Lisa Brescia, Felicia Finley, and Sarah Litzsinger as EVITA?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 5:28pm

Did anyone see these gals as Eva Peron? I would love to hear your thoughts/opinions.

I'm working on a little research for an article I'm writing about the new London EVITA and I'd like to take into account some of the other actresses who have recently played the role.

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:28pm

Felicia was amazing when I saw her. Updated On: 7/18/06 at 06:28 PM

[andyf]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 6:30pm

I saw Lisa twice at Gateway and she was spectacular. She has a voice that doesn't quit and is a brilliant actress, so this was quite a good role to showcase her many talents.

Fun sidenote: Throughout the entire beginning of the run, Lisa was performing without the luxury of having that ever-popular alternate at matinees, so she was singing through that score eight times a week. Take into account tech rehearsals, etc., and you can only imagine how busy her schedule was the whole time leading up to and following the opening of the show... That's a whole lot of E's.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:04pm

Everyone I know that saw Litzsinger in the tour here felt she was mediocre at best. I think I remember the paper giving her an unfavorable write up as well...

[gustof777]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:09pm

I love all three of them and would have loved to have seen their take on Eva.

[ponine24601]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:10pm

I saw Lisa 3 times at Gateway, and I agree that she was absolutely spectacular in the role. Her voice fit Eva's songs perfectly and she let the audiences see both the stronger and more vulnerable sides of Eva.

I didn't see Felicia or Sarah in the role though.

[AnotherDay46]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:27pm

Lisa was FANTASTIC in the role. She really captured the part of Eva. Felicia was not my favorite, I didn't like how her voice sounded as Eva. All I really noticed about Sarah when I saw her was that she was really short. She wasn't too memorable.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:43pm

I saw Sarah in the tour and I was very underwhelmed. Vocally she was fine, but that's about it. Throughout the show, she looked like a little girl playing dress up.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 7:48pm

I was going to say...I do like Sarah, but she seems a little girl-y and innocent for the role.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 8:13pm

Thanks so much guys! Can you elaborate a bit more about their individual vocal qualitiy in the role? I know a lot of people complained that Kathy Voytko, the first Eva on the Troika tour (fundamentally a soprano) couldn't sing the score without flipping up into her upper registers. I'm not familiar enough with Litzsinger and Brescia's voices to know if they are belters in the Patti LuPone mold or more legit. I assume Finley belted the entire score.

[BertCCRI]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 8:38pm

I didn't see Kathy Voytko as Evita, but she was terrific in the title role in Princess Caraboo in the recent "staged reading" at Goodsped in Chester.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 8:45pm

I saw Felicia Finley sing Rainbow High, and it was fierce. Definitely a belter. Lisa sort of floats between legit and belt, though, I think... so perhaps a bit of both?

[almostxfamous]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 8:58pm

I wish I could've seen Felicia. I expect she was amazing.

[mallardo]

Posted: 7/18/06 at 9:59pm

I saw Voytko and I sure didn't notice any register breaks or "flipping up" to soprano for the high stuff. I loved her.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 11:40am

I saw Litzinger as Eva and she was great, I guess she did look like a little girl playing dress up, but that's just because of her physical appearance. I think she was really great in the role. Very dramatic. Her voice sounded great. She didn't hit high notes though. I loved her.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 11:48am

I've never seen them in Evita but I've seen all of them perform on Broadway. All of them are amazing, and I'm sure they all made great "Eva"s.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 11:50am

Brescia has never faltered in anything I've seen her do (even covering WOMAN IN WHITE for the first time, she was amazing vocally and dramatically). I didn't see her EVITA, but her voice is pure pop belt in everything else...Amneris, for instance. She can break your heart with a lightly sung ballad (as she did in COWBOY WALTZ/DOCTOR LAWYER INDIAN CHIEF) or growl to the very top (or blend the head to a vibrato then a belted growl still on pitch). She's amazing and needs a star-making turn soon.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 11:59am

How was she great if she didn't hit high notes? Do you mean she didn't belt them or she was off key?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 12:01pm

Is the question directed to me? She did belt. But she was singing on the same key all the time.

[Phantom487]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 1:59pm

I heard a recoerding of Felicia, and she was OFF THE HOOK! AMAZING!

The theatre I work at had the Evita tour a few years ago, and it was with Kathy Voytko... although I didn't get a chance to see the show, I heard from fellow employees and audience members that they were NOT impressed with her at all... people left at intermission...

[Phantom487]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 2:29pm

How FIERCE does she look??? I wish I could have seen her live!!
Updated On: 7/19/06 at 02:29 PM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 2:40pm

WOW.

Updated On: 7/19/06 at 02:40 PM

[sassypanz]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 3:01pm

Updated On: 12/1/14 at 03:01 PM

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 3:40pm

That pic of Miss Finley is HOT! What a pleasure to have her on Broadway right now!!! go to see her in The Wedding Singer if you haven't!

[LouieLovesTheater]

Posted: 7/19/06 at 4:05pm

Saw all three of them actually....

Felica was OK at best. I think she is much better in The Wedding Singer and in Aida. She just has some trouble hitting those belty notes (at least when I saw her). Someone mentioned Rainbow High as being impressive but it was very hard to listen to at the show I saw. Any actress taking on this role deserves a pat on the back because it is a mother.

Sarah was OK in the acting department but had a TREMENDOUS belt. I actually really enjoyed her singing and found that she really could rise to that belting challenge. The problems are mostly with the new show itself...not totally her fault. (Sidenote: I enjoyed Keith Bryon Kirk at Che!)

Lisa...really an excellent Eva. She nearly always gets positive reviews...when will she get the chance to originate a role? I loved her Amneris (of all the Amneris' she was really the only one that fully 'got' her character and didn't make it a cartoon) and she did solid work in WiWhite.

Of all...Bresica was the most well-rounded because she had the acting and singing chops to pull off that role. (Another sidenote, the mistress in Bresica's production was also totally above average....it's easy to be boring in that part)