To fully understand why they changed "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" for the film, you have to understand the political inspiration behind the writing of the musical.
In 1976, the thing that initially drew Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber to the idea of musicalizing the life of Eva Peron, was that just as they felt the life of Jesus Christ mirrored the frenzied celebrity of the modern day rock star, they felt that the story of the Perons and particularly their totalitarian politics seemed to echo the desperate socio-econimic climate of the current United Kingdom.
Their initial take on the character of Eva Peron was relatively ruthless. If you listen to the original concept album, Eva is brittle and unrelentlingly harsh. When the show was staged for the first time by Hal Prince in 1978, the concept of the character remained ruthless and unforgiving.
But by the time the show opened in New York, Webber, Prince and Rice had begun to rethink the character of Eva Peron. Perhaps their years with the character gave them a different perspective, or perhaps the tide of british politics that initially drew them to the project had changed, but Eva was much more sympathetic when the show opened on Broadway.
When Alan Parker took over the film, he took an almost "pro" Evita stance (almost a 180 from the place the writers started from). His take on the role is completely empathetic, and while it can be argued that two songs were added for Madonna because of her celebrity, I personally think Parker requested the addition of "You Must Love Me" and the reassignment of "Another Suitcase" to deliberately give Eva two sympathetic, vulnerable moments which she really doesn't get in the play.
When the next major revival happens, without Prince's staging, it will be interesting to see how the team approaches the Evita character. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the structural changes from the film were incorporated. Perhaps it will depend on the politics of the day.
Updated On: 3/22/05 at 12:31 PM
