Jamie Lloyd-helmed EVITA revival to play the London Palladium in 2025- Page 26

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 8:22pm

CATSNYrevival said: "Still no cast album news?"

Really hoping for a studio recording! But of course I'd take a live recording. 

Are instruments added to the orchestra when a cast recording is completed in the studio? I'm sure it depends on the musical.

Don't get me wrong, the orchestra sounded amazing the Palladium. The orchestral moments during Surprisingly Good For You before "There is no one, no one at all, never has been..." and Dice are Rolling and Montage in the second act were so full and satisfying without being too loud. 

(I'm sure this has been discussed over these 25 pages).

 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 9:32pm

Ah, you young uns in this thread, seeing the iconic B'way production's television commercial for the first time (at least to study it). I moved to NYC that autumn (and saw the first preview, 9/10/79 the day I signed a lease at the Beacon Hotel; yeah, don't ask), and the commercial was on daily, during the local break-away on Today. We all got used to it, and it became one of the best advertising tools of the day. It was also used with the national company, even though none of those stars appeared. I feel such emotional reconnection to my youth whenever I see it. 

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 7/25/25 at 10:09pm

Auggie27 said: "Ah, you young uns in this thread, seeing the iconic B'way production's television commercial for the first time (at least to study it). I moved to NYC that autumn (and saw the first preview, 9/10/79 the day I signed a lease at the Beacon Hotel; yeah, don't ask), and the commercial was on daily, during the local break-away on Today. We all got used to it, and it became one of the best advertising tools of the day. It was also used with the national company, even though none of those stars appeared. I feel such emotional reconnection to my youth whenever I see it."

Wow, I bet that first preview was magic??

[bear88]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 12:59pm

What’s the best way to sell a single ticket to Evita? Someone I know, in London, has an extra one for the show in a few days.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 1:07pm

Offer it at https://theatreboard.co.uk/

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 1:24pm

C4b2a3b said: "CarlosAlberto said: "I believe the lyric you are referring to is "Just a little tough of star quality!"

On the Premiere American Recording, LuPone sings that line in a lower register, but on stage, she sang it in the higher register, as is evident from the footage I've seen of the Broadway production. LuPone also sings it in the higher register for the production's television ads.

I'm glad Rachel is on the mend and will perform tonight.

 

"

What an interesting promo! Patti's look at the end is almost creepy.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear about what I mean, but I'm talking about 2:15 in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6NkRBIl8UM

One night Zegler opted up like in this video and the other night I went (two days ago 7/23) she opted for the lower version.

Even though this thread about the London revival, watching this video again reminds me that Patti's version is so thrilling! Her belt at 1:17 is incredible."

Ah okay! Now I see what part you are talking about. I stand corrected! 

 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 5:46pm

You can tell she’s being more careful with vocal placement and there’s some flatness sometimes and occasionally breathy notes that are barely there, so it’s definitely a vocal fatigue issue. She’s far less strident than the earlier videos we’ve seen. Hopefully that will all resolve and there won’t be any permanent issues.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMlIOwBNchA/

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 5:58pm

bear88 said: "What’s the best way to sell a single ticket toEvita? Someone I know, in London, has an extra one for the show in a few days."

I posted one on Twickets, the official reseller, and it sold in about 5 minutes. It is like Theatr app here.

https://www.twickets.live/en/uk

 

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/26/25 at 8:44pm

SteveSanders said: "bear88 said: "What’s the best way to sell a single ticket toEvita? Someone I know, in London, has an extra one for the show in a few days."

I posted one on Twickets, the official reseller, and it sold in about 5 minutes. It is like Theatr app here.

https://www.twickets.live/en/uk

"

Theatreboard also has a notice board to buy and sell tickets (although I've never used it). You may need to register to access it. People also seem to then post that the ticket is available in the Evita thread in the Musicals forum. 

https://theatreboard.co.uk/board/27/noticeboard

 

 

Updated On: 7/26/25 at 08:44 PM

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 9:40am

"We want contributing members of the forum to benefit from this service primarily. For this reason members with a post count of less than 25 may not qualify to post notices. If your post count is less than 25 but you have a notice that you feel would provide a significant benefit to members such as a ticket sale with an attractive discount or if the show is sold out then go ahead and Admin will review."

Just in case people weren't aware that a newcomer isn't always allowed to post on theatreboard.co.uk which as others have noted here, can be a good place to attempt resale.

[bear88]

Posted: 7/27/25 at 11:56pm

SteveSanders said: "bear88 said: "What’s the best way to sell a single ticket toEvita? Someone I know, in London, has an extra one for the show in a few days."

