Reader Reviews
Evita (Adelphi Theatre, West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | One of the best musicals I've seen. I loved the music and the actors. Look forward to see this on Broadway in 2012 - Morten Aagaard | 11 May 11 |
| amzing girl solo was brilliant i really wish i could see it agian its on my favourites and im not the best for that!i am part of a group myself and we do amazing shows but not as mezmorizing as this! - sophie gallager | 06 Jul 08 |
| Leila Ben Harris in Phantom of the opera is dreadful she may be able to hit some very good high notes but she over acts like mad.I went to see phantom on 23 january.08 and she spoilt the song think of me with the way she started it, by trying to act frightend she mad it just sound stupid then she continues to over act all through the rest of the show until she got to wishing you were somehow here again when she spends most of the song throwing her arms up into the air and had her back to the phantom while he is singing to her but.But the worst part was when she was singing past the point of no return,she throws herself about all over the stage and then while the phantom stands behind her while she is sitting down,she throws herself about so much we thought she was going to fall of the seat.when she sings the soft notes she sounds like Bonny Langford whos swollowed some sort of vibrator.Her part in the phantom spoilt the whole evening for my family and i and we felt let down because i have always thought the phantom the best show in the westend. She made it look like an amature production on its first night.She should listen to sarah brightman or the girl in the film because that is how the role is ment to be played.I have seen five others play the part of christine incudeing sarah brightman and Leila Ben Haris just kills the role.I cant see the phantom lasting another 21 years if it casts such bad actors in the roles.This girl would be better off in pantos. - R Etherington | 28 Jan 08 |
| Leila Ben Harris- Phanthom. I went on Thursday 3rd January '08 in order to give my children an introdudtion to the theatre. Having seen production, (with different leads) on two previous occasions, my expectations were high. Miss HARRISs' performance exceeded those, whilst sitting in row B i witnessed her focused performance which was delivered with passion and total committment to the character. She has left me in some difficulty as my children, and indeed i will consider that a bench mark for every one else to live up to. Her vocals were controlled yet intoxicating and convicing i'm considering paying a return visit in a weeks time. - Nigel | 06 Jan 08 |
| leila ben harris is my cousin abd I tkink she is wonderful - A.B. | 14 Dec 07 |
| Mixed feelings. Awful set, it doesn't work. Eva's is portrayed more ruthless than in the Prince version. Good cast bad badly directed, there is not latin feel apart from Elena Roger's great performance. - Fosco | 26 May 07 |
| Very Good production - Fred | 25 May 07 |
| My Evita review should be 4 stars - Kevin | 25 May 07 |
| I've never seen the original production, but I liked this. Very good choreography, some new arrangements giving the show a more latin feel and strong actors leading the show. Elena needs to refine the high notes however. I also think the sets could have been a bit better. Best thing about the show: Lorna Want singing "another suitcase" - she's young, talented, very attractive and stole the show. Even if the rest of the show had been rubbish, it would have been made up for 10-fold by her wonderful moment in the spotlight. - Kevin | 25 May 07 |
| I couldn't compare to Hal Prince's production cause I didn't see it but this revival is quite uninspiring. I have to agree that Elena Roger is amazing in the role and vocally superb but that's unfortunately not enough to save this dull and boring production. I can totally understand why it's closing in less than a year. - Albert R | 20 May 07 |
| I went to the matinee performance on Saturday and was very disappointed. It has great performers who can really cut it. I think this is one Andrew Lloyd Webber's finest scores but this production is really bland and poorly directed which is a real pity. The set is really ugly and badly designed. - Anne | 14 May 07 |
| This is a fantastic production of a brilliant musical and the volume of negative comments in these reviews astounds me. The domineering but remarkably simple set provides a highly effective backdrop to the story of Eva Peron who, at the performance I saw, was played by Yvette Robinson. Although she lacked power at times her performance was extremely energetic, her dancing outstanding and her acting was excellent. In particular her rendition of 'You Must Love Me' was beautifully performed. Phillip Quast has a wonderful voice which is underused in this production but he nevertheless played Peron with gusto and had an excellent rapport with Ms Robinson. Star of the show was undoubtably Matt Rawle who plays the narrator, Che, incredibly well. He has a fine voice and his acting was faultless. Greg Castiglioni played Magaldi with the right amount of comedy and Lorna Want almost stole the show with her heartbreaking redition of 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall'. The excellent choreography and confident direction toegther helped to keep the momentum going and the only disappointment was the 'Waltz for Eva and Che' which lacked the power and energy of the rest of the production. - M George | 11 May 07 |
| oh boy, I'm going to see this tonight and am begining to wish I had bought tickets for Les Mis again. - Sue | 11 May 07 |
| I loved the original Hal Prince production, it was going to be a tough act to follow. I was at last night's show and I really liked Elena Roger, her performance was great. I liked her approach to the character. A couple of choreographic numbers are also good. Unfortunately the rest of the production is very bland and uninspired. Not surprised it's closing so soon. - bert | 10 May 07 |
| I think it's a crying shame that this magnificent production is closing after less than a year. This imaginative, downright thrilling evocation of Argentina circa 1930s-50s, graced by ALW's finest score, still packs a hell of a punch. Was bowled over by Elena Roger in the title role but have to say I was equally impressed by her new alternate, Yvette Robinson, in the role. With a stunning voice, riveting stage presence, and a very fine actress, this is a star performance of the highest order. She has a stronger rapport with Philip Quast's excellent Peron than I've seen before, and genuinely brings new dimensions to the part. She should be given her own starring role in a new production asap. In the meantime, whichever Evita you catch during the last few weeks, you will see a cracking performance. - ajh | 09 May 07 |
| I saw the show last Saturday and thought it was weak. I'm not sure about the new orchestrations either. Elena Roger does a great job as Eva but that's unfortunately not enough to save this very bland production. - Phil Thompson | 05 May 07 |
| 2 stars for the orchestra and the obvious talents of Elena Roger and Philip Quast. But both are sadly wasted in this rather flimsy, cheap-looking am-dram production. "The best show in town was the croud outside the Casa Rosada" - Oh really? What - a dozen members of the chorus waving hankies??? Absolutely shocking, and I'm very glad I paid half-price otherwise I'd have been asking for a refund. The main problem is that this is more of a "Greatest Hits" collection rather than an attempt to tell the story of Eva Peron. Her background, rise as an actress and Peron's similarly shady past are glossed over in a production which seems to be in a tremendous hurry to get to the curtain. I know it's late in the run, but for a professional show in the West End there is no excuse for such shoddyness. Matt Rawle - I can't believe he gets so much praise in the reviews below - is physically awkward, lacking in any personality, looks like he needs a good wash, and seems to be the only member of the cast with a strange nasal Mancunian accent. Isn't it supposed to be set in Argentina? Oh - and the ugly child in the "Santa Eva" number cocked up her words, giggled, and had to be carried off, ruining any impact the scene may have had. Alan Parker's movie may have it's faults, but the full movie score is still the best version of this terrific work in terms of casting, performances and genuine emotion. - Kevin Cooke | 03 May 07 |
| Dreadful, terrible, awful and very boring. Pity because it has 3 great leads who are completely wasted. - Alice Drapes | 20 Apr 07 |
| What an excellent production. Elena is stunning and her voice superb, Matt is just jaw dropping at everything and I was left feeling like I'd seen a proper musical and not just a show that is drabbed together with a hit title from a movie or something. I understand why its closing, its not a bg enough show and has been lost within a west end buzzing with new shows. But I advise people, go see it before it closes. The dancing is brilliant and can not be faulted. - Marcs | 19 Apr 07 |
| I saw it last night and thought it was disappointing. Not crazy about the orchestrations. It was quite boring in spite of a good cast especially Elena Roger and Matt Rawle. I won't be seeing it again. - Martin N | 17 Apr 07 |
| Purely amazing. - B. Inky | 16 Apr 07 |
| I saw it and I got mixed feelings. I saw the great original production many times. Phil Quast is ok. Matt Rawle take on Che is fine. Gary Milner also good. Lorna Want was a decent Mistress. Fine ensemble. Elena Roger is brilliant. So I wonder why this production left me so cold. The direction is awful, the sets rubbish and the pace boring. a wasted opportunity. - Meryl Reed | 23 Mar 07 |
| Just saw it. I'm disappointed. The beginning is boring and confusing. The show gets better with Buenos Aires but then Goodnight and Thank You doesn't work. The rest of the first act is really dull and badly staged. Act 2 is worst. - Audra | 20 Mar 07 |
| I saw this last week. Elena Roger was brilliant but the music had some awful arrangements, Matt Rawle sings well but his acting choices were wrong. The set just looks dull and out of place. The whole beginning is badly staged and it's really boring. - Rebs | 09 Mar 07 |
| Another return visit courtesy og GILT (great seats by the way) which confirmed my first impressions of this excellent revival: Philip Quast is wasted; Matt Rawle is superb; and a huge bit of star "qualiteeee" in the tiny form of Elena Roger. It is also rather endearing that her accent remains as impenetrable as before. The first half is exhilarating and flies by and although the momentum drops a bit in the second half it is very impressive now Tim Rice's clever lyrics mange to convey so much of Argentine society, politics and corruption. I am surprised Evita is to close after less than a year as it still seems to be doing good business, albeit with widespread discounts. Presumably the producers have concluded that Elena Roger is irreplaceable. David Baxter (6.3.07) - David Baxter | 07 Mar 07 |
| What a disappointing show. The singing was fine, the music ok but sounds dated, as for the acting apart from the fantastic lead Elena Roger, I didn't care for anybody else. - Lana | 20 Feb 07 |
| Evita was the first 'proper' musical I ever saw in London on a school trip in the early eighties. Saw it again more recently on tour in Manchester, so I was really looking forward to this new production and to seeing Elena Roger taking the lead role. Wasn't advised that Elena would be on holiday on the date I was booking 5/1/07, so it was a huge disapointment to turn up and find Abbie Osman standing in. Found the whole show to be distinctly average and was dismayed to find ourselves being ushered back out into the street by 9.30pm ! Maybe there was something better on TV that night that the cast didn't want to miss ? Kind of wish I'd saved my £55 and stayed home to watch it too ! - Andrew Hill | 13 Feb 07 |
| I don't like ALW much apart from Phantom. I normally like Grandage's work but I hate the current revival of Guys And Dolls which proves that a great show can be ruined if you are not careful. He does it again with Evita, in spite of the adorable Elena Roger, who gives a brilliant performance, and Matt Rawle who is great as Che. It has the most boring beginning ever seen on a show. - 86.137.54.110) | 27 Jan 07 |
| Elena Roger is a wonderful actress, singer and dancer. Unfortunately that's not enough to save this dull production. The first 10 minutes are rather boring, then you get Buenos Aires where Elena shows what she can do, then boring again. The company are a extremely mixed bag, some of them very good dancers, some others can't dance at all and looked ridiculous in the dance numbers. - 86.137.54.110) | 25 Jan 07 |
| Saw the proper cast tonight Wed 24 January and they were all excellent. Elena Roger and Matt Rawle in particular. Superb, spectacular production. I didn't see the original so cannot compare, but this was really very good indeed. Can thoroughly recommend. - 82.35.9.63) | 24 Jan 07 |
| Saw Evita on Saturday evening. I knew Elena was off but they had tickets at half price in TKTS so I decided to give it a go. The only thing I can say is that I'm glad we only paid £30 for each ticket. Tickets were good, row L in Stalls, but I understand why there were so many empty seats on a Saturday night. Abbie Osmon just doesn't have what it takes, her singing is ok in parts but her acting make Eva look dull, she's just not fiery enough. But the worst performer was Mark Powell as Che. I didn't realised that Matt Rawle was off as well. I think is a bit too much to have two leads off at the same time specially on a Saturday night. Mark Powell has no stage presence and doesn't have the edge needed to play Che whom he portrays a a grumpy unsympathetic git, vocally he was all over the place at times and he couldn't reach most of the top notes. Overall this is a very boring production, badly directed and with the worst beginning ever seen on a stage. - 86.137.54.110) | 09 Jan 07 |
| Having read some of the reviews posted here i was slightly aprehensive to be seeing Abbie Osmon as Eva on sat night.I was more than pleasantly surprised-she was stunning. Not only was her singing fantastic but her dancing and overall energy brought life and soul to a production that was otherwise rather flat and tired.How anyone could think that the show cannot go on without Elena Roger is beyond me.Bravo and watch her space!! - 80.6.104.202) | 08 Jan 07 |
| It was criminal that they allowed the performance to go on with while the leading actress was on vacation. I saw the Wednesday, Jan 3rd performance. Despite policy, I was not informed when I purchased our tickets that she was not on. I asked at the box office why she wasn't on and I was told she was on vacation, but that her replacement was not an understudy and was excellent. I don't have any other time to see the show so I went. By the time she finished Buenos Aires (sp?) I knew we were in for a long night. I don't know the young chorus girl's name who has been given the chance of a lifetime and blown it. Abby? Her name was in the lobby. I did not buy a program. The production is wonderful, and the Peron is flawless. The Che can't act, though he can sing well enough. But the replacement was so bad when she came out for her bow the audience barely clapped. You should have seen the look of shock on her face. And there was only one group curtain call with a very perturbed seated audience and then it was over. What was most shocking, though, was after the bows they played the cast recording over the speakers- with the real lead actress! Who has the most amazing voice! What a travesty. The producers should be ashamed of themselves. - 217.39.179.185) | 04 Jan 07 |
| Finally saw Evita and what a disappointment. Nothing wrong with the performances. I loved Elena Roger, and Philip Quast and Matt Rawle are good too. The rest of the company are ok, I guess, very small in number which makes the stage look very empty in the crowd scenes. The beginning was long and almost unbereable and it takes a while to warm up to the story. It's badly directed. A wasted opportunity. - 86.137.54.110) | 24 Dec 06 |
| I saw it on Saturday 16th. Didn't like the production, boring in parts and awful beginning. Elena Roger is very good. Her Evita is has real charisma and she can express anything. Philip Quast is a bit wasted. The set is awful. - 86.137.54.110) | 21 Dec 06 |
| The beginning is very dull and very boring until Buenos Aires. Elena Roger is very good, she gives a brilliant performance in spite of the awful material. The man playing Che on Friday was quite bad, he was the understudy, can't remember his name, very over the top and shouty. The rest of the principals are ok. Don't pay top price, if you really want to see it get one of the many discounts. The spinning bed part is one of the most horrendous things I've ever seen on a stage. - 86.137.54.110) | 16 Dec 06 |
| After reading such good reviews on Elena Roger’s performance I went on Thursday night. She is a fabulous singer and dancer, she can act too. In spite of that the show is still very boring. Matt Rawle was off so we got his understudy Mark Powell as Che and he was very, very bad, very weak singing voice, clumpsy mover, terrible actor and no stage presence whatsoever. Philip Quast was ok although she doesn't do much. I'm surprised he got a WOS nomination for best actor when his part is quite small, in the first half he's not on stage more than 15 min. In general this production is cheap and boring with a very small cast that makes the stage looks empty all the time. Michael Grandage should be shot at down for this travestry. Jamal Haid - 86.137.54.110) | 15 Dec 06 |
| Apart from a great performance by Elena Roger there isn't much to enjoy in this production. The beginning is very boring, the staging cheap, the ensemble small which makes the stage look empty. Total rip off. The last row in Stalls is very restricted, you miss all the the action in the upper side of the stage and nobody told me when I booked that the tickets were restricted view. - 217.44.225.77) | 10 Dec 06 |
| Oh dear, it's a very bad production. Abismal really. I had heard about the latin feel. Apart from the fiery and stunning Elena Roger -who deserves to be in a better production- and very few orchestral arrangements, there was nothing latin about it. The ensemble doesn't look latin at all. I mean, in the last west end production of West Side Story those who were supposed to be from Puerto Rico really looked latin american, so it can be done. South American feel to Evita my **s. Also I didn't find staff at the Adelphi very helpful at all. We were in the Dress Circle on Thurs evening and our seats had been taken by other patrons. We asked for help but the usher looked like he couldn't be bored and was more interested in giggling and doing funny shapes with his hair than helping people. He didn't pay much attention to us so we ended up sitting somewhere else. Fortunately there were many empty seats. - 217.44.225.77) | 09 Dec 06 |
