Kennedy & Gray star in Casa Mañana's EVITA

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 12:12pm

Casa Mañana’s production of the Tony Award-winning musical EVITA stars Lauren Kennedy as “Evita,” Kevin Gray as “Che” and will be directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford.

Kennedy has starred on Broadway in Monty Python’s Spamalot, Side Show, Sunset Boulevard and Les Misérables.

Gray has starred on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, The King and I, and most recently starred as "Scar" in the National Tour of Disney's The Lion King.

Performances of Evita are at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Woth, Texas, February 5 - 13, 2011.

Updated On: 12/4/10 at 12:12 PM

[SingingChef]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 1:15pm

This I would love to see.

I believe Lauren Kennedy to be one of Broadway's most under-used talents.
Kennedy needs a starring role on Broadway.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 1:17pm

She's completely miscast in this role.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 1:58pm

Congrats to Kevin Gray for not playing the Engineer again!

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 1:59pm

Good cast! Kennedy is one hell of a singer.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 7:42pm

Congrats to Kevin Gray for not playing the Engineer again!

I just LOL'd. Thank you!!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 12/4/10 at 8:03pm

I think Lauren Kennedy has a lovely voice, but after being extremely disappointed by her Florence in Chess, I don't think she can convincingly play this role. Her voice doesn't really have the weight and power you need to be able to belt Eva's songs, and I get too much ingenue from her.

[philly03]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 3:17am

"I believe Lauren Kennedy to be one of Broadway's most under-used talents.
Kennedy needs a starring role on Broadway."

I agree - I love Lauren Kennedy, easily one of the few performers that I will go see her in anything that's possible.

I agree though, I'm curious what she's going to do as Eva. Kennedy deserves a B'way role, she's put her effort & dues in, it baffles me she hasn't got it yet, or she hasn't been able to get great shows to stay with!

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 11:24am

I think those of you with doubts may be underestimating Lauren. She IS an under-utilized talent though. I wanted to go see this production, but unfortunately it requires travel and the timing is bad- but I think she will do a great job. If anything, she can't be worse that Sarah Litzinger was on tour. Talk about an Eva with not very much presence!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 12:19pm

Will be catching this for sure!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 1:42pm

She was the best thing about Vanities. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 2:48pm

Also, she won't be worse than Ruta Lee was in Whorehouse. That was bad.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 6:09pm

Just met Lauren after a performance of [title of show]. She is very excited about this production. I asked her about Vanities in Seattle and as far as she knows, she's not doing it nor is it coming back to New York. But you never know... those might change.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/4/11 at 8:13pm

EVITA has a student preview tonight and officially opens tomorrow. I have my tickets for tomorrow's performance and am very excited!
Updated On: 2/4/11 at 08:13 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/4/11 at 8:26pm

Awful photo.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/4/11 at 8:28pm

OMG, that's the original Broadway poster. Do they have permission? Shouldn't someone be reporting this?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 10:34pm

From Star-Telegram:

Casa Mañana's production of 'Evita' is polished, entertaining

By Punch Shaw
Special to DFW.com
Posted 8:30am on Monday, Feb. 07, 2011

FORT WORTH -- No one needs to cry for this Evita.

Casa Mañana's production of the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical, which opened a nine-day run Saturday night, is a highly polished and entertaining presentation on almost every front.

Evita, which first came to the stage in 1978, tells the story of Eva Peron, wife of Argentine President Juan Peron in the 1940s and early 1950s. But it is a lot more about hearts than history, concentrating more on the personal rather than political life of its title heroine.

This production, directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford, shines in a number of ways that go far beyond the lead roles. The choruses, for example, are exceptionally sharp and crisp. And the production numbers involving those choruses are choreographed with a great deal of verve and creativity. Even some of the work in the smaller parts, such as Jonathan Bragg as Magaldi, surprises with show-stopping moments.

The title role is taken by Lauren Kennedy and, on the whole, she handles it with aplomb. She captures both the vulnerability and the hard edges of her character with equal clarity. And she nails Don't Cry for Me Argentina. But she is also guilty of too frequently stepping over the line separating powerful and piercing when she is delivering her numbers. There are a lot of places where she needs to dial it back a notch. And the same could be said for Kevin Gray in the role of Che.

Indeed, the only problem with the amplified production was that it was often too loud, making the vocals shrill and rendering the lyrics unintelligible.

But despite those problems (which are likely to disappear as the run continues), this production is so well-planned and -executed that it overcomes any superficial flaws.

Photos gallery:
http://curtisbrownphotography.com/casaevita/

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 10:43pm

It looks like a copy of the Harold Prince production. Why aren't the BWW copyright police all over this? Are they too busy flipping out over what high schools are doing?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 11:42pm

I don't really put much stock in anything Punch Shaw says, after his comments that:
A) Fiddler on the Roof's choreography made the show "sparkle"
B) Claiming to not understand why Chorus Line was one of the greatest musicals when it was only about getting a job.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 11:50pm

@husk_charmer Are you going to catch the show?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/8/11 at 12:13am

Assuming the weather stays good, yes.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 12:16am

Well...I saw it tonight. Wish I hadn't.

The ensemble was the best part.

Peron looked like he had eaten three of his mistresses and Kennedy was about as interesting to watch as drying paint is.

The tempos were all over, the pacing was all over. Not a pleasent evening out.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 2/13/11 at 12:22am

Kennedy was about as interesting to watch as drying paint is.

That doesn't surprise me, as that is exactly how I'd describe her in every show I've ever seen her in.