REVIEW: Evita
Photo credit: Richard Termine
I was invited by the Hennepin Theatre Trust last night to see Evita! This musical has music and lyrics by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber so expectations rise accordingly. The music is definitely what carried the production. There are numerous memorable songs and the cast leads, Caroline Bowman (Eva), Josh Young (Che) and Sean MacLaughlin (Peron) were terrific. The storytelling, however, seemed greatly lacking. The plot seemed greatly oversimplified and lacked details capable of making the terrific performances compelling. In sum, regular gal Eva moves to the big city, sleeps around, meets a big shot, marries said big shot and becomes the president’s wife, is loved by the people and dies. The love both between Eva and Peron is not well founded, nor is the love between the people and Eva (although I did get a hint when she started “making it rain” with money on stage).
Although the story left me with many questions at the end, Evita is still worth seeing. The incredible score and performances are terrific and the story can be filled in with a little Wikipedia research before you head to the show.
Evita will be performed at The Orpheum Theatre through February 2, 2014.
Tickets start at $54 but student/educator rush are available for all performances (2 tickets per valid ID; $25 per ticket; cash only; available only at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office beginning 2 hours prior to showtime; rush line forms outside of theater; resale of rush tickets is strictly prohibited and all tickets are subject to availability.)