| Awful. Dreadful production thanks to Michael Grandage's terrible direction. It could have been a great production but it's very bad. Elena Roger is great and is totally mesmerising. Unfortunately the rest of the cast look bored most of the time and the set is really ugly. - 217.44.226.113) | 27 Nov 06 |
| Let's start on a positive note. The ensemble is tight and good for the most part; Gary Milner's Magaldi is a consummate performer and Lorna Want has a versatile, beautiful voice. But this is a show that hinges on it's leading lady and Elena Roger is simply amazing - there aren't many other adjectives left for me to toss around. She may be a woman of diminutive stature but you can't take your eyes off her, because she can sing, dance and completely dominate the stage. She doesn't play Eva, she IS Eva. This lady deserves every plaudit that has come her way, and hopefully she will be in the running for an Olivier award of some sort. The role of Peron is usually one that goes to average actors because it is just that - an average, undistinguished role - so I was quite surprised to find Phil Quast in there. He is easily one of the best West End actors we have, but when even the minor characters, like Lorna Want's Mistress, are given better songs there isn't much else to say besides 'what a waste'. What little stage time he has gives him even less to sing - and by sing I mean trying to lend some weight to lines that were never written to be sung. Evita has always clearly sidelined the character, perhaps only seeing fit to add him in because it wouldn't be historically accurate to leave him out... I am assuming Mr Quast appreciated the spare change from this production in order to go on to do something more worthwhile, and there's nothing wrong with that. The staging is lax, to say the least - the Adelphi is a veritable behemoth of a theatre, and while the expansive stage worked for Chicago, which relies on the dancing and hummable songs to do the legwork, the tiny ensemble of Evita struggle to fill it. The Casa Rosada scene is painful for those in the front stalls, with Elena's tiny figure framed and often even partially obstructed by the sheer enormity of the balcony. Look below said balcony and you will also see a sparsly laid out crowd of about 11 actors - did the real Eva Peron really give her 'Don't Cry For Me' era speech to such a small cluster of Argentinians? The show also takes a while to get off the ground - again, it is only with Elena's entrance 15 minutes in and her astounding rendition of Buenos Aries that the audience has been sufficiently booted up the arse enough to want to willingly remain awake for the remainder of the show. It barely reaches a 2 hour running time, and the stripped-down staging only serves to expose the show's weaknesses, which lie all too often in songs like 'Another Suitcase...' which are pretty but pretty meaningless. The Montage at the end is a nice touch for anyone who did succumb to sleep and wants to catch up with what they missed, but the akward staging - a spinning bed? - left me rolling in the aisles. The orchestrations however are fabulous, and the CD album, due to it's highlights nature, does not do them justice - Mr Lloyd Webber has outdone himself here, hiring an excellent orchestra. The stand outs are the newly redecorated 'Buenos Aires', with it's authentic Latin feel and superb dance choreography, the completely overhauled 'I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You (which now boasts a stupendously hot tango between Eva and Peron at the end, as well as a catchier string-laden sound) and the lyrically witty 'Peron's Latest Flame' which sadly has been dropped from the CD. Matt Rawle, unfortunately, manages to trample right over the good work that everyone else has laid in their wake. His singing in the part of Che is strong but is hampered by a headache-inducing nasal whine and an acting style that ecompasses only two emotions; anger and an arrogant, souped up self-indulgence which sees him trying to take over the stage at every oppertunity. There's only so much of the latter that can come purely from what your director has been encouraging you to encompass into your performance during rehearsals - as Johnny Depp once said, a little bit of a man's personality always creeps into his acting. And, as I am about to say, don't waste your money, unless you can ensure that Ms Roger will be there to give another of her rollicking star performances. I was lucky enough to have a free stalls ticket the first time and was able to bribe some more off a group of tourists for a cut-throat price the second time around, but otherwise, save your £55 and feed it to the all-dominating, monstrous, never-ending beasts like Les Misérables, or Mr Webber's best work, Phantom, instead. - 195.93.21.66) | 26 Nov 06 |
| Really enjoyed it! - 86.136.82.142) | 26 Nov 06 |
| Elena Roger is perfectly cast as Evita, she is great in the role. Everything else is a complete let down. The show is most of the time boring. Matt Rawle tries hard but his Che doesn't have much substance. They should have revived the Hal Prince production which is a total masterpiece. I have the same feeling when I saw Sweet Charity on Broadway, it came to nothing without the Fosse choreography. Some shows can be reworked, some obviously can't. Has anybody seen a major production of West Side Story different to the Jerome Robbins one? No, it wouldn't work. It it ain't broken, don't fix it. Mr grandage has shot himself on the foot. - 217.44.226.113) | 23 Nov 06 |
| I hate it when people compair it to the 'Hal Prince' Verson!!! Times have changed, move on, that was almost 30years ago. It doesn't need the glitz and bits and bobs of set which was in the Prince version! This is a natural and amazing production. The Prince version has gone, get over it! I loved this show, its classy, modern and a very true performance by Elena and everyone on that stage! Don't want tits and arse!! This is a beautiful production, Well done Micky G!!!! - 82.44.100.66) | 22 Nov 06 |
| Seen the show twice now. I didn't like it with Abbie Osmon, she was terrible. Noe I've seen it with Elena Roger, excellent performer and great dancer. Still the show doesn't convice me, the original Hal Prince production was so good. How did they get it so wrong this time, even Philip Quast looks embarrassed. The chorus were shouting more than singing specially in A New Argentina and the stage looks empty with such a small cast. - 217.44.226.113) | 22 Nov 06 |
| I have seen Evita twice now and it is so much better in the stalls!!! I feel it is very 'Donmar' Directed in the sense of that the acting is very natural and quite small, the closer you are, the better it is! Elena is amazing, dear god what an actress! Phillip Quast wasn't as great as i remember him! Sadly my ratings have down on him, he has a very weird sound now, as if he has a big problem to sing now! But apart from that it was amazing, took my breath away! - 82.44.100.66) | 21 Nov 06 |
| I saw it twice last week, once with Elena Roger and once with Abbie Osmon. The production is quite bland. There's no nice way to put it, ensemble is too small, the props and set look cheap and tacky and the only saving grace is the wonderful performance of Elena Roger who brings Eva to life. With Abbie Osmon dreadful portrayal of Eva the show becomes even more unberable. Michael grandage is the most overrated director in the West End. - 86.137.166.102) | 20 Nov 06 |
| How Abbie Osmon can be a stand in just amazes me.She is fantastic in the part of Eva and some of the reviews I've read saying she isn't are barking. - 172.142.220.58) | 18 Nov 06 |
| Very disappointing. Elena makes a great Evita but Philip Quast is unconvinincing as Peron and looks uncomfortable on many occasions. Don't Cry for Me Argentina was very nicely sang but with such a small cast the stage looks very empty when it's supposed to be a big crowd scene. Maddening! Michael Grandage's direction is so awful, he's so overrated. We saw the show on Wednesday 8th Nov and the Upper Circle was close so our £15 tickets were upgraded to the back of Stalls and then there were quite a few empty seats so we moved forward to row K. - 86.138.63.154) | 10 Nov 06 |
| WOW! Saw Evita last week at long last and what a stunning piece of theatre. Elena Roger is probably the best performer I have ever seen on stage, a singer a dancer (boy can this girl move)and an actress too, she is absoultely amazing and I was in tears at the end. Philip Quast & Matthew Rawle we're excellent too. I really don't understand the one star reviews but never mind, it takes all sorts!!! The Best Show in town is my cry! - 212.241.226.130) | 07 Nov 06 |
| Evita was the show that introduced me to musicals back in 1985. I was looking forward to this revival but it didn’t make it for me. Elena Roger is a great actress and terrific dancer with a voice to match, the only thing worthy in this very unfortunate revival, very cheaply staged with a small cast. - 87.217.181.163) | 28 Oct 06 |
| Why all the negative reviews? This show knocks the socks off most of the shows in the West End right now. Elena Roger is a superstar and Matt Rawle and Phillip Quast are well cast. I can only assume the negative reviews come from people who don't enjoy the show, which is fine, but please don't be put off - it's one of the hottest tickets in town and worth every penny of the £55 price tag. Go and see it before Elena Roger goes, you won't be disappointed!! - 84.69.225.156) | 27 Oct 06 |
| I'm not a fan of ALW and I hate the current revival of Guys And Dolls which proves that Michael Grandage can shamelessly ruin a great show. He does it again in Evita in spite of the wonderful Elena Roger, who gives a great performance, and Matt Rawle who is perfectly cast as Che. I feel it is a terrible production of a fine show. CAA - 87.217.180.144) | 27 Oct 06 |
| Elena Roger is a wonderful actress although I felt some of the past Evita's had better voices. The first 10 minutes`was rather boring but then it starts.... I felt the company were extremely tight and motivated. I also loved the choreography. If you like Lloyd Webbers musicals this is one to watch. - 86.139.232.138) | 26 Oct 06 |
| Lloyd Webber should be shot at down for allowing such an awful revival to happen. Apart from copying the original Hal Prince concept, there´s nothing you can do with 'Evita'. The orchestrations don´t quite get the South American feeling and Grandage´s`production is boring with the politics badly explained. - 87.217.180.227) | 26 Oct 06 |
| Saw Evita - best thing Quast's Bulge. - 86.136.43.225) | 25 Oct 06 |
| Saw this show last week and Elena Roger was excellent, she is the most exciting performer I´ve seen in ages. Abi Osman was awful when I saw the show back in August. The show improves vastly with Roger performance but it´s still dull and badly directed. Elena desrves all the awards this year. Idina Menzel doesn´t come even closer, in fact I was disappointed with her in Wicked after all the hype. - 87.217.181.117) | 25 Oct 06 |
| Overall Evita is good, but nevertheless a bit disappointing. The lyrics are great and the music really good , its just that the show as a spectacle fails to really stand out. Some of this may be that familiarisation breeds a degree of lothargic - but this isn't a phrase I'd use for Phantom or Les Miz which are just as familiar but feel conciderably fresher. Given all the hype and rave reviews surrounding Elena Rodger I was looking forward to her performance. Its wrong to say I was diappointed - she is very very good, but doesn't quite hit the level of the performance as that of Hannah Waddingham (Spamalot) and Idina Menzel (Wicked). Roger really comes into her own in the 2nd half and can make you feel some degree of sympathy (when comfronting the social elite and when she's dying - 'You Must Love Me' is her outstanding moment)to what is an otherwise fairly repulsive man-eating manipulative bitch. Matt Rawle hasn't had great reviews, but I thought he was the outstanding - his performance in my view, eclipsing that of Roger. He's a wonderfully cynical and angry Che and carry's the show's narrative brilliantly. The snide sarcastic lines are delivered very well, and at the relevant times, with effective dry witt. Phil Quast is typically ultra-solid - I'd love to see him is a bigger part (apart from the Les Miz 10th Anniversary concert of course !). The show never seems to come alive, and often seems to be a show directed like its merely going through the motions. This isn't a criticism of the cast (although they don't sparkle like that of the other big 'new' shows - Wicked and Spamalot), more of the director. Grandage's direction of 'Guys and Dolls' lacked flair and imagination and so here. The Casa Rossana is impressive, but as the only real scenery becomes boring. The chorus numbers whilst being the best moments of the show ('Money Kept Rolling In' is the highlight of the evening) still don't really blow you away. This is a great show on CD, but there are many other, far more enjoyable nights out to be had in London's West End. - 193.37.180.5) | 24 Oct 06 |
| Finally got round to seeing Evita last week and what a disappointment. There is nothing wrong with the performances – I warmed to Elena by act two, and Philip Quast and Matt Rawle are excellent. The rest of the company are superb and the orchestra sounded excellent. They work their little socks off in an ultimately pointless project. The let down is the direction and set. The set is so bland and overblown it overwhelms and stifles the production. The direction is so dull it takes so long to get going you feel the audience (the few that were in) lull with boredom. The dance numbers have no room to grow, so they never get going and the direction exposes the weaknesses in the shows narration. As lovely as the song ‘Another suitcase in another hall’ is, what exactly is its point? It just delays the story for three minutes! As for the second act, did I miss something? One minute all is rosy and fabulous for the Peron’s, next minute Eva is on the floor dying……..something is seriously wrong with the narrative there! It doesn’t hold you and you don’t really care. That is not the effect the original production or the film has. Evita has a lot to live up to. Harold Prince’s legendary production was a masterpiece. I even enjoyed the movie version for its spectacle. Faced with paying £3.99 for the film on DVD or £110 for two tickets to see the show, I know what I’d recommend. - 87.74.74.16) | 24 Oct 06 |
| i saw it on Thursday 19th eve. Didn't like the production much, quite boring in parts and an almost unbereable beginning. Elena Roger makes the show watchable and makes you forget the tediousness of some parts. her Evita is fiery, manipulative, charismatic, tender and charming, she can express anything. Philph Quast and matt rawle are both good. Greg castiglioni played magaldi, he's the understudy but he's quite good and his accent matches Elena's one quite nicely. Pity that the production is not as good as one would expect, A new Argentina and Rainbow Tour are dreadfully staged, but thec acst is great. - 86.144.34.220) | 20 Oct 06 |
| The beginning is not interesting enough to keep you awake, very boring until Buenos Aires. Elena Roger is great, she commands the stage and gives a stunning performance. The rest of the principals are ok, some of them wasted, like Philip Quast. Don't pay top price, not worth it. And don't get front row, you pay £55 but miss quite a lot and dont get to see the footwork during the dance numbers. - 86.144.34.220) | 16 Oct 06 |
| I first saw this in previews, paid top price and saw the awful Abbie Osmon. But after reading such good reviews on Elena Roger’s performance I went for a seat up in the gods and what a difference a quality performer can make. Elena is a fabulous singer and dancer and more importantly she can act something that her understudy is very inadequate at. Matt Rawle was fine as Che. Philip Quast was as usual very good. Still the production is cheap and boring with a very small cast. Michael Grandage should be shot at down for this travestry. - 86.144.34.220) | 15 Oct 06 |
| Apart from a very good performance by Elena Roger there is very little to enjoy in this terrible production. The beginning is very boring, the staging looks so cheap, the crowd scenes look very empty becuse of the small ensemble. This show is a total rip off for £55. The front row is quite restricted and you miss all the foootwork in the dance scenes. - 81.132.248.9) | 10 Oct 06 |
| Oh dear. Dismal. Wish there was a money-back guarantee. - 84.65.212.54) | 09 Oct 06 |
| What a mess. The whole thing collapses with Michael Grandage's terrible direction. This could have been a great production but it's very boring. Elena Roger looks the part and has mesmerising stage presence, she's the best thing in the show. Philip Quast and Matt Rawle are very talented but wasted in this production. The Mistress was played by the understudy who gave a totally underwhelming version of Another Suitcase. The ensemble is very small in number and the stage looks empty most of the time. - 81.132.248.9) | 07 Oct 06 |
| Saw Evita 4/10 best thing was Matt Rawle. Elena Roger grew on me as the performance progressed. I'm afraid she doesn't match Elaine Paige's performance in the role. Elena's voice didn't seem very strong on the high notes. Although she did perform don't cry for me Argentina amazingly well. I enjoyed the evening but I wasn't blown away. - 195.93.21.73) | 06 Oct 06 |
| WOW, BELIEVE ALL THE HYPE!!! I have finally seen her. Elena Rogers performance as Eva Peron is truly amazing, it's wonderful and so rare to see a leading lady that just doesn't stand there and sing but can alos act, she takes you through this womans life in an amazingly real and very moving way, her vocals and dance in 'Buenos Aires' is worth the ticket price alone but there is more with strong support from Philip Quast and naration from Matt Rawle. LONDONS FINEST & HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. - 195.224.116.2) | 06 Oct 06 |
| I saw Evita yesterday and thought Eva came across as an attractive, charming but also dangerous and machiavelic woman. Elena Roger is perfectly cast as she really inhabits the character. But everything else in this production is a complete let down. The show is boring, clumsily directed and cheaply produced. Matt Rawle tries hard and sings well but his Che is ultimately dull due to poor direction. Lorna Want was off and the Mistress was played by understudy Leila Ben Harris who was awful, she can't sing or act and her Mistress is quite nervy and histerical with a very unpleasant squeaky voice; you don't really feel sorry for her. Also the political background, which was brilliantly exposed in the Robert Stigwood production, is confusing in this messy production. - 81.132.248.9) | 06 Oct 06 |
