Theater Reviews

Dec 8, 2007 - In Reno a superlative cast and staging makes Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita" more entertaining and moving than ever

By Jack Neal

The current political climate in the United States makes the story concocted by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber about the life and time of Eva Peron especially profound and moving. “Evita,” the pop-rock opera, opened Friday night (12/7/07) in Reno at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts before a near-capacity, highly enthusiastic audience.

With lyrics by Rice and music by Lloyd Webber, “Evita” re-imagines the dramatic story of the emergence and rule of Argentina dictator Juan Peron and his charismatic wife Eva Peron. Their re-imagining is told from and through the cynical perspective of Che Guevara, a communist (what else?), who can’t let anyone forget Eva’s sordid past (a B-movie actress and model who sleeps her way to the top), and her manipulative present.

As with most Lloyd Webber scores, “Evita” rehashes a few tunes endlessly, but the tunes are so attractive no one, save mean-spirited critics, minds. “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” is buried everywhere. But it’s hauntingly beautiful and it’s Evita’s signature tune. When Evita sings it, what does it mean? Is she sincere, or pandering to the masses? The song and what it might (or might not) mean is at the core of the musical and what makes it click with audiences engaged in the tragic saga of Eva’s enigmatic life. When the direction is tight, as it is with this production, and when the performances are superb, as they are with this production, audiences become soul mates with Evita, happy voyeurs with Che, and bemused observers of Juan with his less-than-ethical rise to power.

Cameron Leigh Wade is Eva Peron, the Evita the Argentine masses adore, and she is superb. A gorgeous woman who wears clothes well, a fabulous singer who sings radiantly, a profound actor who plays her every scene to perfection, Wade is the consummate Evita Peron. Omar Lopez-Cepero is Che Guevara, and he, too, is a consummate artist. A magnetic singing-actor, he is at once cynical, confounding, revolutionary, critical, and terrific. He is the glue that’s central to sculpting “Evita” into a fascinating story of hopes, dreams, gossip and intrigue.

Suave and ruthless, Juan Peron is splendidly brought off by Philip Peterson. As the rascalish nightclub singer Magaldi, Munib Raad is excellent, sings well and is loads of fun as he unloads his big moment, “On This Night of a Thousand Stars.” In the juicy role of Juan Peron’s mistress, the very fine Stephanie Barnum plays “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” as a requiem for the unhappily chaste. The entire cast – all those wonderful players who flesh out the show’s meaning with such verve – is first rate.

No new territory is pursued in this “Evita” production. The handprint of the show’s original director, Hal (Harold) Prince, is everywhere. Why improve on perfection? Larry Fuller’s direction is faithful to the stylized stylishness that made “Evita” a Broadway hit in 1979. There are alterations for the on-the-road structure of the show, but Fuller has cracked the whip for a disciplined, rapid-fire presentation that moves with a damn-the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead intensity that never lets up.

Costumes, a field day dressing clotheshorse Eva, are designed by Tim O’Brien and they’re quite handsome. James Fouchard’s scenic design is functional and allows the production to flow with movie-show abandon. Richard Winkler’s artful lighting has a dark Rembrandt look about it that impressively complements “Evita’s” foreboding action. Elaine Davidson’s adroit musical direction, the classy, synthesized orchestra (quite good, but – oh my - how real orchestras are missed), and the refined sound designs by Duncan Robert Edwards give this superior touring presentation a welcome Broadway sophistication.

“Evita” plays Friday (12/7/07) at 8 p.m., Saturday (12/8/07) at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday (12/9/07) at 2 and 7 p.m., at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, 100 South Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada. For information and tickets call 775-686-6600, 877-840-0457, or visit pioneercenter.com.