Evita Comes to San Diego
Richard Termine
10 fun facts about Evita, now playing at the Civic Theatre in downtown San Diego.
1. The music of Evita was first released as a concept album in 1976, after composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Webber researched the life of Eva Perón for many years. The album became a worldwide hit, and a full-scale musical was staged in London soon thereafter.
2. The original Broadway production won seven Tony Awards.
3. The is the first and only revival of the original show, which debuted on Broadway more than 30 years ago, in 1979.
4. This version is the first to include the song “You Must Love Me,” which was written for the 1996 movie starring Madonna in the title role.
5. Writers Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice originally conceived the role of Che as an everyman. (In Argentina, che means “guy.”) The original London production linked the role to real-life revolutionary Che Guevara, which was a choice of director Hal Prince. But this new production takes the role back to an everyman, as it was originally written.
6. The creative team sought to add even more authenticity to this production, including new orchestrations to give the music more of a Latin sound and more tango dancing.
Evita Comes to San Diego
Richard Termine
7. This production has more dancing than the original version, with lots of tango, since it is such an important art form in Argentina.
8. Because the role of Eva is so vocally demanding, it has traditionally been shared by two actresses, with the first-billed actress going on for six weeks, followed by the second-billed actress for two weeks.
9. Famous actresses that have played the coveted role of Eva include Elaine Paige, who originated the role in the London production; Patti LuPone, who won the Tony Award for her performance in the subsequent Broadway production; and Madonna, who memorably lobbied Hollywood execs to let her play the part in the film version.
10. The real Eva Perón died of cervical cancer at the age of 33.
Evita is showing now through November 17, with two performances on Saturday on Sunday. For ticket info, visit Broadway San Diego’s website.
Evita Comes to San Diego
Richard Termine
Photos courtesy of Broadway San Diego