| I took my cousin visiting from out of town to see this much-hyped production of Evita and was quite disappointed. Elena Rogers and actor playing Peron were laughably miscast to the point where everytime they stood next to each other my cousin & I would both burst out laughing - did the director not notice that their Evita was 4-foot tall when he paired her with Peron who was well over 6-feet? Elena Roger's voice did not have as much range as I would have expected from such a highly rated production. The tango theme was great as it really evokes an authentic Argentinian atmosphere but despite a good effort by Matt Rawle, I would not recommend spending your hard-earned money on this show. Might be worth a viewiing if you buy the discount tickets though. - 84.70.201.224) | 05 Oct 06 |
| Seen the show twice now and won't be going again. I wasn't impressed when I saw it with Abbie Osmon but last night's performance was so much better. Elena Roger is an excellent performerwith a great vocal range. I've been a fan of Philip Quast for a long time and he did a good job here. His voice is graet and I love his facial expressions, his part is very small though. My criticism is that this is actually a very badly produced and directed show. They thought that is such well known musical that they would get away with a cheap production. Well, they haven't and serves them right. If ALW had carried on working with competent producers - Cam Mac, Rober Stigwood- Evita would have been succesful. Instead he's producing it himself very cheaply and expecting people to pay £55 to see it. Well the show is not selling well and it's in danger of closing sooner than expected and Mr Lloyd Webber has only himself to blame. Maybe he'll learn the lesson. Pity that Elena and Philip are wasted in this lacklustre production. - 81.132.248.9) | 05 Oct 06 |
| I have seen nearly every current production in the West End and for this is by far and away the worst. I've never seen a theatre so empty. I saw it Monday 2nd October and my £15 ticket in the Upper Circle was upgraded to a great seat in the Dress Circle. The Upper Circle was close and everybody with tickets up there were given better seats. Even so there no more than 50 or 60 people in the Dress Circle and Stalls seemed also very empty. I can totally see why it was so empty, it looks really cheap and tacky, very small ensemble, ugly sets, bland direction and the worst leading lady I've seen on a stage: Abbie Osmon, no charisma, weak acting and singing, very disappointing performance. My 2 stars are one for Philip Quast and another one for Matt Rawle, they both tried really hard to lift a very dull production. - 81.132.248.9) | 03 Oct 06 |
| I saw it twice during the same week: an evening performance with Elena Roger as the Evita, and a matinee performance with Jodie Jacobs. The production I have to say is quite bland and disappointing. There's no nice way to put it: it's a budget production. The ensemble is too small, the props and set look amateurish, and the actors are mostly mediocre. Elena is an exception as she stands out with her remarkable dancing. I've never seen anyone dancing better on stage! Vocally, however, she has a rather limited range which is noticeable in some of her solos. Some of the scenes are very disappointing. A NEw Argentina for example is supposed to be a mesmerizing tour de force. Instead, you get a bunch of bored actors waving their white hankies. I would expect to see multitudes on barricades, flags and slogans, with Evita suddenly appearing in a radio studio. The Rainbow Tour is also poorly set with a few boxes and some basic chorecgraphy. When Elena played, her dancing would compensate for the poor staging and set but when Jodie played, she would just stand and stare at the rest of the actors. It was quite embarrassing. To summarize, I believe that this show could have been so much better. A better set, more talented actors (except Elena of course) and more impressive enemble would have made it a stunning hit. As it stands, it's outrageously overpriced and doesn't really cut it. My advice: if you intend to see this show, make sure Elena Roger is playing, and try to find cheaper seats. 55 quid is way too much for you're getting here. - 80.230.126.125) | 02 Oct 06 |
| I didn't like this production at all. I loved the original Harold Prince production, but this one it's just plain bland. I've seen it with both Elena Rogers -great performer let down by the awfulness of the production- and Abbie Osman -appallingly bad like the production itself-. Matt Rawle is fine as Che but is so badly directed that his character becomes bland lacking the edge needed. His version of And the Money Kept Rolling In was quite decent though. This production is so boring and has the most awful sets. The ensemble numbers could improve with more dancers but they are obviously doing the show very cheaply, the balcony scene is supposed to have a big crowd but the stage looks really empty. Elena has a mesmerising stage presence that makes the show bereable, but Abbie just doesn't have what it takes and her her Evita is as flat as the show itself. After ruining both Guys and Dolls and Evita Michael Grandage shouldn't be allowed to direct another musical, or maybe he shouldn't be allowed to direct, full stop. - 86.139.18.120) | 27 Sep 06 |
| Disappoionting. Elana makes a good older Evita but is unconvinincing as young and singing is oddly quiet at times. Also I couldn't see any of her during Don't Cry for Me Argentine as one of the chorus stood directly in fromt of me for the whole thing! Maddening! Why do directors stage numbers so people are in teh way of the main action!!!!! Had the stand in Peron too. - 88.96.1.229) | 26 Sep 06 |
| I was at the Saturday evening performance. Elena Roger was great but I still didn't enjoyed it. They have a very small ensemble and a couple of them are very annoying. Lorna Want is fine she only has one number. Overall I was very bored most of the time as I felt that this is a very bad production with a terrible set and bland choreography which is anything but latin. A big disappointment was to miss Philip Quast. I was told by an usherette that he was on holiday. Pity, his understudy gave one of the worst performances ever seen on stage. - 86.139.18.120) | 26 Sep 06 |
| Evita was the show that first introduced me to musical theatre (well the song Don’t Cry For Me Argentina at least). I saw a good touring production in 1995 only spoilt by Marti Webb squawking her way through the score. I was really looking forward to this revival having read great things about it but unfortunately it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Elena Roger, as Eva Peron, was a great actress and terrific dancer but her voice, despite perfect diction, was quite rough around the edges at times and I’m not convinced she’s really leading lady material. Matt Rawle sang superbly but never really shone that much as Che – he didn’t stand out from the crowd. Philip Quast was off and his understudy was adequate but I never felt that Peron was a very meaty role anyway. The highlights of the show for me were Buenos Aires, High Flying Adored, Rainbow High, You Must Love Me, The Money Kept Rolling In and the finale. What let this show down for me was the small ensemble (crowd scenes weren’t big enough). The orchestrations didn’t come to life in the way I was expecting and I never really sensed that Latin American feel. The set wasn’t very impressive and the lighting was too dark a lot of the time. Maybe because I know and love the score so well there were no surprises and even though I quite enjoyed the show it never really came alive for me or lived up to all the hype. I’m disappointed that I didn’t enjoy Evita as much as I had hoped and wanted to. - 62.254.64.17) | 25 Sep 06 |
| I went on Friday and I have to say that I found it quite boring. This is a good score but, aparte from the excellent Elena Roger, it wasn't very well performed. Philip Quast, a performer I much admire, was off so we got to see his understudy, Mark Heenehan, who is absolutely terrible, his singing is no more than adequate but can't act at all and is avery clumpsy dancer, I mean, a duck can move more graciously. Gary Milner was really quite weak. Matt Rawle sings the score nicely but is badly directed and his Che comes across as bland. The ensemble numbers were ok even enjoyable sometimes although there was a woman who was dancing so badly that I couldn't stop staring at her. She was wearing a blue scarf on her head and an apron in Buenos Aires, she was dancing histerically as if she was high on something, even more ourageous in A New Argentina, how is she allowed to perform in a West End production? Who does she know? Lacklustre show, I wouldn't recommend it. - 86.139.18.120) | 24 Sep 06 |
| I admit that I'm not a fan of ALW nor the current production of Guys & Dolls. When I saw it I was lucky and saw Elena Roger who gives a great performance and Matt Rawle. I guess to make it work it needs a star performance from the person playing Eva, I fee it is a good production of a good show. - 195.93.21.66) | 23 Sep 06 |
| For me this has been one of the most disappointing musicals I've seen in ages. The only good thing is Elena Roger's performance. She is brilliant and brings Evita to life with gusto. Pity that the direction is so terrible. The choreography is good in Buenos Aires but this production is really dull. They should have revived the Hal Prince version with Elena, instead of torturing us the awful Grandage production. - 86.139.18.120) | 13 Sep 06 |
| Lloyd Webber has now been around long enough to be considering or already staging revivals of all of his greatest successes. Apart from copying the the original Hal Prince concept, I fail to see what else you could do with 'Evita'. The orchestrations have been redone to give a more authentic feel - the set and characterisation have also been given more realism. This is branded as 'boring'. What exactly about the 'politics' is hidden by this production? I think the success of Peron in coming to power and Evita's help in making that come about are as clear as in the original production. The libretto is the same; its just a more realistic staging of a great show. - 84.68.33.66) | 13 Sep 06 |
| I saw this show on Thursday matinee and Abbie Osmon was playing Eva. Having previously seen Elena's portrayal I thought she was the definite Eva. With Osmon playinfg the lead Evita is a completely different show, she lacks charisma and stage presence and her singing and dancing are at best no more than adequate. Both Matt Rawle and Philip Quast (Peron) were fine. This production has awful sets and is not well directed and without Elena Roger the whole thing falls apart. I'm very disappointed and I won't be seeing it again. - 86.138.63.73) | 10 Sep 06 |
| Saw this show on weds eve this week and Elena Roger was off (from Mid-performance last tuesday apparently) having seen her as Eva in July I was very disappointed as she is the most exciting performer to hit the Adelphi stage since Ms Lupone swept down THAT staircase! Abi Osman was on in her place I was not expecting much after all the negative comments on this site but I was pleasantly suprised. She has glamour, confidence, a great voice and sensational dancing ability. A little too musical comedy in the early scences perhaps but she exploded in BUENOS AIRES with a drive and an energy that never wavered. She is a different Eva to Ms Roger - she is colder and less fierce and far more in line with previous Evas. Where Ms Roger bewitches Peron with sex appeal Ms Osman flatters and mothers him and looks adoringly into his eyes - although by act 2 it is clear it is the title not the man that this Eva loves. Strange that two such wildly different performances come from the same directorial approach but we should remember that performers are individuals and that their approach is their own - so leave ms Osman alone such negative comments on this site do not her or the audiences pre-conceptions. - 80.3.160.10) | 09 Sep 06 |
| A not very well staged production. Elena Roger is excellent and totally believable as Eva. The story comes across as badly explained -especially the politics- and I thought the pacing was at times very slow with a very boring beginning. Didn't think much of the set, majestic but dull. This production together with the Maria program made loose all respect for Lloyd-Webber, the music is not as good as I remember and the production is a bit bland. So all the merit for the previous Evita goes to Hal Prince, he made the show a success. I was also not convinced by Matt Rawle performance as Che, for me, he was as dull as the staging. Also, the ending of this show was very flat. - 86.138.63.73) | 21 Aug 06 |
| After mixed reviews on here and other sites I went on Monday not expecting much. And I was right. Abbie Osmon was on as Eva and was really bad. Her dancing is clumsy and her singing weak. The set is awful and the show is badly directed. Very different from the wonderful Hal Prince production. And there was a drunk person in the audience singing along which didn' help. Then they moved him to a box for the second hand and was even more noisy. Oh well, it's the Adelphi... - 86.138.63.73) | 20 Aug 06 |
| I felt compelled to comment once more on Evita after reading the drivel written by TOMMO - down the page a bit -who gave it a one *. I would have to say, by what he's written, that he has no idea what muscial theatre can be about and that he would, no doubt, have castigated Rogers & Hammerstein for making Carousel too darn serious!! Come on Tommo grow up! - 195.93.21.66) | 20 Aug 06 |
| I have to say that the beginning is just not interesting enough to keep your attention, really boring until Buenos Aires. Elena as Evita is brilliant, she commands the stage and gives a very energetic performance. The rest of the cast are ok, some of them wasted, like Philip Quast who hardly manages to sing at all. I had to stop myself from falling asleep in some parts, like the funeral. Advice, don't pay top price, not worth it. - 86.138.63.73) | 16 Aug 06 |
| I first saw this production in preview, paid top price and saw the abysmal Abbie Osmon .However after reading such good reviews on Elena Roger’s performance I opted for a seat in the gods (still overpriced at 22.50) and what a difference a quality performer can make. Elena is a fantastic singer and dancer but more importantly she can act something that her understudy is woefully inadequate at. Only gave this 3 stars as unfortunately Matt Rawle was not performing and his understudy was patchy to say the least. Philip Quast was as usual excellent. - 193.23.116.11) | 15 Aug 06 |
| Apart from the staging for Buenos Aires and a very impressive performance by Elena Roger this is IMHO a terrible production. Matt Rawle is a very dull Che, the beginning is endles and boring, Rainbow Tour staging lokks so cheap... I could go on and on and on. This show is a total rip off. - 86.138.63.73) | 10 Aug 06 |
| I'm surprised by the negative reviews for this show, I saw it a couple of Saturdays ago and it was amazing. Elena Roger was particularly stunning and Evita, and for me she is perfectly cast in the role. Philip Quast is also particularly strong as Peron and Matt Rawle is a convincing Che, who for me, was much stronger in act 2. Michael Grandage has produced a first class Evita, and this show must be seen as one of the best in the West End at the moment. Worth every penny of the £55 price tag! - 84.70.148.254) | 10 Aug 06 |
| What a car crash. The whole thing for me just collapses with Michael Grandage's direction. He takes himself very seriously and so the glitz and glamour are cast aside in favour of... this. There are similar complaints about his treatment of Guys and Dolls. This kind of directing is earning Mr Grandage lots of five star reviews from many critics who like this sort of 'hair shirt' theatre, but box office it ain't, sweety. Whether Grandage likes it or not, people, when they pay £50 a seat want glam, glam, glam, oh, and a bit of glitz, too. As they say in the Producers: keep it gay, keep it gay, keep it gay! There's nothing gay (I mean, of course, in the sense of happy and feel good) in this way this show is directed, it's all 'let's emphasise the seriousness of it all, because we theatre folk are very serious these days, you know'. It doesn't help, I have to say, if you want to shovel the seriousness down people's throats and you have camp performers on stage - sort of undermines the point a bit. - 217.196.231.33) | 09 Aug 06 |
| Was looking forward to seeing this. The set was fine but the performances left me cold. I found the whole beginnig quite boring, Buenos Aires brought some but was dreadfully sung by Eva alternate Abbie Osmon. Overall this is quite a dull production. One of the ushers told me that the show is much better when Elena Roger plays Eva and Matt Rawle plays Che. iguess it must be true as both Abbie Osmon and Mark Powell were quite weak. Still I don't understand how this got such good reviews and Avenue Q didn't. I've see Avenue Q 3 times and it's been packed every time. On Monday night Evita was just about 40% full and many people, including myself, got complimentary tickets. I don't see it lasting very long. - 86.138.63.73) | 09 Aug 06 |
| I've loved this musical since I was about 7, and though I saw the original production as a child I have never seen it since (film excepting). I was massively impressed with how great a show it was when I saw it this past Monday. When I realised I was getting the Che understudy and Evita #2 I was preparing for the worst, but in fact they were both great. My companions loved it too, including those he'd never heard/seen it before. Highly recommended. - 212.113.17.218) | 09 Aug 06 |
| When I saw Evita yesterday I thought Eva came across as a good portrayal of how Eva Peron was - attractive, endearing but also dangerous and manipulative. In this production, this is the achievement of Elena Roger perfect casting. Unfortunately everything else is a complete let down. The show is very boring, I supposed the fact that the key figure of Che, who acts as narrator, was played very clumpsily by understudy Mark Powell who gives a very uneven performance. Maybe things are different when Matt Rawle is on, but I haven't seen him so I can't judge. I think that the worst thing in this production is the lack of explanation of the political background which was brilliantly exposed in the original production. For those unfamiliar with the political situation of Argentina in the 50s the show will come across as a confusing and utter mess. - 86.138.63.73) | 06 Aug 06 |
| How shameful that some criticts gave this five stars and Avenue Q only three. This revival is up to a point entertaining but ultimately becomes disappointing and a bit dull. Elena Roger is brilliant with real star quality and some of the cast are very good too, but overall the show lacks focus and passion. In contrast Avenue Q is one of the most entertaining and clever shows in the West End right now. - 86.138.63.73) | 06 Aug 06 |
