Matinee Evita tour review- Page 2

[KindnessofStrangers]

Posted: 3/3/05 at 12:53pm

SingingBackup, I saw the show last night in L.A. and echo everrything you said. I even descibed the production to a fiend as being very collegiate. Kathy V's voice was screechy and she was pudgy and devoid of any charisma as Eva. So much for "Argentina's brand of star quality." Bradley Dean portrayed Che as a braying sidekick character in a Disney animated film. Kathy Manning's take on the gorgeous "Another Suitcase..." was a particular disappointment. Her voice was tremulous and she evoked no sympathy whatsoever. It resembled a show performed by stand-ins without proper rehearsal.

Posted: 3/3/05 at 1:10pm

I take little joy in your agreeing with me, as I was hoping for a much better show. At least I wasn't crazy in my feeling on this production. I should have floated a message to see who else from here was going, so I could actually meet a West Coast BroadwayWorld.commer!

I'm going to see Whore House at the Kodak next Thursday

[got-a-light]

Posted: 3/3/05 at 3:25pm

i saw it last night (opening night) in la and it was dreadful!!!!

i also saw the tour 5 years ago with natalie toro (though i saw the matinee evita) and raul esparza as che. i actually prefered that tour, because of the performances. the set was the same and most of the staging was the same.

this was so awful that people in the back of the theater were laughing during evita's death scene. i was hoping for an updated, revised version of the show and instead i got a sloppy and lazy recreation of the braodway version. the set was so dreary and the lighting was minimal and not orginal. it all felt very very stale! the man playing che was so overacting and annoying and as for the woman playing evita (kathy - who i must admit i do not know her past work)... she was drowning up there. she screamed almost every song and she was clearly not ready to carry this show.

evita is one show i can listen to on cd from start to finish without skipping songs, but last night i was counting the minutes till the end.

it said "entire production supervised by hal prince. well hal would be smart to return all the money he was given to oversee this production and take his name off the marquee.

i hate to be so negative, but this tour should stop wasting theater lovers time and money and do everyone a favor and shut down! give evita the respect it deserves and bring it back with a fresh look!

[kelzama]

Posted: 3/4/05 at 11:09am

only in La La Land would a 5'8" size 6 woman be called pudgy.

Posted: 3/4/05 at 2:45pm

TV adds ten pounds!

[watch26]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 3:32am

Wow! I can't believe this is the review of the show I saw the other night. I thought the show was wonderful! Miss Voytko was thrilling to watch in her lovely portrayal of Eva Peron, both sensitive and full of acting and vocal range. I thought her tone was beautiful, especially in the Act 2 material..."High Flying Adored," "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," "Rainbow High," etc. I was moved, as the group of theater enthusiasts I was with, in her performance and were in tears by the end. 'Singinbackup' saying she was pudgy...is untrue and shows how petty the review was. Constructive reviews are more interesting. Bradley Dean was shocking as Che. Our group talked afterwards about how mesmerizing he was and how fresh his Che was throughout. Vocally he sang everything in the show with such passion and commitment, we all agreed he was the best we had seen both regionally and the last 2 tours. I can't believe we were at the same performance as some of the reviews in this thread...as I would say most of that audience would agree given the amount of applause and what I heard while leaving.

Thanks for bringing Evita to L.A.!

[mallardo]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 10:43am

watch26, I agree with you!. I saw the show last night and LOVED it. Kathy Voytko did not have enough attitude for Evita? Give me a break. I was in the fifth row and couldn't take my eyes off her all night. She was in every moment and her voice was thrilling. I also loved Bradley Dean, an outstanding Che in every way. I even loved the projections. A great night at the Pantages.

[KindnessofStrangers]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 3:00pm

Mallardo and Watch26, you must be involved in this production . Everyone I've spoken to who has seen it has agreed that this particular production is embarrassing, that the leads were sorely lacking in both talent and charisma, and that Hal Prince should take his name off it. I, for one, was very excited to see it and walked away severely disappointed. No pettiness on my part, as I have nothing to gain by dissing the touring company. It's not as bad as the recent tour of Oklahoma, but it's close.

Posted: 3/9/05 at 3:06pm

"Pudgy" might have not been the right word, exactly, as I didn't mean it in reference to her weight, just that she was "compressed"...no matter ones physical size, you can present an air of height, stature, presence that she didn't have. Sorry for the poor choice of words, but I stand by my review.

Posted: 3/9/05 at 3:08pm

right on Kindness....I was insanely excited about seeing one of my favorites...and it didn't measure up at all, period. I am one of the biggest fans of theater on the planet. I was cheerleading the arrival of EVITA for quite some time.

[mallardo]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 3:22pm

Speaking for myself, I have nothing to do with the show. I loved it on its merits.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 3:53pm

I liked it in Chicago in Noember! It was my first Evita, but I enjoyed it. I thought Kathy was good and Bradley Dean was also good.

[timote316]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 4:06pm

I'm thinking that this tour is one of those shows that if you haven't seen it on Broadway previously, you'll enjoy the show. Before I saw it, I had only seen the movie (and a REALLY bad regional production, that I've blocked from my memory), and I reall enjoyed the show.

[KindnessofStrangers]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 7:54pm

I see three or four shows each month and am always optimistic that the production will be entertaining or at least professional. I had very high hopes for Evita as I think the score is probably ALW's finest, but the performance I saw was lifeless. I usually see touring productions on opening night and I think as a rule, the cast usually works at 110% percent because it's their first night in Hollywood and they imagine casting directors and producers in the audience so they give it their all. If that was true of the Evita cast, I feel sorry for the weekend audiences.

[got-a-light]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 9:27pm

KindnessofStrangers i thought the same thing... since i also saw the show on opening night. these performers were in WAY over their heads!

[kelzama]

Posted: 3/10/05 at 8:57am

With such distinct dichotomies of opinion, it's time to get analytical.

Where exactly were your seats at the Pantages, folks?

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 4/9/05 at 6:50pm

I saw it in Detroit in December, I wasn't dissapointed it was the best show I have ever seen.. even better then Wicked

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 4/9/05 at 7:43pm

I think it's hilarious (and someone might have mentioned this already) how Eva is the main character and has the vast majority of the songs, yet "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" is the best song in the entire show and usually the best performed as well.

[Broadway_Bound_Star]

Posted: 4/9/05 at 7:51pm

well.. the Mistress is such a good part, and Eva does has some good songs, like Buenos Aries is suck a SHOW STEALER, I LOVE IT!

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 4/10/05 at 12:59am

EVITA is heading to Toronto at the end of this month. It was supposed to play 4 weeks but has now been extended to 7.

I saw the original Broadway production with Patti LuPone. (I believe there were 26 musicians in the pit then.) The staging was brilliant. It sounds like the production duplicates the original staging right down to the use of film and slides to underscore or sometimes contrasts with what is shown on stage.

I'll share my comments on the production when I see it opening night here in Toronto.