I don't think that's the easiest job so I can forgive her for that.

I hate that Che is Che Guevara in this production though (I know, I know, that's the original Hal Prince conception but it still bothers me.)

Posted: 1/16/07 at 12:37am

Wait I'm confuse--the original Hal Prince idea was thatChe was Che Guevera for sure? I thought that ewas the original concept album idea but Hal made him just "Che" more of an everyman (and cut ideas like his pesticide plan) or have I got it backwards

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 12:11pm

I was told it was Hal Prince behind that, but I could be wrong. If it helps any, I know that in the original Evita production with Colm Wilkinson, he's Che Guevara.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:16pm

Colm Wilkinson was Che in the original concept album (1976), but David Essex originated the role on stage in London two years later.

Anyway, Che in Hal Prince's original staging is clearly Che Guevara. Not only does he look/dress like him, but he's the same age as Che was when the events in the musical took place ("Or just a man who grew and saw from 17 to 24 his counry bled, crucified?").

Also, according to the play synopsis: "There is no evidence whatsoever that Che Guevara ever met Eva Peron or became in any way involved with her, but the character Che in EVITA is based upon this legendary revolutionary. He was, however, an Argentine born in 1928 and would therefore have been 17 when the Perons came to power and 24 when Eva died. He became strongly opposed to the Peronist regime during Eva's lifetime and it is not unreasonable to suppose that his later activity in Cuba and elsewhere was in part a reaction against the government he had known in his youth."

Updated On: 1/16/07 at 01:16 PM

[lildogs]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 1:27pm

I was afraid Di2 was back...

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 5:21pm

They just decided to incorporate Che into the musical because he was another influential person of that time. The closest he ever came to Evita was sending her a letter asking for a Jeep. Not sure if he got it or not.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 5:26pm

I know that it's supposed to be symbolic, but I'm a freak about historical accuracy. It bothers me because A) Che wasn't involved with politics at such a young age B) "Che" isn't really a name in Argentina C) Che's the one character in Evita with whom I'm supposed to really relate, and how can I empathize with Che Guevara??

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 7:07pm

I saw this tour. One word. Horrendous.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 1/16/07 at 7:29pm

This tour was produced before the London revival.

Kathy Voytko made for an absolutely unlikable Eva. And to back it up, the score was much to difficult for her. Her voice sounded just weak the whole show. It was the first time I have ever seen EVITA and actually wanted Eva to just die already.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 1/17/07 at 4:22am

"Ché" is an interjection used in Argentina to get someone's attention, and it's akin to saying "hey" (e.g. "¡Portate bien, ché!"/"Hey, behave yourself!") It may also be used to mean "buddy." Ernesto Guevara was nicknamed "el ché" by his new Cuban compadres because of his constant use of it. [In the Argentine film EVA PERON: THE TRUE STORY, "ché" is thrown around quite a bit, especially by Esther Goris, who plays Evita.]

I think Rice and Lloyd Webber used Che Guevara for various reasons. For one, he was an Argentine. Two, his family had been critical of Peron's corrupt government, which gave credence to the character's contempt for Eva's cockeyed politics. And three, Che had become an international symbol of rebellion by the time of the musical's inception. Furthermore, in the Spanish libretto, a word ending in or containing "ché" ("Y si ves que me eChé a perder"; "Fuiste luz de farol en el anoChécer") is emphasized, as if to drive the point home.

Updated On: 1/17/07 at 04:22 AM

Posted: 1/17/07 at 4:49am

Good points except I don't give Rice enough credit for considering how his libretto would read/sing in Spanish

E