In case my pro-Max comments were construed as anti-Ricky, I just want to say that I agree with Reggie: I enjoyed watching him and not just for what Carlos so colorfully and aptly described. I have always loved Ricky for his looks and his talent, and recently I have loved him even more for his intelligence and his integrity. But this thread was about his understudy.
I think Ricky's performance would have been better if they had not stripped the Che Guevara aspect from the role of Che. Hal Prince was wise to build it up originally: It gives the character a backstory and bite, and it adds to the dramatic tension between Che and Eva. As others have said, by removing it, Ricky's role was reduced to more of a strolling troubadour than a angry revolutionary.