| Seen the show twice now and will certainly be going again. I was impressed when I saw the show with Abbie Osmon (4 stars) but last nights performance was so much better. Elena Roger is an amazing performer in every way, her vocal range is superb. I'v been a huge fan of Philip Quast for many years and he didn't let me down here. His voice and acting ability (his facial expressions are enough for me alone) have been and will remain unequalled. My only criticism in terms of performance was that of Gary Milner who seemed to stuggle to hold some of the notes. Great show, can't wait for the CD next week. - 86.143.11.216) | 05 Aug 06 |
| Ok... I've just graduated in Music Theatre, have seen nearly every production in the West End that is currently showing... this is by far and away THE BEST! And this comes from someone who usually hates the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Enough said! - 81.154.194.79) | 05 Aug 06 |
| Have to say I was dissapointed!! Matt Rawle stole the show for me and was by far the best throughout. There's no doubt Elena Roger can dance/sing/act and ooze bags of charm...the one thing she doesn't do quite so well is sing in a way that allows the audience to understand what she is singing- somewhat important in my mind!!! - 195.93.21.66) | 04 Aug 06 |
| I didn't like this production. It lacks the edge of the original Hal Prince production, it's just bland. I've seen it with both Elena Rogers (brilliant)and Abbie Osman (appalling). Matt Rawle is a very weak Che. His version of And the Money Kept Rolling In fell totally flat. The actual production is boring with ugly sets and just ok dance numbers. With Elena the show can be bereable, with Abbie you just want to kill yourself and kill everybody. - 86.138.63.73) | 03 Aug 06 |
| A stunning show which really captures what Eva Peron was all about. Elena Roger is superb and her dancing is amazing. Both Che and Peron have crystal clear voices and you can hear every word. Not quite sure what to make of the first scene (ie up to the end of Oh What A Circus) as very bland but then isn't that what 1952 Argentina was all about? I was glad they had Peron's mistress singing Another Suitcase rather than Eva (you will recall Madonna nicked it in the film version) it was sung superbly. Also included was the new composition You Must Love Me which when sung by Ms Roger brought tears to the eyes. A cracking show - go and see it! - 205.156.117.1) | 02 Aug 06 |
| I was at Saturday mat performance, Elena was superb and i feel the whole ensemble do a good job. I still didn't enjoyed it. Lorna Want is sweet but sounded off key a couple of times. Overall I was bored most of the time as I felt that this is a terrible production with a dreadful set and only ok choreography. - 86.138.63.73) | 30 Jul 06 |
| Having seen the abysmal Guys and Dolls the night before, I was concerned at the next attempt by Michael Grandage and Rob Ashford to revive one of my favourite musicals, Evita. Yes, the two pieces are at different ends of the spectrum, but I would have given them at least five years of community service for the carnage and brutality they inflicted on Guys and Dolls and not allowed them anywhere near a musical until probation was served, perhaps in panto.....! However, Rejoice! On Thursday evening at the Adelphi, my faith in musical theatre in the West End was restored ten-fold. I'd read mixed reviews and heard mixed opinions from friends about this production and so in light of the previous evening I approached with un-necessary caution. I won't waste time on superlatives. See it, see it, see it!! Elaine Paige became a household name after winning the role in Hal Princes 1976 production. Thirty years on a new star, Elena Rogers is born to claim the Evita crown , (having been passed on to Patti Lupone and Madonna on the way). Something about Miss Rogers just oozes South American passion and power. It's almost like she holds the secret to Evas legacy and perhaps this isn't entirely not to do with her geographical origin (Buenos Aires). For the people of Argentina Eva Peron is to this day a huge spiritual influence and her iconic, almost religious image is still highly visible in the poorer areas of Buenos Aires as a sign of hope. Elena Rogers must know only too well (moreso than any other Eva), the historical and social implications the poverty stricken actress turned first lady placed on her country. Her Eva Peron is stunning and surprisingly likeable, from a fifteen year old Eva to her death from cancer at 33, she sings, acts and dances with such focus it really is difficult to believe what Grandage could have done with this production without her physical and emotional presence. Rob Ashfords tango based choreography sums up the sultry, fiery and volatile moods of the set pieces and his dancers are a lithe, sexy mixture of shapes and sizes. The set by Christopher Oram is magnificent, it is literally a moving and breathing piece of Moorish architecture, and with its cool alley ways and grand palm shaded frontages, it transports us from Evas dirty beginnings in Junin to the powerfull halls and private apartments of military power. The Casa Rosada looks breathtaking during the famous "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" and Elena Rogers tiny figure makes us all seem like spectators at an occasion where we want to reach up and touch the hem of her dress for divine forgiveness of ever having spent a penny on a ticket to any other West End show. - 81.154.183.184) | 30 Jul 06 |
| I went thursday matinee and i have to say that I found it boring. No-one is denying that this is a good score but i felt it wasn't well performed ( gary milner was really quite bad). Abbie Osmon was weak and cheated when she had to hit some notes. Philip Quast was as good as ever. Lacklustre show, wouldn't recommend it. - 86.138.63.73) | 30 Jul 06 |
| Elena Roger's is stunning, ignore all the previous comments about her accent etc. Elena is Argentinian, as was Eva Peron - enough said! The production itself is amazing, the set, lights(wow) and costumes are perfect. As for the dancing, so passionate and sensual, I wanted to press the rewind button and watch again! We sat in 3rd row of stalls which isn't the best place, as the stage is high, and it was uncomfortable to watch all the balcony scenes, which is a shame. Try and get tickets at he front of the Dress Circle if you can. I hope Elena wins every award going - sensational! - 62.252.64.30) | 30 Jul 06 |
| For me this has been by far one of the disappointing musicals I've witnessed in ages. The only saviour is Elena Roger's performance. She is outstanding and brings a breath of fresh air into the West End. Pity that the direction is so bad. The choreography is good in parts like in Buenos Aires but the whole would fall flat if it wasn't for Elena Roger. She really really nails the part. Big time. I have seen several actresses playing Eva in my time including Elaine Paige (didn't impressed me), Patti LuPone (very good) an many others but none come close to giving such an exceptional portrayal. She manages to get the manipulative 'bitch' of Eva across effortlessly yet switches to charm and vulnerability when needed. Very hard to describe her on stage but she was a revelation and a huge talent. Pity they didn't do a revival of the Hal Prince version with her instead of the boring Grandage production. - 86.138.63.73) | 30 Jul 06 |
| Love the show, love the production: for me this is the most exciting and exhilarating piece of theatre in town. Saw it in preview first and was bowled over by Elena Roger. Having just seen it again was thrilled to note that she is, if anything, even better now. Her impassioned, enthralling account of this demanding role is the stuff of which theatregoer's memories are made, and in a year stuffed to the gills with strong performances by women in musicals I'd still be highly surprised if anybody else walks away with the "Best Actress" award. - 195.82.123.181) | 29 Jul 06 |
| I saw this show on Thursday evening. Never saw the original production but I thought Madonna's Eva was ok in the film. Having seen Elena's portrayal I I think she is the definite Eva. I thought both Matt Rawle and Philip Quast (Peron) were ok. This production has very ugly sets. I cannot believe that this is the best they can do with Evita and I'm very disappointed. - 86.133.165.17) | 22 Jul 06 |
| I had this booked for my birthday. I feel we have wasted £110. The biggest let down ever, elena roger saved the night for me she was brilliant but it's a disappointing production. - 86.133.165.17) | 21 Jul 06 |
| A compelling and beautifully staged production. Elena Roger is terrific and totally convincing as Eva. The story comes across really well and I thought the pacing was excellent-this show did not flag for a minute. Loved the simple but majestic set, all handsomely lit. This is not your typical high-kicking sequin laced show, which may be why some people are disappointed with it. This production gave me a new respect for Lloyd-Webber and Rice-the music is so outstanding and the lyrics in turn witty and poignant. I would have given this 5 stars except: I was not convinced by Matt Rowles performance as Che-for me, he was too "stagey". Also-the ending of this show was very flat- Admittedly, it could not be a conventional happy ending, but something a bit more dramatic would have improved the shows impact. - 82.35.199.225) | 21 Jul 06 |
| After seeing the mixed reviews on here and other sites I went on Wednesday not expecting much. And I didn't get much. I loved Elena Roger, she is one of the strongest performers I have ever seen. Her dancing is superb!! She was truly outstanding I could not keep my eyes off her!! Her stage presence is amazing. I really can't see this show having a long runwithout her. The set is ugly and not very effective and the production itself is not very well directed. It's not groundbreaking like the Hal Prince was and, big mistake, they've borrowed too much from the movie. Things that work on film sometimes are not as effective on stage. - 86.133.165.17) | 21 Jul 06 |
| I'm not convinced this is a great show as there are very few stand-out songs and some of the sung-through parts are very clumsy. However, Michael Grandage's effective direction enables the excellent story to shine through and the show is never allowed to flag. The real reason this is a must-see is because of the performances. Although Philip Quast's immense talents are wasted as he is never given much to do, Matt Rawle is incredible as the narrator; rarely offstage and brilliantly conveying the growing disillusionment with the ego and corruption of the Perons. As for Elena Roger: believe all the hype. She may not be the greatest singer and her accent does prevent proper understanding occasionally, but she does not perform the part of Eva - she inhabits the character. There is a perceptible sense of danger about her and, despite her tiny frame, she dominates the stage at all times. We had originally booked for the matinee but, after complaining, switched our tickets to the evening show to see Ms Roger perform. It was worth the effort as this is an iconic performance and quite simply one of the best I have ever seen on a musical stage. - 62.6.139.13) | 21 Jul 06 |
| It can't be faulted in any way but I have to say that the story, the content, is just not interesting enough to base a musical around. Elena as Evita is great, she dominates the stage, a real firecracker and yet so, so tiny. But only she and Matt Rawle get to sing the songs. The rest of the company, all very experienced and rather mature looking seem very under-used. It is a waste of Philip Quasts talents as he hardly manages to get to sing at all!! Somehow it didn't touch my heart and I had to stop myself from falling asleep in the first half which I have never done before in the West End! Unbelievable, as it was also the first time I've ever paid full price for the tickets!!! - 80.1.224.8) | 20 Jul 06 |
| Awfully staged. The whole beginning is really bad. Elena Roger is great but she is let down by the production and bad direction. Philip Quast is fine as Peron but he doesn't take it too seriously as if he realises the show doesn't have much to offer. Matt Rawle was quite bad as Che, sounded very nasal and looked out of place most of the time. The worst was Gary Milner, truly awful. Lorna Want was ok as the Mistress although she doesn't have much to do. Pity this is such a bad production. There were many empty seats on Saturday matinee. Also the bar was so dirty and overpriced. - 86.133.165.17) | 18 Jul 06 |
| Positive points: the staging for Buenos Aires, some of the new musical arrangements, the very impressive Elena Roger and the Lament. Negative points: Matt Rawle's dull Che, the endles and boring beginning, the Army silly dance to get to power, Rainbow Tour staging. - 86.133.165.17) | 18 Jul 06 |
| This production is one of the best shows currently on offer in the Wst End. Staging is amazing, cast are fantastic, dancing is brilliant and Elena Roger is a revelation. The show is just what the West End needs - a classy, clever and extremely enjoyable production. Would see it over and over and over! - 86.143.163.0) | 17 Jul 06 |
| Wondeful show! Captivating, Elena Rogers is brilliant, she dominates every moment she is on stage! And a special mention too to M. Rawle and Philip Quast... - 84.97.244.149) | 17 Jul 06 |
| Was looking forward to seeing this and following the good notices it received thought I was in for a treat. While the set was fine and there were some good performances, the whole show left me cold. I found the first 20 minutes boring, it wasn't until Buenos Aires that I thought there was any life in the production. Elena Roger is excellent, powerhouse performance, brilliant singer and dancer. But overall is quite a dull production. Don't understand how this got such good reviews while Avenue Q which is a brilliant show didn't. - 86.133.165.17) | 17 Jul 06 |
| I reviewed this production on 27th June without the benefit of seeing Elena Roger. I have been for a second time and this time I did see her. What a difference she makes to the show! I enjoyed it first time round, butthis lady has real star quality to coin a phrase from the show!! She uses every bit of her diminutive size to dominate every scene she is in. I found her totally entrancing - she totally inhabits the role and the way in which she grows into the most powerful woman in Argentina is mesmerising. And lets not forget the others. Her presence on stage gives Matt Rawle's Che even more licence to go for it and he does. A truly wonderful performance! The sheer physicality of Elena's Eva to Philip Quast's Juan Peron works brilliantly as she begins to dominate him. Brilliant!! - 86.134.163.89) | 16 Jul 06 |
| When I saw Evita last week I thought Eva came across as an effective portrayal of how Eva Peron was - an attractive, endearing but clearly dangerous and manipulative woman. Even in the production with LuPone, Eva lacked the unpleasant side. In this production, she has it. However I think what does dilute this production is the lack of political impact the story now has compared to how it had originally. - 86.133.165.17) | 14 Jul 06 |
| How utterly shameful that Mr. Coveney gives this five stars and Avenue Q three. This revival is quite entertaining but ultimately disappointing, flat and dramatically inert. Elena Roger is fabulous with real star quality and most of the cast around her is very good too, but the production overall lacks focus and passion. Sharp contrast to Avenue Q, one of the most entertaining heartwarming and beautiful nights in the West End. - 86.144.197.254) | 14 Jul 06 |
| Thought Buenos Aires straight through to end of first act was stunning as well as the last 15 minutes of act two. The rest was an abortion. Too bad Elena was not able/allowed to show that dual side that made Eva the controversial figure that she is. Hope the show does well but aside from the performances, the choreography and the dazzling new orchestrations I was mostly disappointed. - 86.133.165.17) | 13 Jul 06 |
| EVITA, the new production at the Adelphi Theatre in London is Tony Blair's kind of gal. She's a perfect saint, who despite having spent a few years sleeping and stepping her way to the top, spends most of her time post marriage (after all that's all she really wanted wasn't it?) showering her descamisados with affection and money, embracing her servants and doing endless charity work to support her hardworking husband. Huh? Are we talking about Eva Peron or the late Princess Diana? Grandage, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice seem to have found a nice scapegoat in the later, who seems to be a great excuse to give the British a revisionist take on their classic 1974 musical. In truth, the myth of Eva Peron has been spun and repackaged so many times, that poor perfectly embalmed body of hers must be dizzy by now. Originally conceived as an angry diatribe against collapsing British politics under PM, Edward Heath, EVITA has endured Maggie Thatcher (in the 1978 Hal Prince London staging), Ronald and Nancy Reagan (the 1980 Broadway production), Bill Clinton and the dot com boom (Alan Parker's film version) to arrive in London today a lady devoid of her political unpleasantness completely, which is a shame. Perhaps Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have read some of the "new" biographies which, as all revisionist histories do, paint a more sympathetic, misunderstood stance on Eva Duarte, or perhaps they themselves now identify more with the "oligarchs" than the "descamisados" than when they first wrote the piece, but Michael Grandage's production, even while staying largely true to the text (few choice trims excluded) practically begs for apology of the show's original politics each step of the way. Even as the lyrics speak of Eva laundering money, trying to become a saint at the expense of her government, destroying the upper class in retaliation for a lifetime of snubbery, Grandage's staging states nearly the opposite. This Eva Peron is handled with kid gloves, lest any real conflict or debate erupt and the greatest casualty as a result is that the "Che" character, now an "every man" much as in Alan Parker's film version (the single greatest influence apparently for Grandage's uninspired staging and Christopher Oram's massive sets) is no longer a true foil. The program notes state this was always ALW and Rice original intent, but thats as revisionist writing as the myth of Eva herself. The character was conceived and performed on the concept album as "Che Guevara" a perfect voice for their young discontent, who particularly under Hal Prince's staging gave the piece a sizzling bite in the ass. It doesn't help that Matt Rawle has none of Antonio Banderas's charisma and despite some fine vocals, blends so effortlessly into the enormous designs, he comes across more as a petulant child than even an outraged disenter. "The Waltz for Eva and Che" seems more, in fact like an annoyed mother sending her bratty son off to the bus for school (and by now we've seen how good Eva is with children). The bizarre revisionism does a horrible disservice to the piece and in particular to the show's stunning star, Elena Roger. Let me step aside a minute to say, that yes, everything you have heard is true. Ms. Roger is a star. Boy, oh boy is she a star, and she's giving one of the finest breakout peformances I've ever seen on a musical stage. A sort of diminutive Cate Blanchett with the legs of Ann Reinking, and a voice that can slide from the brittle intensity of Julie Convington to the throbbing vocal heat of Lola Beltran in slide of a single measure. That she’s actually from Buenos Aires doesn’t hurt either and whatever Grandage, Rice and Webber may be trying to say or not say (do they know what they are trying to say about Peron at this point?) Rogers seems to know the entire truth. It’s written each step of the journey in her expressive eyes, wry mouth and her body that slides and kicks in choreography (brilliantly devised by Rob Ashford) I suspect no previous Eva would have dared to try or will probably ever try again. It’s a dream performance, and one that could probably reach ungodly heights if Grandage let her unveil the bitch in the character you can see Roger fighting to repress. So what else is new Buenos Aires? A fine Peron in Philip Quast, a touching mistress in Lorna Want some lively new Latin orchestrations and a Broadway transfer. Ah yes, the transfer. Will it happen? Should it happen? Frankly, I was excited to hear about a new production that would completely abandon Hal Prince’s brilliant but much seen original staging. Can a production be mounted that works without it? I believe it can. Somewhere out there is a director who could make it work (perhaps Stephen Daldrey, whose BILLY ELLIOT is a triumph of theatrical conceit). But frankly, I don’t think Grandage has come up with something strong enough for New York. His vision is as whitewashed as the walls of the Casa Rosada and he gives us not a single moment that reaches the thrilling theatricality of Prince’s staging. Ironically, the U.S. is at an eerily similar place today that England was when ALW and Rice first wrote the piece in 1974: an economic slump, a hugely unpopular political leader, baited elections…. I saw its time to restore Eva to the nasty political bitch she’s meant to be. Bring back the Hal Prince staging with Elena Roger and give us something to root for. - 86.133.165.17) | 13 Jul 06 |