I posted one on Twickets, the official reseller, and it sold in about 5 minutes. It is like Theatr app here.

https://www.twickets.live/en/uk

Did you price your tickets at a steep discount? Twickets doesn't seem to move nearly as fast as the Theatr app - for anyone - or at least it hasn't this weekend for Evita performances early this week. This may be because people wait until the last minute, or perhaps because Twickets is just different. I'm trying to offer advice. 

 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 5:07am

My ticket was for a Tuesday in late August, rear stalls aisle seat, and I priced it at what I paid, 89GBP.  Remaining stall seats on the official Evita LW site were at least twice that.  Perhaps I just got lucky that someone was looking for my date and saw my seat was now a relative bargain.

Updated On: 7/28/25 at 05:07 AM

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 11:15am

Apparently the director and choreographer are doing a talk back after the show today 

[bear88]

Posted: 7/28/25 at 1:39pm

SteveSanders said: "My ticket was for a Tuesday in late August, rear stalls aisle seat, and I priced it at what I paid, 89GBP. Remaining stall seats on the official Evita LW site were at least twice that. Perhaps I just got lucky that someone was looking for my date and saw my seat was now a relative bargain."

The pair of balcony seats for Tuesday’s show sold for the ticket price plus fees just now. Thanks for everyone’s help.

[binau]

Posted: 7/31/25 at 5:58pm

I caught Evita again this evening - first since the first preview. I could cry. Rachel is still in EXCELLENT voice. In fact, her Rainbow High is even stronger than the first preview. I don’t currently have any concerns about her longevity in the role. Diego’s vocals are also stronger too. 

When the first preview happened I suggested the balcony scene would be better if they showed the crowd in the shot. Well, to my surprise they now do. You can see the wild and massive crowds all crowding around with their phones lapping it up while Rachel performs to them from the theatre, and the effect is as expected - it’s truly one of those very special ‘coup de theatre’ moments. A black mirror episode in real life where a theatre director has managed to bait the general public into performing as extras and feeding into the whole subtext of the show about how she is putting on a show (I guess literally AND metaphorically) and a facade to the public, confirmed by her wiping her eyes dry of tears when she is done. As an aside, the screen actually malfunctioned briefly and the audience gasped but it started working again. I would feel very, very short changed if it didn’t work. 

This is very, very special. I think I would say it’s the most ground breaking piece of staging innovation I’ve ever seen. It makes the sunset second act opening, which was almost a technical proof of concept for this, seem like child’s play because it doesn’t match the weight of the dramatic subtext of this moment and the role of the real life crowds. 

At this point, I could not roll my eyes further into the back of my head of lame internet people especially those that haven’t seen the show complaining or suggesting they are sick of Jamie Lloyd now etc. Shut up and listen - theatre history is being made right now. After an inevitable transfer and success in NYC, this production and Rachel’s performance will become an iconic piece of theatre history. This is getting serious now. 

The standing ovation at the end lasted several minutes and felt more like a closing night than a random weeknight mid run. 

It was so intense that Rachel’s co-star briefly put his arm on her shoulder to acknowledge what was happening and comfort.

This isn’t typical and this is very unusual especially for London. Something is happening. 

Someone on theatre board suggested this is the most successful show at the palladium since Judy Garland. I don’t know if that’s true at all, but the excitement sure feels like it could be true.



 

Updated On: 7/31/25 at 05:58 PM

[chernjam]

Posted: 7/31/25 at 6:33pm

binau said: "I caught Evita again this evening - first since the first preview. I could cry. Rachel is still in EXCELLENT voice. In fact, her Rainbow High is even stronger than the first preview. I don’t currently have any concerns about her longevity in the role. Diego’s vocals are also stronger too....

 

Binau - thanks for this extensive review.  I've been happy for Rachel post- Snow White to have enjoyed such a phenomenal reception.   Especially being such a young woman who's become such a phenomenon so quickly, she deserves some time and space to learn how to deal with being in the public eye.  From previews to each week of performances it's really been nothing but great reviews and reactions - not to mention selling out the Paladium every night and drawing massive crowds outside.  I've been having a theatre-crash post-Sunset so I'm hopeful that Evita will wind up over here sooner rather than later :) 

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 1:51pm

Forgive my ignorance or if this has already been asked, but does Zegler sing this in the original key? I was trying to compare LuPone clips and some bootleg snippets online, but I just don't have the ears for this sort of thing. 

I ask because somebody commented on one of the bootleg snippets that Zegler is singing in a lower key. But it sounds the same to me...

