Who Will Play Evita in June 2006???

Casting begins in earnest this month for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long talked about revival of Evita, now slated for a June 2006 opening in the West End. The challenge, of course, is to find the right woman to play the title role, the Argentine actress who charmed and scratched her way up to share the power and the bed of her country's leader General Juan Peron. Previous Evas have included Elaine Paige (who created the role in the original 1978 production at the West End’s Prince Edward Theatre), Patti LuPone (who won a Tony Award for it on Broadway) and Madonna (who starred in Alan Parker’s 1996 film version). Evita was Lloyd Webber’s final (to date) collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice. Its score includes “Oh, What a Circus”, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”. Originally touted for a 2003 opening, despite a summer 2002 Big Debate in which Whatsonstage.com theatregoers named Evita as the musical they would most like to see revived, the revival was put on hold because Lloyd Webber felt the theatre climate was then too biased towards feelgood shows rather than those with serious political themes (See The Goss, 4 Nov 2002). Since then, director Michael Grandage, designer Christopher Oram and choreographer Rob Ashford – the same creative team behind the current Ewan McGregor-led West End revival of Guys and Dolls - have been brought on board.

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