By
John Jeffay
1 min read
It was almost a triumph. Some of the audience - a couple of dozen of Evita die-hards maybe - rose to their feet at the end. But it did not quite qualify as a standing ovation. Most of the applause was polite, enthusiastic… and seated.
Expectations are inevitably high for Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's modern masterpiece about the life of Eva Perón. Elaine Paige starred in its West End debut in 1976 and Madonna took the title role in Alan Parker's 1996 film. So while it is hard to find fault with Bill Kenwright's touring production, somehow the show did not quite live up to its starry history.
Yes, it was good, and yes, there were some marvellous moments courtesy of directors Bob Tomson and Kenwright.
Abigail Jaye, as Evita, gave stunning performances of Don't Cry For Me Argentina, marking two of the most poignant moments in her short life - a victory anthem on the balcony of the presidential palace, followed
by a sorrowful lament from her hospital room as she faces her own premature death.
It was the song everyone wanted to hear and it did not disappoint, especially the first time, when the entire cast stood motionless and Evita struck her iconic pose, with her arms raised in triumph. There were other stand-out musical moments - Oh What a Circus, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, The Art of the Possible. But there were also the near-misses - numbers that did not quite engage.
Evita is two stories: one is about a girl from the slums who is desperate to be a part of Buenos Aires society, who wins the heart of a nation and becomes icon, heroine, wife of the president and saint of Argentina.
The other is the story of a ruthless woman who sleeps her way to the top, plunders the fund she set up for a nation's impoverished millions and dies early riddled with cancer.
Both strands unfold together on stage in a sort of Beauty and the Beast sparring match between Evita and Che, the narrator based on the pin-up revolutionary Che Guevara, complete with military beret.
Mark Powell slouches, swaggers and sneers brilliantly as Che, challenging the outrageous adulation that Evita attracts. He is the reality check in a show where the peasants can see nothing but the glitz and glamour of Evita.
Mark Heenehan plays Juan Perón, the corrupt colonel who recognises Evita's charms as a handy step up the ladder towards the presidency and Nic Gibney is Magaldi, the tango singer, Evita's first conquest.
But this is really a story of the masses which include here children from the Stagecoach Theatre School, Chester, on an ever-changing set of arches and pillars. (Tel: 0843 208 6000)