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 7:33pm

In this clip, it sounds like Patti is a half-step higher than Rachel's version, but on the OBCR, Patti is in the same key as Rachel is here. So either that Youtube clip of Patti is so warped that it sounds higher than it actually is, or Patti sung it a half-step higher live than she did on the recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMt8VTthPHI

[TBFL]

Posted: 8/1/25 at 7:45pm

binau said: " Someone on theatre board suggested this is the most successful show at the palladium since Judy Garland. I don’t know if that’s true at all, but the excitement sure feels like it could be true."

Depends on what their definition of successful is. The 1991 Palladium production of Joseph was a massive hit, ran for 2.5 years, the cast recording was no.1 on the album chart for a few weeks, Any Dram Will Do was no.1 on the pop charts for weeks and spawned replica productions around the world.

I know that didnt rquire an literal answer lol, but I get what they mean because the production really does generate that kind of atmosphere and energy in the room.

[Crusty Bagel]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 12:56pm

Oh my goodness this repels me. This will absolutely collapse if it comes to ny. Word of mouth will be devastating and it will die a quick death. At least Sunset had a certain elegance about it that I liked, Evita has nothing!!! 

[bear88]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 3:13pm

Crusty Bagel said: "

 

Oh my goodness this repels me. This will absolutely collapse if it comes to ny. Word of mouth will be devastating and it will die a quick death. At least Sunset had a certain eleganceabout it that I liked, Evita has nothing!!!"

Your response reminds me of that of an older woman from Florida who sat next to my daughter at the London Palladium 10 days ago. She hated the revival and kept telling my daughter how much she hated it during intermission, even though my daughter didn’t respond. So it’s not for everyone, though I was appalled by the woman’s violation of one of the unspoken rules of theater: Don’t trash the production inside the theater even if you hate it. 

My daughter’s response? She liked the production so much that she snagged a reasonably priced ticket for later in her London vacation. (Finding a reasonably priced ticket is not easy at this point.)

The Evita revival is certainly a massive hit in London. More than that, it’s a must-see event. We’ll see how that translates to Broadway.

[Seb28]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 4:36pm

I've finally seen the show.

I have always loved the music of Evita and I also love the movie (one of the better musical films in my opinion, even with Madonna's singing) for what it is.

I have never cared much about the specifics of how Evita was staged in the theatre, there have been so many versions, so I went into it with an open mind about that and 2 thoughts: One, I don't care about the direction/staging and two, I really dislike Rachel Zegler, so let's see what I think of this show.

Well, I came out with my mind completely changed. I hated the direction and staging immensely. It is cheap, uninspired, disrespectful, belittling and lazy. It looks like an amateur production. This director has no clue about the material. There are so many missed opportunities, in storytelling, in directing, in staging, in sets, Rainbow High could have been spectacular with new gimmicks with costume changes, etc. He has no respect for theatre at all. Nor for the material. I am now sure that Jamie Lloyd has got no talent. He is a one trick pony. I am sure that people who are not familiar with the film or show have no clue what the story is about. And I absolutely loved Rachel Zegler. She is very talented and I enjoyed her performance very much. She deserved a much better production of Evita to be in.

So it was an enjoyable and surprising experience, because of Rachel Zegler, in spite of Jamie Lloyd.

 

 

 

 

 

[malcs98]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 5:09pm

bear88 said: " The Evita revival is certainly a massive hit in London. More than that, it’s a must-see event. We’ll see how that translates to Broadway."

I mean if it worked for Sunset at the St. James, I see no reason why it shouldn't for Evita. 

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 8/3/25 at 11:33pm

bjh2114 said: "In this clip, it sounds like Patti is a half-step higher than Rachel's version, but on the OBCR, Patti is in the same key as Rachel is here. So either that Youtube clip of Patti is so warped that it sounds higher than it actually is, or Patti sung it a half-step higher live than she did on the recording.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMt8VTthPHI"

I agree, that clip seems a little warped, and maybe that's why it sounds a half step up?

Good to know about OBCR and Rachel are in the same key though! 

 

[Seb28]

Posted: 8/4/25 at 5:55am

I wonder if there will be a cast recording of this show. I must say, Rachel Zegler sings the material wonderfully. She was great when I went and her renditions of the balcony clips and other recordings are always great. But I did not really like the DCFMA single. Both the studio version and the "live version" did not do her justice (probably recorded on stage during soundcheck without an audience). Literally every other time she sang it (hundreds of clips and when I saw it) was better.

I think they should record 5 shows randomly, without the cast being aware of which shows they are. And then compare and pick the best parts.