| I'm a big fan of the Harold Prince staging and I felt that Grandage's new production is very lacklustre and quite dull. Abbie Osmon clearly can't handle the part and struggled big time. Patrons were complaining as many had booked in the hope of seeing Elena in the show and instead they got Abbie who struggled all the way through and didn't reach the top notes. Waste of time and money, although at least I just had a cheap Upper Circle ticket and got upgraded to Dress Circle. - 86.133.165.17) | 08 Jul 06 |
| I really like this production. It lacks the humour of the original Hal Prince production, but it's far more moving IMO. I've seen the show with both Elena Rogers and Abbie Osman and much prefer Abbie's interpretation of the role (I could actually understand what she was singing too.) Matt Rawle completely stole the show for me though. His version of the money song is so good. The actual production is excellent with great sets, lighting and fantastic dance numbers. - 213.78.149.11) | 08 Jul 06 |
| I remember, a lifetime ago, listening to "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (as sung by Julie Covington) on the radio whilst I got on decorating my first flat. I thought, then as now, WOW! what a number it could be the national anthem of Agrentina!. Then later I saw Hal Prince's fine production at the Prince Edward with the super Joss Ackland playing Peron and Miss Paige belting it out as Evita. I have to say I am no great fan but boy can she sing that number. Michael Grandage's production is visually stunning but like many of the reviewers here I left the theatre feeling somewhat underwhelmed. It had its moments for sure but somehow it never quite took off. In many ways Elena Rogers doesn't hit the mark. I hate to say this but at times she sounded like a falsetto Frankie Detorri. Philip Quast is, undoubtly, one of our finest musical actors but the pairing of these two - he must be well over 6 foot and she is what 4ft 10? meant that when ever he got near to her he towered over her so much (I guess anyone else would too!) that it gave those moments a comic look which I'm sure the director did not intend. Never the less it is still one of Lloyd Webber's best scores and Tim Rice's lyrics are top notch - "..I came from the people they need to adore me so Christian Dior..." - "...I'm their saviour! That's what they call me so Lauren Bacall me..." Fab! However, it was not the sum of its parts and maybe that is not Mr Grandage's fault but just a problem with the show itself? But -"...I would not advise those critics present to derive any satisfaction from her fading star...."? it was still great to see such a stylish staging of this classic musical again. - 195.93.21.66) | 08 Jul 06 |
| I was at that performance too yesterday- have to say it felt like quite a different show to when i went just after opening night and saw Elena- she was superb and i feel the whole ensemble 'up their game' when she is on- like her enthusiasim rubs off on them. I still really enjoyed it though- Lorna Want has been fab both times i've seen her, and Philip Quast too- i really think he suits Peron so well. I actually really like Matt as Che- took me a little while to get into his performance the first time i saw him- he was also doing more of an accent then he did yesterday which i found distracting (glad he's clearly stopped it now!) but by the end of my first visit i was very impressed with him. Yesterday even more so- i think he was the one that really held the whole thing together; i think i got that impression because Abbie Osmon sadly wasn't very strong- particularly the first Act (where she also got a line or two wrong). I think Abbie was much better in Act 2 and all the highlights of her performance were in that act for me. She does lack the spark and passion that Elena brings to the role- which is so important when you're the title character. A lot of people around me were complaining that Elena wasn't on (i didn't mind as i wanted to see how Abbie compared) and so i think a lot of people went into the show in a bad mood that did reflect on the applause level- there wasn't much in act 1 for whatever reason; totally different to when i saw it before- people were cheering right from the start! Also only a few of us gave a standing ovation (there were quite a few empty seats at the back of the stalls) compared to before when the theatre was full and practically everyone stood up. It is worrying that every time Elena isn't on there will be bad feeling in the audience and / or a 'not quite so tip-top' show. I don't agree that the show is forgettable- i love it (with Elena!)- i wasn't alive when the original was on so, regardless of which is better, i'm so pleased they have re-staged it so i haven't only had to see it as a film. I love the set/costumes, pretty much everything really. The show is at TKTS already, but at full-price- £57-50 altogether! - 86.133.165.17) | 07 Jul 06 |
| The reviews placed on this website made me unsure of what to expect. This was a disappointing production. Abbie Osmon goes from quite average to shockingly bad when she has to hit the top notes. The show is boring most of the time with a couple of good numbers. I hated the whole beginning, all the funeral part just looked awful. The Upper Circle was close -Thursday matinee- and Dress Circle was less than 50% full with many empty rows, and that after having relocated there everyone with Upper Circle tickets. Not looking good at the moment. - 86.133.165.17) | 07 Jul 06 |
| Hving also been at the thursday matinee i have to disagree with the previous comment. No-one is denying that this is an amazing score but i felt it was also brilliantly performed (perhaps with the exception of gary milner who was distinctly average). I had no problems with Abbie Osmon at all and felt she had a lot to offer the role. Philip Quast was sensational as ever. Great show, thoroughly recommend it. - 86.140.192.157) | 07 Jul 06 |
| I was at the Thursday matinee, 6th July and I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with any production I have seen. It leaps from cliche to cliche with all the class of Lionel Blair, and Abbie Osmon quite simply isn't up to the job. Her voice was strained at the best of times, but her high notes were shocking. Just when I thought it couldn't be any more naff, and the show must have limped to its historically barren conclusion, the 'stars' start spinning Eva's bed while a montage of the hell which was the last 2 hours of musical theatre is played out for those of us who had fallen asleep. Paid half price by booking for a group in advance, and still felt robbed. It certainly wasn't a busy house - Upper Circle was closed. It's only been open 2 weeks, and the Adelphi is hardly the Coliseum. - 172.141.134.169) | 07 Jul 06 |
| For me personally this has been by far one of, if not most disappointing musical I've witnessed for a very long time. The only saviour is Elena Roger's performance as Eva Peron who is outstanding and she brings a breath of fresh air into the currently boring West End. Pity that the staging and direction are not very inspired. A couple of musical numbers are well executed but that's all. - 86.133.165.17) | 06 Jul 06 |
| Complete mince - 212.140.167.197) | 05 Jul 06 |
| I saw this show on the first Saturday evening after the official opening on the Wednesday. Never saw the original production but I am great fan of the film. I thought Madonna's Eva was ok at the time but having seen Elena's portrayal I have a whole new respect for Madonna's version! I could not understand a word she was singing, she sounded screechy and off key during the "Hello & Goodbye" sequence and as a result couldn't connect with the show at all. Certainly Elaine Paige's crown is still intact! I thought both Matt Rawle (Che) and Philip Quast (Peron) were outstanding along with the very atmospheric sets. I believe the West End needs something almighty injecting into it along with fresh talent, both in perorming and writing as I cannot believe that this is the best they can do with the number of graduates (myself included) that are being churned out of the nations drama schools. Very disappointing evening and still we wait for a producer to take a risk. - 168.224.1.14) | 05 Jul 06 |
| What can I say, I had this booked for my birthday could not wait to see it. I feel we have wasted £120, would like money back. The biggest let down ever, would not see it again if elena roger was in it. Matt Rawle saved the night for me he was brilliant - 82.2.226.175) | 04 Jul 06 |
| Disappointing show. Elena Roger and Philip Quast are both very good but this production is really boring. Will not be going again. It wasn't very busy either. Strange considering it just opened. - 86.133.165.17) | 04 Jul 06 |
| Well what can I say after seeing the mixed reviews on here and other sites I went last week not really expecting much!!! Well I had absolutly nothing to worry about!!! I loved it!! The ensemble are one of the strongest I ahve ever seen. The dancing superb!!! Loved the set and as for Elena I thought she was truly outstanding I could not keep my eyes off her!!! Her stage presence is amzing and just loved her!!! I really can't see what all these negative reviews are all about!! Go and see it and be amazed like i was!!! - 80.3.0.44) | 04 Jul 06 |
| My friends and I went to the Saturday matinee show. We were disappointed as it was truly awful. Impossible to enjoy. - 82.138.209.34) | 03 Jul 06 |
| Saw it again on saturday night. Loved it. What a great show. - 82.35.22.138) | 03 Jul 06 |
| Terribly staged. What were they thinking? The whole beginning is awful, truly boring. Elena Roger is brilliant though and when she's on stage you actually forget how dreadful this production is. Philip Quast ia great as Peron but Matt Rawle wasn't very good as Che, sounded nasal and looked bored most of the time. The worst performance was that of Gary Milner, terrible as Magaldi, can't sing, dance or act. Lorna Want was a sweet Mistress. Overall very disappointin production. Not surprised they had so many empty seats on a Saturday night. - 86.133.165.17) | 02 Jul 06 |
| Plus points: the naturalistic staging; making Che an everyman instead of specific; the Piazzola feel of the new musical arrangements; Elena Roger; Philip Quast; and two songs still give me shivers after all these years: A New Argentina and Rainbow High. Minus points: Matt Rawle's voice (seeing him in Assassins in Sheffield did not give me much hope); the staging of Dangerous Jade - the one thing I miss from the old staging is the choreography of this, with the army and upper classes woking to the music better; adding You Must Love Me. - 195.93.21.66) | 02 Jul 06 |
| I really didn't liked the production much. I thought Matt Rawle and Philip Quast were both ok but the set and choreography was unimpressive. Elena Roger is really the only saviour in this dull production. One of the few moments I enjoyed was the Lament at the end with Eva in spirit form singing it on the balcony. Although I missed the original one with her singing it in her bed and collapsing at the end with the crucifix falling off her hands. I guess both endings work well. - 86.133.165.17) | 02 Jul 06 |
| Having missed it first time round I booked for this time as soon as it was announced earlier in the year, and at which time it was not known who would play Evita. The subsequent casting of Elena Roger looked and sounded good. The 'official' reviews were good but a mixed bag of comments here! I was fortunate that last night (Saturday) Elena Roger was in the role. In order to make some comparison I played the sound track of the original a few days before. Certainly the present version does seem to have been 'tango-ed up', but I would say it is none the worse for that. Well, you pays your money and come to your own view. As far as comments here go I will have to join the minority and say it was a very good show. Elena Roger fits the part perfectly. A petite person, short in height and very slim and with her Argentinian accent (not always noticable) very fitting for the role. Her singing I feel was also very good (and dancing)and in 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' I felt she gave a very natural rendition rather than an acted one. Good supporting roles by Matt Rawles and Philip Quast and indeed the entire cast. From comments here it would appear that some people expect all musicals to be happy-go-lucky singalongs. Well, some musicals (e.g. Les Mis.) also have a more serious element and Evita is one such. Can you honestly expect, for example, a Requiem to be all jolly and happy?! Four stars, but with Elena, five. - 195.93.21.66) | 02 Jul 06 |
| Was soooo looking forward to seeing this and following the excellent notices it received thought I was in for an absolute treat... While the set was stunning and there were some good performances from the principals; the whole show left me feeling rather cold... I found the first 20 minutes dreadfully dull... it wasn't until Buenos Aires got going that I thought there was any life in the production! Elena Roger was very good, if a little reserved vocally.... her voice was nowhere near as big or as powerful as it has been on tv soundbites and clips that I heard... I understand the need to conserve your voice but this was not the powerhouse performance I was expecting. However, saying that... she was incredible touching in Act Two, particularly in You Must Love Me. Does make me wonder how this got such rave reviews while Avenue Q suffered so terribly... - 86.133.165.17) | 02 Jul 06 |
| Saw this on Friday. Very disappointed. My two stars are for the ensemble who were great. Very polished, sung beautifully. I love musicals - and I always cry at them - but this one left me feeling totally unmoved. Wasn't that impressed with the principals. Where was there 'star quality'? Elena as Evita - did screech. And I couldn't understand everything she sang -which being a through-written musical and considering she has the main part is not very good. Also felt terrible for the 3 tourists sitting next to me, who had paid £45.00 for £15.00 seats!! When I asked the usher to move them down (the upper circle was 60% full) he said he couldn't. He also said it wasn't the theatre's fault that they'd paid so much for their tickets. I was really annoyed. These people were so upset - the mother was in tears. Then when we moved in the interval, sat next to an English couple who had paid £45.00 for seats with a face value of £28.00!! Ludicrous - absolutely ludicrous. They didn't enjoy it either - go and see Avenue Q instead! Great show!! - 82.71.59.245) | 01 Jul 06 |
| My first visit was to the preview start, from which I came away wishing I had enjoyed it more & felt something was missing, but not sure exactly what. Last time I was in rear stalls, but tonight I was nine rows back. The overall sound balance seemed to have improved greatly. Elena has an extraordinary voice - very versatile, & she didn't really shout/screech as before. Great dancer too. It looked as if she had tears in her eyes when she sang "You must love me". Her facial expressions are good (didn't see these before). Balcony scene had more impact this time. Philip Quast - fine. The girl singing "Another suitcase..." delightful. I still have mixed feelings about Che. Magaldi was very good. Ensemble singing - top marks. The down side is the bit that makes me laugh - the choreography for the Military. Any minute I expect to see the likes of Julian Clary walk on! The "descamisados" choreography is great. The spinning bed bit is just silly. I thought the orchestra sounded a bit "thin" tonight & the opening very plodding (yes, I know it is meant to be, but surely not that much). I think the ending is done very well. Someone mentioned that there was no music to "walk out to" after the show, but I don't think it needs any. This time I came away, not feeling something was lacking, but left the theatre with that "feel good" factor. I do think that those prices are very high for a show that ends by 9:40pm (& tonight 9:45pm). It was still daylight! - 86.133.165.17) | 29 Jun 06 |
| £3 for an interval ice cream .. and the money keeps rolling in. - 212.140.167.197) | 29 Jun 06 |
| It wasn't ready in previews and it wasn't ready last Saturday. Arguably Lloyd-Webber never did anything better. Supposedly Tim Rice manages to tell a great story with sense of irony. In the hands of the Grandage Mafia (his lover does the sets and his best friend the choreography) the staging becomes an utter mess. Abbie Osmon doesn't pull it off as Eva. I found Philip Quast and Lorna Want quite good. I guess you have to go and make your own mind up. If you do try to catch Elena, I saw her on a preview and she is fab. Abbie is not very good. Box office people are quite rude and an usher totally ignored us when we arrived to the Dress Circle level, instead of helping people he was having a drink and eating a banana! Not impressed with the standard of service. - 86.139.22.248) | 29 Jun 06 |
