Ricky Martin Will Be In "Evita"- Page 2

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:14am

Eva Peron was only fair-haired with the assistance of a bottle of bleach.

[Tsao5]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:41am

Hmmmmm, saw Martin in LM in the 90's. Did a good job. Had a kinda barrel chested lowish baritone voice. Can't really imagine him vocally impressing anyone as Che, but could do a pretty good job.

Actually, I think he could be a good Valentine in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:22am

Patti LuPone beared nothing more than a very passing resemblance to the real life Eva Peron. About the only thing they shared in common was light skin. So, this idea that Olivo is "too Latina" for the part, or that she doesn't look enough like Peron (i.e. her skin is too dark) is absolutely absurd.

This is LuPone in costume as Peron:




Here is the real-life Eva Peron:



Updated On: 3/11/10 at 09:22 AM

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:35am

I can't wait to hear what Ms. Lupone thinks!

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:36am

I actually think Elaine Paige might have looked the most like the real Eva Peron, other than maybe Madonna.

(of course I can never find good pictures of Elaine Paige in costume)









My opinion of Olivo not being a good fit has nothing to do with her appearance. I don't think Elena Roger looks as much like Evita as Elaine Paige and Patti did, either. I just can't imagine her in the role. If it happened, I'd go see it. But for now, it's not an obvious fit to me.

Updated On: 3/11/10 at 09:36 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 9:39am

It's silly to argue over Olivo in the role anyway. She's obviously not going to get the chance to play it in this revival. Oh well.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:16am

"No. Karen Olivo is not an Evita. It has nothing to do with her talent, it has to do with the fact that she's Just Not Right."

That, and the producers of the show would probably want an actress who actually shows up for work.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:31am

So the revival of the ALW show with his best score is going to feature a woman who can't hit the notes and who sounds dreadful on the recording, and a faded 1990's pop star.

I'm not a Ricky Martin fan, but he did make his Broadway debut before he started recording English-language albums and his last album in 2005 debuted at number six. He's not as popular as he was in 1999, but he's not exactly washed-up, either. His new album is scheduled for release this Spring. If he can handle the role and the performance schedule, he may be the perfect choice for Che.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:33am

I wonder if this will make Ricky Martin finally come out, following in the footsteps of Sean Hayes.

[starlyricist]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:37am

That, and the producers of the show would probably want an actress who actually shows up for work.

Buuuuuurn.

Call me strange, but I'm actually very excited for this. I'm not going to knock a guy because he was a pop star. Well, maybe a little, but I'm definitely willing to see it.

Updated On: 3/11/10 at 10:37 AM

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:14am

WestVillage, I thought the same thing.

What exactly about her isn't right? She can sing. She can act. She's Latina. She's the right age for the role. What's not right about Karen Olivo as Eva Peron?

There was a thread about this last summer. Hispanic Karen Olivo can't play Hispanic Eva Peron because she's "too dark". And some BWWers want to believe there's nothing racist about that sentiment at all. White Patti LuPone, whose Spanish pronunciation was about as bad as Elena Rogers's high notes, is clearly the standard to follow.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:20am

"That, and the producers of the show would probably want an actress who actually shows up for work."

Wow!! That took a while for someone to post that!! I am impressed.

"There was a thread about this last summer. Hispanic Karen Olivo can't play Hispanic Eva Peron because she's "too dark". And some BWWers want to believe there's nothing racist about that sentiment at all. White Patti LuPone, whose Spanish pronunciation was about as bad as Elena Rogers's high notes, is clearly the standard to follow."

Regardless of how we feel about each other. I think you are spot-on. I agree 100%. There are clearly racist undertones to the sentiment that she is "too dark."

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:21am

Personally, I want to see Lea Salonga as Eva. Love her.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:22am

There was a thread about this last summer. Hispanic Karen Olivo can't play Hispanic Eva Peron because she's "too dark". And some BWWers want to believe there's nothing racist about that sentiment at all. White Patti LuPone, whose Spanish pronunciation was about as bad as Elena Rogers's high notes, is clearly the standard to follow.

Skittles, we rarely agree on anything, but you've hit the bulls-eye.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:41am

Skittles, you're definitely spot-on with that assessment.

[augustine73]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:48am

I really want to see Lea Salonga as Eva Peron too!

[Shawk]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:12pm

I saw Roger in Evita in London, and she was fascinating on stage. I can see why people don't like her on the recording, but she was a firecracker on stage, and Eva full of energy and determination in the form of this tiny, tiny person (I'm barely over 5'1" and she is shorter than me), using sheer force of will to get what she wanted. Yes, sometimes her voice had the intensity and unpleasantness of a dentist's drill, but somehow it worked, and her dancing is stunning.

What didn't work was, well, the concept of the revival. I love Philip Quast but he made Peron sympathetically angsty, as he does, and Matt Rawle's "Everyman Che" had no bite, so the show was really unbalanced and sort of became All About Evita. It was fine in one way because Roger has "star quality," but it became almost hero-worshipping of the character and that made the show really unbalanced.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 12:35pm

Usually I'm the first person to yell that someone should be given a chance and not shot down before they even start rehearsals, but wow... I sure hope Ricky Martin's voice has improved since the Les Miz days.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 3:28pm

Yes, I'm so racist!!!
Patti Lupone, Elena Roger, Elaine Paige, Madonna, Felicia Finley, Sarah Litzinger, Esther Goris, Valeria Lynch, etc, are all white women.
We don't have African American nor Caribbean influences in Argentina, we do have Indians and in recent years we have been getting a lot of Africans, Cubans and Brazilian immigrants that are black, but I haven't seen a black person till I moved to the US in 2001.
Argentinean women are just not that exotic. That's all I'm saying. I probably would also complaint if they cast Lea Salonga as one of the Dreamgirls or Kate Baldwin, because that role is for an African American woman.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 3:52pm

Excuse me, but Kate Baldwin would make an excellent Deena.

[noradesmond]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 3:52pm

I think this is great. As previously stated, Ricky Martin's personal life is what derailed his career - along with an able assist from Barbara Walters' ambush. This is a great opportunity for him to prove whether he's got the goods or not. (no sn*ing please, you know what I mean.) I suspect he will be awesome.

[Brick]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 8:47pm

^ "ambush" ?!

I agree it was odd Barbara Walters was trying to out him, but he wasn't ambushed. He was asked point blank to address rumours. If he didn't want to answer he didn't have to.

That said, I'm excited. I think he'll be pretty good. And if he brings in tickets, all the better. But I do think that's a big "if"...
Updated On: 3/11/10 at 08:47 PM

[theevilgumby]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:05pm

ricky I bet would actually be pretty good. this isnt the worst casting.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 10:27pm

I don't think Karen Olivo could handle Evita vocally.

[Mistress_Spouzic]

Posted: 3/11/10 at 11:07pm

I would love to see this.