What exactly is the point of Another Suitcase Another Hall- Page 5

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 4:20pm

It happens to be my favorite song in EVITA as well. Fun reading everyone's interpretations of it and the show as a whole.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 4:29pm

"I have a feeling Streep chickened out."

I don't think she chickened out. She had a lot going on in her life at this time, including being considered to take over as Artistic Director of the Public Theatre from Joe Papp.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 6:23pm

Peron married a second (Evita) after she died....

Wasn't Peron's next wife named Isabel? I remember when she was President of Argentina after his death.

Peron's first wife was named something like Aurelia. (She died of cancer before he met Evita.)
Updated On: 6/11/13 at 06:23 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 6:42pm

Back to the point: In the clip of the London revival it seemed like Eva had some genuine animosity for the mistress. Perhaps Evita was Jealous in one way or another?

I think that scenario is closer to the truth. After Eva and Perón met at the earthquake benefit at Luna Park, they left the event together, but they didn't go to his place. By then, Eva had become a popular radio soap star and had become quite wealthy herself and owned a nice apartment. They went back to her flat.

A week or so later, Eva discovered through the grapevine that Perón had a "daughter." Of course, Perón never sired any children, but he used to introduce his teenage mistress as his daughter and even had a pet name for her ("piranha"). Eva hit the roof and went to Perón's place when he was away. She found the mistress there, and though no one knows what really transpired, the encounter couldn't have been a friendly one. Eva packed the girl's belongings and sent her back to her hometown of Mendoza. Afterward, Perón returned to his apartment to find Eva awaiting him instead. And the rest, as they say, is history.

BTW: I also want to clarify a couple things re the film of Evita. Madonna had no say in the matter concerning the script. By the time she was hired, Alan Parker had already given "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" to Eva. He felt that having the mistress sing it was like giving a non-descript character an important monolog. Plus, it gave Eva backstory. In the stage show, her struggle is implied and never shown, but in reality she pounded the pavements for several years and even went hungry.

The musical makes it seem like upon arriving in Buenos Aires, she quickly dumped Magaldi and worked her way through several influential men. The movie's version is not true, either; she did not get dumped by Magaldi. While historians have debated through the decades whether Eva Duarte and Agustín Magaldi had a romantic affair or even met, it is now accepted that they did meet but their relationship was platonic. In other words, she did not seduce him nor did he seduce her. Magaldi was actually a family man devoted to his wife. More likely, historians now say, Magaldi merely gave Eva connections upon her arrival to the big city. She got cast in bit parts, but she was fired from a traveling show when the director propositioned her and she refused his advances.

Afterward, Eva (who only had a sixth-grade education and practically no résumé) found it difficult to land parts on her own and entered a period when she starved or couldn't afford the rent; at one point, she was crashing in a flophouse. This is where the prostitution rumors arose, but we'll never know if Eva really resorted to that. What she did have was several boyfriends who supported her during this dark period. Later, she would date influential men who were beneficial to her career, like Emilio Karstulovic (the owner of Sintonía, Argentina's popular showbiz magazine on/in which Eva Duarte appeared often), Jaime Yankelevich (a pioneer in the development of the country's radio and television media), and Colonel Anibal Imbert (the man in charge of the nation's entire broadcast network). It was Imbert whom Eva dumped for Perón when it became clear that the real power in the country was held by a small group of colonels, the most interesting of them being Juan Perón.

Anyway, Parker was able to show some of Eva's struggle via "Another Suitcase," but it was not Madonna's doing -- nor did she demand that ALW and Tim Rice write a new song for her ("You Must Love Me"). In fact, there were no diva rants from her behind the scenes. Madonna understood this was an important opportunity for her, and Parker warned her that they wouldn't put up with any shenanigans. The filming of Evita (save for when some Argentineans protested Madonna's casting) was so uneventful that gossip columnists and paparazzi alike were disappointed. They were counting on a hostile environment between Madonna and Antonio Banderas, especially after she dissed him in her Truth or Dare documentary years earlier, when she came on to him (in front of his wife!) and he more or less gave her the brush-off. When his second wife, Melanie Griffith, joined him on set, it was speculated that it was to keep an eye on him... or Madonna. But it was simply that they had just married and she didn't want to be apart from him. Besides, Madonna had her own boyfriend, Carlos León, with whom she had her first child later that year. Madonna's pregnancy announcement was perhaps the only big news from the Evita set. It was seen as a calculated, career move on her part (both her babies, the movie and her daughter, coming out at the same time) and this viewpoint kept the columnists happy for a while.

But I digress.

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 06:42 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:01pm

As for the topic, the reason I think "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" was not dropped from the show is because a) the event actually happened, and b) it showed us a different female with whom to compare Eva. When we first meet Eva, she is only 15 but desperate and determined to escape her backwater village and become a famous actress. She will do what it takes to get there, even if it means stepping over other people. However, the mistress is the opposite of that. She's passive and resigned to her fate; she's what Eva would've ended up had she not had ambition. Also, as someone else pointed out, the scene/song gives us an opportunity to see the effects of Eva's actions and how they hurt people. Though we laughed and cheered when she used the men to climb up the ladder of fame and fortune, however, our hearts went out to the mistress when she's also given the boot and made us question Eva's motives.

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 07:01 PM

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:01pm

In fact, there were no diva rants from her behind the scenes. Madonna understood this was an important opportunity for her, and Parker warned her that they wouldn't put up with any shenanigans.

Clearly you never heard Tim Rice talk about how she changed a couple of words in "You Must Love Me" to try to get a lyric writing credit, and got (figuratively) spanked for it.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:28pm

>> Wasn't Peron's next wife named Isabel?
Holy schnikees, you're absolutely right...! I was grossly confused!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:32pm

The point of Another Suitcase in Another Hall is to prove Patti LuPone wrong. Andrew Lloyd Webber can write songs for women.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:44pm

Oh gosh, can we please correct the original title of this thread? It's killing me!

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 7:54pm

"The point of Another Suitcase in Another Hall is to prove Patti LuPone wrong. Andrew Lloyd Webber can write songs for women"

HAHA wow. No one proved Patti wrong with this film..trust me HAHA. Patti didn't even bother to see it apparently. She has said that she has seen clips of it but ultimately she says it didn't look like it rose to the occasion of what Tim,Andrew and Prince had created. Lupone was right unfortunately.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 9:02pm

If she were a man, whose motives for that speech were based on previous behaviors and scrutinized in the same way, would you feel differently?

No, I would still feel that it was a manipulative speech. Most political speeches are manipulative as a rule. And yes, I think that Eva Peron used men to get ahead. But I'm a feminist--I blame the patriarchy for establishing sexuality as one of the few ways for women to get ahead, not the women who use it to their advantage.

Isn't Isabel the one who was ousted by Videla and the military in what began la Guerra Sucia?

Updated On: 6/11/13 at 09:02 PM

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 9:56pm

"The point of Another Suitcase in Another Hall is to prove Patti LuPone wrong. Andrew Lloyd Webber can write songs for women"

HAHA wow. No one proved Patti wrong with this film..trust me HAHA.

If only that was anywhere near what Goth said... If only...

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/11/13 at 10:02pm

"If only that was anywhere near what Goth said... If only..."

I know what he was saying but I just felt like adding a little bit of trivia.

[logan2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 12:00am

It's foreshadowing of future real life events. Evita represents ALW and the poor girl represents LuPone and Dunaway being shown the door.

Updated On: 6/13/13 at 12:00 AM

[broadway guy]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 1:01am

HAHAHA that actual made me laugh out loud. But if that were true than the Mistress would have trashed Peron's Bedroom