| Truly Amazing! At last the West End has something really special with some emotional depth, I loved everything about it especially Elena Rogers Eva, goodness knows who they will find to replace her once her contract is up. - 195.224.116.2) | 28 Jun 06 |
| I'm a big fan of the Harold Prince staging, so I wasn't expecting much anyway. Grandage's new production is very weak. It's a bit dull. Abbie Osmon clearly can't handle the vocal demands of the part. People were complaining as many had booke months in advance in the hope of seeing Elena in the show. I'm sure they wouldn't have complained if the alternate was good enough. But she isn't, she struggled all the way through and didn't reach the top notes. - 86.139.22.248) | 27 Jun 06 |
| A friend of mine offered me the chance to join him in house seats for last nights performance of Evita. Needless to say, I didn't need to be asked twice. We arrived at the theatre and I was at first disappointed to see that Elena Roger does not perform on Mondays. But my disappointment soon gave way as the curtain rose on a brilliant set and our first glimpse of Che. Matt Rawle oozes sex appeal and a sort of mischievous style as he stalks the stage. Then we are introduced to Eva, tonight played by Abbie Osman, the "alternate" Evita. She starts off well enough as we begin to see the determined, manipulative woman that grows up into the most powerful woman in Argentina. The score remains brilliant and timeless, wonderfully performed and sung by all on stage accompanied by fantastic tango dance moves. When we meet Peron, it is clear from Philip Quast's first entrance that he is Peron in every way, in what is a commanding performance. Then Eva meets and begins to devour him, returning home with him and cynically ejecting his mistress which leads to the best moment in the show for me, Lorna Want's rendition of "Another Suitcase in Another Hall". She has the voice of an angel and sings with real emotion. I had goose bumps throughout the song. As the show develops, Eva grows stronger and Abbie's performance matches that strength as she begins to dominate the stage. The second act commences with Don't Cry for Me Argentina. What can any actress do with this song, it is just so famous? She does well, performs it comfortably without trying to do too much. Then comes another classic moment as Che sings "And the Money keeps Rolling In". Matt Rawle gives it his all and his all is magnificent. Unquestionably the star of the show tonight, he has an incredible stage presence. As Eva becomes weaker, the emotion of the piece grows. Her final speech is truly moving. There are some wonderful lighting effects of note. Difficult to see in the stalls but after Eva's death, she returns to the balcony where she made that famous speech and leans forward slightly, her shadow reflecting on to the Argentine flag that covers her death bed. Brilliant! I really loved this show, it's well worth this revival. I'm looking forward to returning and seeing Elena's version :-) - 86.129.99.31) | 27 Jun 06 |
| I saw the Friday evening show and it really needs lots of changes to make it at least less boring. The begining is painfully dull. Gary Milner is really awful as Magaldi an d I'm not sure about Matt Rawle's Che. Philip Qast and Elena Roger are both very good but the production lets them down. I'm not surprised it was so empty for a Friday. There were many empty rows after row M. - 86.139.22.248) | 26 Jun 06 |
| After reading the reviews in the papers, I went to the Adelphi looking very much forward to this production. I was not disserpointed!! No glitz, no glamour, no tits and ass, just pure musical theatre at its best. Elena Roger, what an amazing talent. So many different qualities to her voice, one amazing little actress as well!! Matt Rawle I felt made the part himself, it was totally real and in the moment! Philip Quast was Philip Quast, Amazing! Gary milner got the part of Migaldi down to a tee, a down and out singer stuggling for satisfaction. Lorna Want was a very sweet mistress! Top marks to the ensemble, never off stage! Such energy and character from everyone. Dancing was amazing, singing was just breath taking. It truely is the best sung musical in the west end, i don't understand why people have left silly dissapointing reviews on this site. The main review is 5 stars. Certainly says something when all the broadsheets are calling it a hit!!! 'And the money kept rolling in' This production should for years to come. A must see!! - 81.1.105.53) | 26 Jun 06 |
| Having the reviews placed on this website over the past days I sat unsure in my seat in the Stalls of the Adelphi waiting for the show to start. I can say this was a disappointing production. Elena Roger is a pleasure to watch and I hope she gets another vehicle to shwocase her talents but the show is boring most of the time with just a couple of good moments. I hated the Montage with the spinning bed, it just looked ridiculous. I went on Friday night and Stalls was only about 50% with many empty rows, so i don't think the show is doing as well are they trying to make people believe. - 86.139.22.248) | 25 Jun 06 |
| Sensational. I was quite blown away by this show. Easily the best thing in the west end right now. Brilliantly directed and beautifully performed. But, really, how could you go wrong with such an amazing score? Breathtaking. - 86.133.166.179) | 25 Jun 06 |
| I can't compare to the original because I missed it, but I agree that Elena Roger is great, vocally amazing and a fantastic dancer, she got a well deserved standing ovation. Unfortunately the show suffers from a very bland staging and the direction is lazy. Philip Quast looked unconfortable doing his weird dance with the other Army members. very disappointing. - 86.139.22.248) | 24 Jun 06 |
| Each to their own...but for me personally this has been by far one of, if not THE BEST musical production I've witnessed for a very long time. Miss Roger's performance as Eva Peron is absolutely outstanding and she brings a much needed breath of fresh air into the West End. - 195.93.21.66) | 24 Jun 06 |
| Well this is the show ive been waiting for more than any others, loved the film and have been dying to see this on stage. It does NOT deserve the mauling its had on here by some people, however I am surprised it got quite so many amazing reviews. First off the good points. Set was stunning, loved it, and was nice to see the stage full again after Chicagos almost non existant set. However there were a few times when a change of scene would have been good, or just some more stuff on stage (banners etc during A New Argentina). Good night and thank you and Dont Cry for Me I thought worked very well with the set. The lighting deserves to win some awards , brilliant throughout. Choreography was excelelnt, I came out wanting to learn to tango! Loved the opening, had goose pimples. Performances, Philip Quest was very good, and Lorna Want sang 'Another Suitcase' beautifully. Matt Rawle I thought was a revelation, never seen him in anything before and he was brilliant. Great voice, camp? where did people get that from. Che as the everyman works so much better, it makes sense. Crystal clear singing and good humour when the lyrics needed it. Now Abbie Osmon, she doesnt deserve the slating she is getting. The moment I saw her she just had the look of Eva,she has that kind of 1940s face, but with a hard quality that is needed for Eva, you could see what she was thinking and that she was a bitch at times! On the acting front I could not fault her. In looks she looked more like an eva than Elena Roger from the pictures ive seen. havign heard some of Elena singing I was quite glad I didnt see her as it didnt impress me, Abbie did struggle at times on the odd note, mainly on 'good night and thank you' and she does have quite a high pitched voice which could come accross as a bit screechy. But she was clear and could hear every word. Her 'Dont Cry for me' was very good. She doesnt quite have the belt of say Elaine Paige (which everyone in the theatre I heard seemed to be comparing her to) but this is a very good performance with strong acting and she is a worthy alternate - however its not necessarily a star making turn. Special mention to Stuart Neal who for me really stood out in the ensemble - one to watch I thought. I was pleased to see it hadnt been dumbed down on the political angle. Now for the downside, I left the theatre having enjoyed it, glad I saw it, worth the money, but I dont have a feeling of wanting to see it again, and kind of dissappointed but not sure why, its good but I cant rave about it. I think the film captures the epic sweep of the story which is harder to do on stage. The ending seemed rushed, one minute she was spinning on the bed, next she is dead, I thought the films death with just the light going out was better and more moving. Thats it, it didnt move me like the film. There wasnt a standing ovation, but it was very well received by the audience, and the story is relevant to today (many similarities in my eyes to Princess Diana), but its not a breakthough piece like it was in the 70s so im not sure if it has repeat business market. Rainbow High/tour was a bit disappointing, missed 'The Ladys Got Potential' why has that gone?! Its a funny one, cant quite work out what was missing. - 86.138.45.42) | 24 Jun 06 |
| Is this turning into another mindless Lloyd Webber-bashing blog? - 81.79.140.36) | 24 Jun 06 |
| This production could have been brilliant. Unfortunately it is a wasted oportunity. Most of the show is just badly directed. Some numbers are badly staged specially the whole beginning, Money keeps Rolling In is boring. The only thing worthy is Elena Roger, great actress, singer and dancer, she gives it all, unfortunately nobody helps her to lift the show and the whole thing becomes the most tedious night in the West End. - 86.139.22.248) | 24 Jun 06 |
| Wonderfull show. Performances great all round. Will definately be going again - 82.35.22.138) | 23 Jun 06 |
| Boring.....Eva so tiny???? please.....don´t make me laugh!!!! - 81.38.227.14) | 23 Jun 06 |
| My friend and I went to the Saturday matinee, paid top price and got the alternate. We were disappointed as she was truly awful. The main problem is that she thinks she's Madonna. Flash News: She's Not. Not matter how many times she's seen the movie and not matter how hard she tries to model herself on Madge. Abbie Osmon also struggle with the vocals big time and sounded off key several times. of course when the leading lady is that bad in a show like Evita, the whole experience gets spoilt and it's impossible to enjoy. - 86.139.22.248) | 23 Jun 06 |
| I liked this show a lot. The set places the piece firmly in its historical context - something the original Hal Prince design did not. De-politicising the character of Che and turning him into an ordinary but cynical peasant emphasises Eva's personal credo - we can't change the fundamentals of government - so put on a show! Philip Quast is great as always, but its clear that the part of Peron is very much a supporting role in this production. Matt Rawle does a good job as the peasant Che, but the performance of the evening is given by Elena Roger as Eva. OK, sometimes her accent gets in the way, sometimes the singing borders on a shout - but she has a stage presence like no other Evita - its electrifying. The whole theatre was on its feet at the end - and it was justified. Seemingly, image is everything to politicians these days - in that context, this production is 'bang up to date'. - 81.79.140.36) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Stunningly staged! - 81.19.57.154) | 22 Jun 06 |
| I love this show. A real classy event! - 86.136.143.249) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Overall I really liked the production. I thought Matt Rawle and Philip Quast were both excellent as Che and Peron and the set and choreography was generally impressive. However after paying £55 for a Saturday matinee I was quite disappointed not to see Elena Roger, and this was made worse by the fact that Abbie Osmon isn't very good vocally and screeched rather than sang at times. She did capture the energy of the younger Eva quite well, although she looked a little young and sweet to play Eva slightly later in her life and there was very little sense of how far Eva climbed to get where she was. Although she claims to have "been unemployed and starved" you never really get a sense of it as the production gives the impression that she finds success as soon as she arrives in Buenos Aires. The Rainbow Tour was rather flat and unimaginative and certainly needs some work, although many of the other numbers such as Buenos Aires and Goodnight and Thank You were very well done. Also Lorna Want as the Mistress did a wonderful Another Suitcase and I liked Gary Milner's Magaldi as well. - 212.19.90.93) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Why do the British press love ALW? This production of Evita bored me (okay do whts my opinion worth?) but most people on this and every other forum I have read have not really liked the show. the audiences response when I saw it was luke warm. To me it doesn't add up. For once Michael Billingon seems right - EEK!!! ALW's last couple of shows have had great reviews but yet haven't lasted tht long in the West End. This to me proves the press are out of sync (in the case of ALW) with the average theatre goign Joe. - 86.139.22.248) | 22 Jun 06 |
| The Show is okay but so boring and dated in parts and who really cares about Eva Peron in 2006. Argentinean Elena Roger is good but certainly not as great as some seem to say including free ticket first nighters and a much better dancer than she is a singer. The views in the theatre are poor and the ticket price is not worth the £55 or £40 in the upper circle anyone buying these seats will be very disappointed indeed and my opinion is AVOID these seats at all costs! It is also very wrong when the critics rave about Elena Roger and obviously will make people book on this but dont warn them that an english alternate will do a certain number of shows a week. I think this show will struggle to be a long runner because of this as with all the critics raving about Roger why the hell would anyone be happy with seeing the alternate and the fact the theatre seem unwilling to even put a notice up to warn patrons booking on the day, to me this is totally unacceptable and in my experience the Adelphi has the rudest and unhelpful staff I have ever encountered in my life and any complaints will go and deaf and dismissive ears. Evita is more proof that the west end has lost originality and there is nothing new in this show apart from a leading lady with not enough stamina to perform all 8 shows for the paying public. - 195.93.21.66) | 22 Jun 06 |
| The beginning is wrong. They should have done the cinema scene like in the original production and the film. Things are better with Buenos Aires, nice choreography. Lorna Wants does a nice rendition of Another Suitcase and Elena Roger is a wonderful Eva. Unfortunately she is let down by a bland production. I found You Must Love Me kind of touching but it was already too late to get involved with the story. - 86.139.22.248) | 22 Jun 06 |
| The latest production of Evita was brilliant. Singing - superb. Dancing - excellant. Acting - outstanding. Congratulations to all the cast for a very enjoyable evening. I shall certainly be seeing the show again soon. - 82.33.80.118) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Dissapointing. Elena Rogers, although having a very powerful voice, was very difficult to understand. For those not familiar with the plot, this may hinder your understanding. The set was rigid and could have benfitted with some changes. The one plus point was the Mistress and Che singing "Another Suitcase", beautifully done. - 62.253.192.250) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Well, maybe it wasn't ready in preview (a good reason not to go to / review them?!) but it was certainly ready last night ! Michael Coveney's review is once again spot on. Lloyd-Webber never wrote anything better. Tim Rice manages to tell a fascinating story with depth and wit in just two hours. In the hands of Messrs Grandage, Oram, and Ashford, the staging significantly betters the original. Despite some problems with diction and the occasional shouting instead of singing, Elena Roger pulls it off as Eva. I found Philip Quast, Matt Rawle and Lorna Want all wonderful interpretations. This revival exceeded my expectations bigtime. Ignore the preview grumpies and go and make your own mind up ! - 86.142.150.94) | 22 Jun 06 |
| Disappointing production. Elena Roger is great but Matt Rawle is not very good as Che. Philip Quast is good as usual. By the end I was bored, the second half is very slow. The whole political plot is very unclear for those unfamiliar with the story. I hated the Waltz, the whole point of that number is that both characters are in different dimensions so they never touch each other. Well, in this production they do and they spoil the whole thing. - 86.139.22.248) | 22 Jun 06 |
| I'm a fan of the Hal Prince staging, I wasn't expecting much. Grandage's new production is a let down. In fact, it's a dull, boring and unexciting experience. For starters, Abbie Osmon can't handle the vocal demands of the part. It's terrible that no announcement was made explaining that star of the show was off. people started complaining during the interval and staff explained that A Lloyd Webber had her on vocal rest to get ready for the opening night. Great! Never mind the people who paid £55 for a preview. This wouldn't be an issue if the alternate was good enough. She just isn't. The only good thing about this production is Philip Quast oustanding portrayal of Peron and a couple of isolated but kind of magical choreographic moments. - 86.139.22.248) | 20 Jun 06 |
| This production has restored my faith in musical theatre, for the first time ever we have a leading lady who does not simply move through her performance in the usual mechanical way hitting all the right notes and dancing all the right steps in a technically good but totally unemotional and sterile performance we have so much more. Right from the first time we see Elena as Evita we see her live every moment of the role, the naivety, the innocence, the dogged determination, the greed, the passion and finally the despair and takes you into this characters life in a way that I seriously believe no other actress could ever have done, her dancing is amazing and her voice beautifully takes us through Evita’s life, I felt privileged to have been there and was left sobbing at the end of the night. She is supported magnificently by Philip Quast as a towering Peron and Matt Rawle as Che who although rather young carries out his role with confidence. The Adelphi has a fabulously staged production that is a breath of ‘fresh air’ in the West End. - 195.224.116.2) | 20 Jun 06 |
