For all the times it's been suggested on this board, I still can't see Karen Olivo as Eva. The role requires a dynamic poise and sophistication that she's never exhibited before, considering she's made a career of playing tough, street-wise characters (IN THE HEIGHTS, WEST SIDE STORY, VERA STARK, BROOKLYN, RENT, and even her recent television stint.) Though she's got a great voice, I also seriously doubt she could sing this kind of score even six times a week. That type of crazily high sustained belting is not what she does.
All that not withstanding, this would seem like the
last production of the show where she'd ever wind up, given the fact that it's so dance-heavy and her dance skills are so notoriously subpar, even by her own admission.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.