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Regional Reviews: Phoenix Evita Also see Gil's review of Gypsy
Evita follows the real story of Eva Duarte, a poor girl in Argentina who rose to power and fame in the 1940s by calculating, scheming and even sleeping her way to the top. She would eventually marry Juan Peron, who at the time they met was a Colonel but who would be elected as Argentina's President, making Eva Argentina's first lady. Narrated by Che, a young man who has no respect for Eva and Peron's devious and sometimes illegal ways behind their rise to power, Evita is an interesting history lesson about a young poor woman who gets caught up in the struggle for fame and success. Director Andrea McFeely assembled a more than capable cast for this production. Allyson Igielsk was quite good as Eva. It is a difficult part to play, requiring a transformation from gangly teenage girl to calculating, assured woman along with the skill to pull off some intricate dance steps and the ability to demonstrate Eva's declining health. With just a few wig and costume changes and good acting and vocal skills, Igielsk pulled it off, even managing her way quite well through the parts of the score that are extremely rangy, sometimes requiring Eva to scream or screech her lyrics. Her scrappy take on the part also allowed us to see that there was still some roughness present in Eva even as she ascended to power. Javier Stefano De Vita was just about perfect as Che, instilling the part with an appropriate sense of cheekiness underneath the intensity and frustration at what he sees going on around him as he narrates Eva's story. McFeely's staging incorporated Che into many scenes as either a participant or an onlooker, and De Vita had the appropriate facial expressions and body language to demonstrate the seething frustration and even humor he saw at the events unfolding around him. The role of Peron doesn't have a lot of layers but Chris Chavez created an effective portrayal, including showing Peron as a romantic, caring person. Also, both De Vita's and Chavez' Latin American accents added a nice touch of authenticity to this extremely large cast of almost all white American actors. Joshua Lindblom was excellent as Magaldi, the man whom Eva first latches onto and who takes her to Buenos Aires. He has a beautiful voice and excellent stage presence and was also quite effective in playing several ensemble parts. Adyson Nichols played the part of Peron's mistress and with a lovely voice delivered a touching version of "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," a song about not knowing what will happen to her now that Eva has taken over her place in Peron's bed. McFeely's blocking on the fairly small stage was quite good. Her exceptional take on "Perone's Latest Flame" was perfectly staged with succinct dance movements from the whole company. She crafted an energetic "And the Money Kept Rolling In" and, with assured music direction from Karli Giles Kemper, delivered some lovely choral work from the large children's choir as well as the ensemble in the finale. McFeely also used the center aisle of the seating area very effectively, to not only represent the succession of people at Eva's funeral that begins the musical but also for various entrances and exits of her cast. Corrinne Mann's choreography was varied, energetic and upbeat with Latin inspired movement and an emphasis on the tango. Mike Smyth's set design was somewhat minimalistic though it did include the infamous balcony where Eva delivers "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and a curved series of steps that were incorporated very well into the staging throughout. Debbi Giles' costumes worked well to help identify the various classes of people and Ryan Terry's lighting was awash with Latin enthused reds and shadows that helped set the locale as well as the drive for power of the Perons. Evita is a pretty good musical, albeit one with a few shortcomings. While the show won the 1980 Tony Award for Best Musical, the score really only has one hit song, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," though Lloyd Webber and Rice's score has plenty of tuneful songs to recommend it. Though the book has several weaknesses, making us connect the dots between scenes one too many times to fill in the gaps due to no major dialogue being present. The show also doesn't have the strongest ending; we are simply told what happened to Evita's body but nothing about Peron's fate. However, the shortcomings of the show are far outweighed by the driving score. Tuscany Theatre Company's production featured a talented cast, excellent direction and showed the passion, power and romance not only behind the story of both Eva and Peron's rise to power but the people of Argentina as well. Evita ran August 12th to August 22nd, 2015, with performances at the Tuscany Theatre, 861 N Higley Rd, Suite 105, Gilbert, AZ 85234. Tickets and information upcoming productions can be found at www.tuscanytheatrecompany.com. Directed by Andrea McFeely
Music Direction by Karli Giles Kemper Cast:
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