| I saw the Saturday evening show and it needs lots of changes to make it work. The begining is dreadfully boring. Gary Milner is really bad as Magaldi with very weak vocals. Lorna Want makes a good Mistress and sings her song nicely. Matt Rawle is totally wooden and makes a totally unmemorable Che. Philip Quast is good as Peron. Eva was played by alternate Abbie Osmon and she was terrible. I don't think she sang a single note in the right key. Very disappointed that Elena Roger was off. But the worst thing is that there wasn't any notice in the foyer and no anouncement was made before the show started. The cast list in the foyer had Elena Roger as Eva. They are shamelessly cheating theatregoers. - 86.139.22.248) | 19 Jun 06 |
| Very mixed about this new production. THRILLING moments and some major disappointments. THE STAGING - Irritatingly unimaginative and dull at the beginning. Happens mostly in a church(?) where mourners are gathered and then onto a small nightclub which seems more like an outdoor cafe for EVA AND MAGALDI. BUENOS AIRES is when the show comes joltingly to life and luckily stays alive until the curtain falls at the end of Act One. The BA number is quite sensational and Che's dialogue has been re-worked to give a reflection on the military and wealth sector state of Argentina at the time. All ensemble including Eva dance up a major storm. New dance arrangement is awesome! Not sure about the new ending which sounds very Vegas but it could be worse. Production does not ape original Harold Prince production and most numbers have been re-imagined and re-orchestrated to thrilling results. GOODNIGHT AND THANK you works cleverly as you see men passing one another on the street as they come and go from her boudoir getting higher in rank and bringing nicer gifts as they enter....mostly dressing robes/lingerie that get more ornate as the number builds. ART OF THE POSSIBLE does not equal the clever musical chairs coup from the original but the new dance to the death with an exciting tango arrangement with clashing violins is well done. I'D BE SUPRISINGLY....smolders. Pure sex with a lovely dance at the end that leads to Peron's flat where they are to rip each other's clothes off. Very sexy. ANOTHER SUITCASE beautifully sung. PERONS LATEST FLAME hilariously set in a large cafe where the uber rich and military set forth their opinions while Eva and Peron sit at a table dead center having the time of their lives somewhat oblivious to the anger that surrounds them. A NEW ARGENTINA combines a political rally with a voting/election and culminates with both the marraige of Juan and Eva and Peron winning the election. Thrillingly staged and orchestrated. ACT TWO A major letdown through to YOU MUST LOVE ME. No passion, no tension, and aside from the standard white frock we have been accustomed to in DON'T CRY FOR ME, no glamour. RAINBOW HIGH is flaccid with no balls and RAINBOW TOUR is all staged around a set of luggage while Eva never even changes outfits. Dull. MONEY KEPT ROLLING....dull. Eva is left to basically stand stock still with wonderment while everything swirls around her. She should be orchestrating this entire number and it should be all about her. Where are the things we associate with glamour and power? Bodyguards? Photographers? Nothing here but poor people running around clutching cash. WALTZ makes no sense. When she sings her "Go somewhere stable...stay there" she is still dancing connected to Che with no sign of anger at all. Where is the tension? YOU MUST LOVE ME kick starts the second act and it is brilliant from here to the end. This song was mainly about love in the face of death in the film. Here it is a touching statement on their marraige and how they have survived Eva's transition from actress to powerful first lady with their love intact. MONTAGE is terrifically reimagined and reorchestrated with Eva on a spinning bed and a knock out staging for the cast that results in the bed mysteriously being empty at the end with Eva hovering "in spirit" alone on a balcony singing LAMENT at the end. The bed is covered with the Argentine flag and this becomes her coffin. Cast move and pay respects in a way not all to unlike Hal Prince's OH WHAT A CIRCUS. The full lyrics for Eva's LAMENT have been restored and work wonderfully. CHOREOGAPHY is thrilling in spaces but I wish more emphasis had been put on the staging to convey power and tension where it is sorely lacking. Mostly in ACT TWO when Eva is supposed to be at her zenith. The Eva of ELENA ROGERS is thrilling to watch. She is not a vocally confident Evita and her voice is often thin but her acting and dancing are sensational and I hope she will get stronger in voice as she goes. She smolders in ACT ONE and if only they could rework the staging for the first half of Act Two she would be knocking it out of the ballpark. Since she does struggle on the high notes and this is a new production, I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't transpose a few things. MATT RAWL did not impress me as Che but I blame the direction more than the performance. Seemed very non-important to the action. This shouldn't be the case. Loved the Peron opf PHILIP QUAST. Big in size, big in voice and had terrific chemistry with Elena's Eva. LOVE THE NEW ORCHESTRATIONS! You wil want this CD. Sounds very different but more authentically Latin while still maintaining a rock edge. So...mixed on this but hoping it does very well. Audience seemed to enjoy and Ms. Roger got a partial Standing O which is not a common thing here. - 86.139.22.248) | 18 Jun 06 |
| Having read many of the reviews placed on this website over the past few days I sat reluctantly in my seat in the Dress Cirle of the Adelphi Theatre waiting for the show to start. However, I can say without doubt this was a fantastic show!! Evita today is not Evita in 1978 and you should not go to the show expecting to see what you did when it was a brand new piece of work. This new production is now a musical and not the flag-waving rock opera it was when Hal Prince did such a brilliant job! Overall, the scenary, lighting and orchestra are brilliant and really draws you into whats happening on stage. The opening of the show is a little slow and simple but still manages to put across the right emotion and power. Buenos Aires is absolutely stunning with a sharp latin dance routine from the company, supported with strong new orchestrations. Elena Roger was brilliant able to sing and dance without loosing any of the atmosphere and power that has to surround the part of Eva Peron. It is just unfortunate that Philip Quast is so much taller than Elena Roger. However, he delivered a brilliant performance!! Matt Rawle as Che is slightly disappointing! He has a good, strong voice that manages the songs perfectly, but the role of Che needs much more!! Whereas David Essex and Mandy Patinkin added a strong presence and scepticism in their commentary throughout the show Matt Rawles brings humour that just feels like bitching and not the powerful social commentary it should be!! However, this show is well worth-seeing and the climax of the show (Don't cry for me Argentina) cannot be missed!! Long may Evita reign over the Adelphi theatre and the West End!!!! Brilliant!!! - 195.92.67.75) | 18 Jun 06 |
| My friend and I saw the show on Saturday night. Full price £55 gave us good seats in row F. Many seats were empty I noticed. The show is very middling. Nice in parts but dull overall. I tried to work out who was singing the lead but couldn't as they both looked the same in the programme. Anyway, whoever it was she was solidly average at times and awful at others. She seemed to be singing out of the back of her throat rather than anywhere further south, and that produced a horrendous shriek on some of the top notes. Even worse, she sang out of key on several occasions. It put my teeth on edge. To put it simply, I never cared for Eva and that put the whole show on the back foot. Philip Quast was good, well good in relation to Eva. Matt Rawle as un-Che was better as the show got going, but the early scenes with him filling in all the background were just boring. I thought the direction was uninspired, I mean what were they doing spinning Evita around in circles in her hospital bed?? And the (potentially) great Rainbow scene was flat, especially as they just used the same old pile of suitcases that Eva had stood on during her recently completed tour to Europe. What about a joyful return to Argentina and a loving husband in between? The scenery was interesting at first, and transitioned well from the opening backdrop set in a small provincial town. But after a while we realised that we weren't going to get any further scenery changes and then the whole thing just lost its sparkle again. A metaphor for the show, if you like. Some good ideas but ultimately dull. If you have a choice, spend your money elsewhere. To finish on a high note: whoever sang Another Suitcase in Another Hall - thank you for giving us one of our few moments of pleasure!! - 86.129.123.158) | 18 Jun 06 |
| I couldn't compare to the original cause I missed it, but I have to agree that Elena Roger was great, vocally amazing and a superb dancer, worthy of a standing ovation. Unfortunately she's let down by a very dire staging and poor direction. - 86.139.22.248) | 15 Jun 06 |
| I saw the Saturday evening preview on 10th June and was blown away. I've seen several actresses perform this role and Elena Roger was the best - absolutely full of vitality and she sang and danced brilliantly. I was only surprised that she didn't get a standing ovation at the end.It's a great production of a terrific show. - 130.32.42.1) | 15 Jun 06 |
| I want to say I loved the original Hal Prince production. I was at Tuesday night's preview. Elena Roger - I quite liked her. Her performance was great and her singing beautiful. Philip Quast was also good. Not so much Matt Rawle, who struggled a lot with some of the songs. The set is nice but boring and ineffective. Why do we have to see the Casa Rosada all the time from the moment Eva arrives in Buenos Aires? I liked the choreography although there was not much dancing. The whole thing is quite slow specially the awful beginning. Santa Evita is poorly staged with just one little girl instead of a children chorus. The Dress Circle had many empty seats, I thought this show was going to sell out. Went to bar in the interval and it was terribly overpriced. To make things worst the guy who served me tried to rip me off giving me the wrong change. I was very upset but then one of the girls working with him came and sorted it when I explained I gave him £20 and not a tenner. Piece of advice, if you go to the Adelphi buy your drinks before hand. - 86.139.22.248) | 15 Jun 06 |
| I saw the show Tuesday June 13th and didn't blow me away as I was expecting. I didn't some of the new orchestrations either. Elena Roger does a fantastic job as Eva. Some numbers are ok, some others boring. In fact watching this production makes realise that Evita is not such a great show. The original staging by Hal Prince was a masterpiece and it helped to hide the show's many flaws. Unfortunately Michael Grandage's dull production makes obvious all the weakest points. The book is bias, unbalanced, shallow and full of historical inacuracies. The story is badly researched and tries too hard to give a bad impression of the main character. I think the show hasn't aged well and it looks even more misoginistic than 30 years ago. - 86.139.22.248) | 15 Jun 06 |
| This production could have been great. Unfortunately it isn't. Most of the show is just poorly directed and it's weird to perform most of the time in front of Casa Rosada. Some numbers, like Buenos Aires, work well. Some others, like Money keeps Rolling In, are just plain boring. Hats off to Elena Roger, fantastic actress, singer and dancers, who does all she can to lift this doomed production. - 86.139.22.248) | 14 Jun 06 |
| Dire. The lead woman had an atrocious voice and really let the whole thing down. Everytime she opened her mouth we cringed which given she has quite a few lines isn't ideal. She clearly got the part because she's Argentinian, apparently she cried when she sang 'Don't Cry for Me' in the audition which got her the part. Perhaps next time they'll give the lead role to someone who can sing. Also she's really tiny and looks like a midget My advice would be to wait until they replace her - 212.187.187.185) | 12 Jun 06 |
| How unfair! She's been in Newbury too! - 62.49.41.19) | 12 Jun 06 |
| My partner and I went to the Saturday Matinee, paid full price (£55) and got the understudy..... I know she is listed as the alternative Eva but Potters Bar and Blue Peter (her previous theatre experiences) are nothing to write home about. Her singing was woeful and there was absolutely nothing about her acting ability that brought the character of Eva Peron to life. If an actress/singer can not be found who can sustain 8 performances per week then the price of tickets should be cut when the understudies perform. As Eva is such a central character it's impossible to comment on the rest of the show. Philip Quast was, as usual, exceptionally good but the guy who played Che was just about adequate. For those who haven't yet seen Evita, check to see whoes playing the lead before you go because 'Miss Potters Bar' is not worth leaving home for. - 193.23.116.11) | 12 Jun 06 |
| I went with much anticipation to see Evita on Friday and unfortunatley was incredibly dissappointed with the show, it left me quite dispondent and annoyed (daft i know, but it was £55 and half way through previews, so I thought well it must be 70% there). Maybe i should have waited. I simply don't understand why Grandage has taken a 70's rock opera and set it within the period with so little imagination! The sets look the part, the actors sing and dance, but its just boring. Elena is very, very good, you really believe she is trash that has manipulated her way to the top, but unfortunately she screams the lyrics all to often and the cast are weak in comparison. She settles in to the second half, and at times moves sensationally around the stage, but she needs work on her diction and the screaming at times is actually unbearable, no wonder she is doing only 6 performances, she'll ruin her voice if they make her cream like that every night! When the video played at the start of the production i though oh no, we are in for a conventional, conservative night at the theatre. The first 20 minutes is slow and boring, its one big cliche of people in mourning wandering the stage, doing a little tango (Far too similar to the movie). The plot overall moves at incredible speed, which i think doesn't work well at all. For example you get to 'another suitcase another hall' and you wonder where did that come from? great perfomer singing the song but it unfortunatley seemed ridiculous, a staircase emerges and then she decends but its completely out of context! I thought the girl was good singer, but some subtelty! some imagination! something! Che is weak, not familar with him as an actor but he has the responsibility of holding the show together, moving it along, but he is just not good enough, lacking the charisma for the role. Clearly when casting they did not make him and elena dance together as he can't move, hes tall and lanky and she is short, and when the do a tango its actually cringeworthy. The choreography is good, but at times is far to similar to previous grandage productions such as Grand Hotel (which incidently i loved). In Act 2 i hoped something dramtic would happen, even hoped the towering set might disappear, something, something to relieve the boredom. That was not to happen. The balcony scene is done very well. But after that it decends into nonsense! In the tour they do some stupid thing on suitcases and for her death Eva (fantasy sequence) is spun around on a bed by the doctors and nurses which is just naff! The production lacks so many things, its competent don't get me wrong. But one gets no sense of its politcal context, why did this country fall inlove with this woman? a nation tinkering on the edge at the time she died and still loved. We jsu tget this whistle stop tour of her life and they all spend the whole production trapped in this enormous set! Honestly its well built and designed and the lighting is magnificent, but i honestly thought it would dissapear at the end, and maybe leave Eva exposed alone in theatre, exposed as the actress who hasn't learnt her lines. Then we might have had something that really pulls a punch, or alone begging us the audience to love her in 'you must love me', (instead of Peron, awkwardly trying to reach out to her). The whole problem with the show lies firmly at the feet of the director. I think its a really missed opportunity, he uses humourless, lazy direction, simpy unintelligent. I was actually shocked, he is much better than what he gave here. I just got the feeling that perhaps he just at the end of the day doesn't like it as a piece. Its passable west end stuff, certainly entertaining, it should have been great, a defining piece of theatre, Rogers is good enough, but her director lets her down. I do believe that Evita is one of Webbers best pieces, perhaps he was too involved in this production though as he has proved at times to be a wonderful (and cirtically under-reated) composer but perhaps not a good producer. Oh well let the onslaught begin, i know many of you will adore it, but we are all entitled to our opinions!! - 86.139.22.248) | 12 Jun 06 |
| Saw the show on Saturday matinee. I'm glad I got a discounted ticket. This show is not worth the £55 they are shamelessly charging. Nice set but quite useless most of the time. The beginning is very boring and it is difficult to care at all for the story as the politics are not very well explained. Some numbers like Buenos Aires are nicely staged, some others are almost unbereable. The worst is the Rainbow Tour whic Eva just sings boringly on while standing on top of her suitcases. This number was so absolutely magical in the original production. I was disappointed not to see Elena Roger. Everybody seems to agree that she's great. Abbie Osmon's Eva is quite irritating and you just feel like slapping her on the face. She also sang off key quite a lot and couldn't hold the notes very long. Philp Quast was very good although his part is not that exciting. Matt Rawle is totally wooden and looks bored most of the time. With less than 2 weeks before facing the critics they need to do a lot of work to make this shw work. - 86.139.22.248) | 12 Jun 06 |
| Just saw the show and so so dissappointed. I can only imagine that Mr Grandage actually dislikes the show as there is so little imagination, love or subtility in the show. Elena Rogers is great at points, but the bland staging and poor direction make this a really dissapointment, in fact a huge dissappointment!! I know it's still previews, but this production is doomed, irrelevant and a waste of an opportunity. I just wished I had spent my 55 on Sunday in the Park again. I adore this show, but this is just lazy!!!!!!!!! - 86.139.22.248) | 10 Jun 06 |
