To say that anticipation was high is the understatement of the decade. On one hand, there were those salivating to see the latest Jamie Lloyd production starring the American wunderkind Rachel Zegler; on the other hand, there were those honing their hatchets to slice and dice the gimmicky director and/or the upstart star whose appearance in Disney’s Snow White movie suggested she was box office poison.
Could she recoup her reputation in the role of a South American dictator’s main squeeze who rose from humble origins as a 15 year-old tango ‘dancer’ to become Argentina’s First Lady? The answer is a resounding yes. This is not just a great production of Evita but one of the most exciting musicals I have witnessed in years.
It’s a gussied up version of Lloyd’s first attempt at the musical 6 years ago. Rebooting his own production, he gets everything right. The music is thunderous yet clear – the band ranging from sumptuous semi-orchestral pomp to full-blooded stadium rock in the blink of an ear, with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s superb songs sounding freshly minted. Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s for sure.
Fabian Aloise’s choreography is athletic and restlessly inventive in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz style and performed by an astonishingly supple ensemble. Diego Andres Rodriguez invests Che with scorchio sexuality, James Olivas as Perón is fiercely buttoned up until released by Eva. Both convey emotional weight as well as vocal power. Bella Brown as the discarded mistress pours her soul into Another Suitcase in Another Hall.
And at the heart of it all is Rachel Zegler who owns the stage from the moment she appears clad in black underwear like a Victoria’s Secret model until eventually donning the platinum wig and flowing cream gown of Evita to step out onto the balcony of the Palladium and deliver Don’t Cry for me Argentina to the West End tourists and passersby assembled in the street while those inside watch on a giant screen from various angles. It’s an audacious moment but one that is so finely orchestrated that it brings roars of approval from inside and outside the theatre.
With side glances and a mischievously arched eyebrow, Zegler nails the idea that Eva Perón was a calculating actress playing a role until reality kicked in to unravel her.
After his extraordinary reboot of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd has done it again. This is one for the history books. For Zegler, it’s a personal triumph. If it doesn’t lay the ghost of Snow White, nothing will.
EVITA IS AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM TO SEPTEMBER 6