Evita = Madonna, Denise or Jenna???
Date: 16 August 2005
Speculation is already running rampant about who’ll take the lead in
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s planned revival of his and
Tim Rice’s 1978 musical
Evita (See
The Goss, 29 Jul 2005). Amongst the big names being bandied about of late are
Denise Van Outen, who was last seen in the West End in Lloyd Webber’s
Tell Me on a Sunday, and
Jenna Russell, who’s currently co-starring opposite
Ewan McGregor in
Guys and Dolls, also directed by
Michael Grandage. Meanwhile, according to some media reports,
Madonna – who starred in Alan Parker’s 1996 screen version - is keen to reprise her performance as 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. 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). It’s now expected to open in June 2006 in a production directed by Grandage, designed by
Christopher Oram and choreographed by
Rob Ashford – the same creative team behind
Guys and Dolls. Casting begins this month.
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