| I would add that Elena Roger is a "firecracker", has that raw edge to her voice & lovely tone when singing high & quietly (the only time you can understand the words!). She doesn't hold notes long enough & does shout a lot. The orchestra wasn't great I thought on first night. I missed the very dramatic beginning, as in original, when the film soundtrack slows down. That had a huge impact. I also missed the part when the crowds are shouting "Peron, Peron" & it gradually changes to "Evita, Evita". Maybe that did happen, but I did not notice it. There is a ridiculous soldiers' dance sequence (comedy). I did love Philip Quast's voice though. It was the first time I had seen him. Elena, even with high heels on & arm strethed up, had a job to reach his head. Her costumes were fabulous & she's an excellent dancer. Matt Rawle - OK. I gradually warmed to his voice. Glad I saw it though & will probably see it later in the year. My introduction to Evita was via the white cover LP borrowed from local library & I used to cry as it was so moving. This seemed to be lacking in this show. (Minor detail - one of the three chandeliers wasn't working properly). - 86.139.22.248) | 10 Jun 06 |
| Enjoyable but disappointing. For me personally, the biggest issue is with the title character: Eva Peron is so hateful from the word go that you really don't care how she ends up. With a politician and Che as the only other significant characters you've got a trio of unsympathetic people. The best moment was 'Buenos Aires' - great choreography sequence. But otherwise a very static production. That said, I do look forward to the cast album. Very full orchestrations and strong singing all round. - 86.139.22.248) | 10 Jun 06 |
| Well..... went to see Evita last night. I know it's early days and it's still a work in progress...and I know opinions are firmly divided on the show... but Evita holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first ever professional non pantos I saw on stage, back in the days of the old touring production (with Jaquie Scott as Eva and Chris Coccoran as Che.......) yes I am that old..... and was dying to see it live onstage again ...if only to help wipe away the memories of the dreadful Madge version. Now, whether or not it's rose tinted nostalgia (in the same way as you fondly remember a film from the 70's or 80's and re watch it again now and it's just not as good as you thought it was) but I have to say this production for me was simply excruciating and not a patch on the original !!! Ok let's start with the positives..... the set was initially impressive, the choreography sometimes effective and the cast gave it their all....I really can't fault their energy. However.......the opening has lost all of it's dramatic impact and pathos (well infact so has the whole show !!!) and has been replaced with panto wailing and gnashing of teeth...as the mourners claw their way over-theatrically through their grief. Our group did actually stifle a laugh at one point !!! The first appearance of Che is meant to hit you bang in the face and the character's charm and sexuality capture you from word go.... but Matt Rawle although normally a very strong performer seems ill suited to the role. He has none of the charisma and gravitas needed to win over an audience and just sings rather than inhabits the role. Perhaps he will grow into it over time ? He also looks tall and gawky when playing scenes together with Ms Roger (who truly is tiny) especially during the Waltz .... (should they really touch during this scence... wouldn't it be better to dance together without actually touching......seeing as how it's a fantasy sequence and the characters never actually meet...nit-picky I know but hey!) Then comes Miss Pracatan ... sorry Miss Roger. Ok so it's refreshing not to have your usual Ruthie/Joanna/Maria etc as the lead and it seemed inspired casting your bonafide genuine Argentinian article as Eva.... but it might have been an idea to teach her phrasing and pronounciation first (I swore she was suggesting going for a McDonalds to Peron at one point) Admittedly she is very talented, and acts and dances the role very well at times and her energy is boundless. She also sings it as written ...unlike Ms Ritchie !!!!! However her voice is often just too shrill and for a large part of the show she just shouts the songs out. It's also odd and somewhat distracting to have her singing with a very strong accent and the rest of the cast being VERY British. It just didn't sound right. Philip Quast is his usual reliable self...giving his usual reliable performance... no shocks or suprises....adds nothing to the role. The mistress(sorry I do not know the actors name) is sweet and vulnerable enough.... But .... and it's a BIG but.....it's now like Disney does Evita (even the poster is Lion King-esque). It seems like they have remade the film version and stripped it back to just over 2 hours (including interval) Oh of course it still includes all the well known numbers (except The Lady's Got Potential) but they have forgotten to include any drama or emotion, leaving you with no reaction to anything at all, not even Eva's death. I remember being moved to tears by the old production.....especially the last 20 minutes... I remember the hairs on the back of my neck standing up listening to the energy of A New Argentina..... I remember a large chorus of children holding candles and beautifully singing to Eva... ( not one little girl in a dress painfully fluffing her song (awww bless her)) Let's face it..... who actually likes Castle On A Cloud ?? Why recreate the moment here ? I remember believing (and caring) that Eva was actually ill and dying (white faced and pasty lying in a bed)I remember the tension between Eva and Peron when he says that she might die..... you could cut the air with a knife..... now it's a throw-away comment... I remember leaping to my feet along with the rest of the audience at the end of the show, not just a polite clapping and checking of watches. I remember the cast looking delighted at the reception the show got night after night...not a worried looking cast knowing that they are in something that just isn't very good any more and wondering how long they all have jobs for. Most of all I remember loving the simplicity and efectiveness of the production. OK OK I know .... things must change.... we must add new elements to the production...(including the dreadful You Must Love Me)...otherwise why revive them...... we must re-imagine old shows for the nought-ies.... But must we pare down shows that used to run for well over 2 hours to an almost Vegas length show......and cut out any libretto that helped move the plot along...... after all the audience has only come to hear Oh What a Circus, Another Suitcase and Don't Cry For Me Argentina...right ??? Why put all the other bumpf in ? Cut it.... Jo public never clocks a damn thing...right!!! WRONG Mr Grandage and co !!!!!!! Please please please....... why have you taken all that was great about the original production, ripped out it's heart and drama and replaced it with flashy sets and big production numbers ? Maybe if you have nothing to compare it to then you'll love it.... I do....and I don't !!!!!!! As my grandmother would say.....it's all fur coat and no knickers !!!!! But then hey what do I know.....go judge for yourselves....!! - 86.139.22.248) | 09 Jun 06 |
| The beginning is totally wrong, just plain boring with the projection of the real funeral. They should have left the cinema scene like in the Hal Prince production and in the film. Things get better with Buenos Aires, nicely staged, and Lorna Wants grest rendition of Another Suitcase. Unfortunately we are never aware of the political climate of the time, unless you are aware of it beforehand, and New Argentina doesn't help either making things even more confusing and clumpsily stagin Eva and Peron's wedding in the middle of it. The second half begins brilliantly although the balcony is too far back for my liking. Unfortunately with the badly staged Rainbow High everything starts going wrong again and things don't improve anymore giving us a very bland second act. The leading lady is great but I think this production is not very well directed unfortunately. I think Michael Grandage is great at directing small productions in small venues and everything he's done at the Donmar is very good, but I don't think he can handle big scale productions like this one without getting lost in the middle of it. - 86.139.22.248) | 09 Jun 06 |
| My expectations were high and am sorry to say that this is not the fantastic show I was expecting. This is in general a very dull production of a great show. Act I is very slow until Buenos Aires which is enjoyable, after that there are ups and downs ending with a disappointing version of A new Argentina. Act II doesn't get much better. I didn't like the staging of High Flying Adored with all the maids coming through the back doors. It made it look too complicated with all the fuss about getting undressed. It was so simple and so beautifully done in the original production, just one maid helping Eva and then she sits in front of her mirror while Che sings the song around her. It's a short show but it seems long. I have to praise the cast, they do what they can to try and lift the production. The music sounded weird at times. The audience gave a polite but unenthusiastic applause at the end. - 86.139.22.248) | 08 Jun 06 |
| Fantastic. A really great show! - 86.136.240.217) | 08 Jun 06 |
| Very weak indeed. I was so looking forward to this show but I don't think it's ready to face the critics. The only realy thrilling part is the one on the Balcony of Casa Rosada at the beginning of the second half. Brilliant, and Elena Roger looks really stunning, great entrance. The problem is that after that number it gets really boring up until the end. I know I shouldn't complain, I got a free ticket and a free interval drink, a theatregoer's dream. Unfortunately the show didn't quite do it for me. - 86.139.22.248) | 08 Jun 06 |
| Very disappointing production. The leading lady is very good but Matt Rawle is not very strong as Che. Philip Quast is good but his part is small. By the end I was bored to tears, the second half is really slow. The whole plot is very unclear for those who are not familiar with the story. - 86.139.22.248) | 07 Jun 06 |
| Having been a fan of the Hal Prince staging, I wasn't expecting to love Michael Grandage's gorgeous, thrilling new production as much as I did. In fact, it blew me away.....one of the most exciting nights in the theatre I have ever experienced. For starters, whereas Prince treated the characters as icons/symbols, Grandage accords them their full humanity with a much more naturalistic approach (the addition of You Must Love Me from the film score greatly enhances our understanding of, and possibly sympathy towards, Eva in Act 2). Similarly, where the original Timothy O'Brien set was a spectacular but nondescript metal balcony with an assortment of platforms, staircases and screens, here Christopher Oram gives us a jaw dropping evocation of Argentina 1930s-1952, helped immeasurably by Paule Constable's stunning, painterly lighting. The costumes are lavish and authentic, the sound design is aural heaven (every vocal line, every instrument in the pit registers to powerful effect), and Rob Ashford's strongly tango-based choreography is an exhilarating pleasure to watch (the Buenos Aires number is a genuine showstopper). There is an intelligence and imagination at work here that lifts this show from being a thumping good night out into something of a work of art. The uniformly magnificent company is led by Elena Roger whose Eva is a star performance unmatched in any current West End musical. With a heavily accented but consistently thrilling voice (owing more to rock and latin music than to traditional West End Wendy singing) she moves effortlessly from ambitious gamine youngster, through actress on the make to fully fledged political dynamo, before a heartbreaking finale. Watching her rendition of Don't Cry For me Argentina (every bit as memorable as in the first production) feels like witnessing a major event. Opposite her, Philip Quast is predictably superb as Peron while Matt Rawle's high energy, laconic, breathtakingly sung Che succeeds in obliterating all memories of David Essex originally and Banderas in the film. Gary Milner's sleazy tango singer is another joy, and Lorna Want makes something deeply touching and fine out of Another Suitcase In Another Hall. Altogether, this is a magical, memorable theatrical event: the varied, fascinating, dynamic score remains the pinnacle of Lloyd Webber's career, while Tim Rice's witty. literate lyrics are simply dazzling. I will be very surprised if the Adelphi is looking for a new tenant for many years. Absolutely unmissable. - 195.82.123.181) | 07 Jun 06 |
| I was going to go after the opening night but since they were so many complimentary tickets for Tuesday I decide to give it a go. I found the whole thing very uninspired. Have to agree that Elena Roger is magnificent but this production is a bit tedious. The set is nice but boring. You see everything within 10 or 15 minutes. The music didn't sound very powerful and I'm not sure I like the new orchestrations. The ending of the first half is confusing, the politics are not properly explained and A new Argentina is a complete mess. The second half although slow works a bit better apart from the Rainbow Tour. It was quite empty on Tuesday night and the audience weren't very appreciative. - 86.139.22.248) | 07 Jun 06 |
| It was ok, I guess but not brilliant and needs lots of changes. The begining is boring and Gary Milner is very weak as Magaldi. The show becomes more interesting from Buenos Aires with Elena Roger on top form singing, dancing and acting. It's all fine until Peron's Latest Flame which is ridiculously staged with Eva and peron sitting in the middle of the stage and the Aristocracy and the Army around them singing and dancing mixing with each other. That scene is really clumpsy with the gay dance between male aristocrats with Army members. doesn't fit well and looks totally ridiculous. Things don't improve with A New Argentina, which should be a strong number to end the first half. The second half begins brilliantly with the balcony scene but all goes down hill after that. I was looking forward to this show but I'm really glad I didn't have to pay as there were lots of complimentary tickets available. A friend who works as a ticket agent gave me 5 so I took a few friends. Unfortunately we were all quite disappointed. - 86.139.22.248) | 06 Jun 06 |
| Saw the show monday night, all in all a great show, a few edgey bits, but it's only 4th preview! Eliana was fantastic, some points i couldn'y understand what she was saying but her acting was amazing, so understood everything. Matt Rawle was lovey, really warmed to his character. And Quast wasn't bad at all. Ensumble were just breath taking, sounding like a proper ensemble should sound! Wanted to hear more from them and lorna want as the misstress! Take no notice of the other comments, a production worth seeing - 81.170.16.17) | 05 Jun 06 |
| Saw the Saturday preview (3 June) and think that the production is a bit hit and miss. I really think that they need to recast Che as the present actor while he sings nicely is totally wooden and fails to bring any drama to the part. Elena Roger is wonderful and by far the strongest aspect, while Philip Quast is very good too. I remember the original Hal Prince production and this doesn't really live up to that. They have gone for a more naturalistic set that looks very "opera" but the political background to the story gets very lost. Hated the "Art of the Possible" scene and "A New Argentina" lacks the impact that was so stong in the original production. After "Don't Cry For Me Arentina" the second act just disintegrates, all the action taking place around those big trunks just looks cheap. I liked the introduction of all the tango dancing and the extra Argentine influence to the orchestrations, but really there is a lot to do to put the production right and I wonder if they have the time to do it. - 81.138.161.145) | 05 Jun 06 |
| Mixed feelings about this show right now. Pretty set but it doesn't work. Eva arriving to the city and singing Buenos Aires just outside Casa Rosada? Uhm... Eva's is portrayed as even more ruthless than in the original version. When she throws out the mistress she behaves like a total b***h throwing the young girl clothes from the balcony. Isn't she supposed to feel some pity and remorse? I remember her giving her furcoat to the Mistress if only to trey to clear her own guilt. Elena Roger is amazing and Lorna Want sings Another Suitcase beautifully but this production is quite empty. They are too focussed in the visuals and they have totally forgotten the political side of the story. If you don't have a background in Argentinian History or haven't seen the original production you don't really know what's going on. A new Argentina was confusing and boring. They were many empty seats for a Saturday night and unless they fix lots of things i don't see it succeding. - 86.139.22.248) | 04 Jun 06 |
| I couldn't compare to Hal Prince's original cause I missed it first time around, but I have to agree that Elena Roger was amazing in the role, vocally superb - from such a tiny body and an amaxing dancer too, - very worthy of the standing ovation she got. I liked the fact that she is Argentinian and therefore her accent was as authentic as you could get. Again I agree, balcony scene was stunning, the overall set was superb and Quast (one of my fav male Musical theatre performers) was brilliant in the role of Peron - vocally superb and commanding the stage as always. Loved Matt Rawle's interpretation of Che - worked very well playing to the audience and also sang the socks off the part. Lorna Want as the mistress performed another suitcase beautifully in voice and looks. Great show - pity the theatre was not as full as it ought to be and interesting to hear someone behing me on 5th row centre stalls say that she picked her ticket up yesterday for Leicester Sq half price booth, having booked mine at full price back in January with the expectation that it would sell well. Hopefully it will pick up and become the surprise hit of the season! It deserves to be. - 86.139.22.248) | 04 Jun 06 |
| I went to the matinee performance yesterday (Sat) and have booked to see it again next week! It's great to see a show that insn't about the music of a pop group and/or staring a famous name who can't really cut it. I think this is one Andrew Lloyd Webber's best scores (I'm not really a fan of his more recent work) and it was played and sung to standards now rare in the West End. - 86.136.240.217) | 04 Jun 06 |
| I want to begin by saying I loved the original Hal Prince production and so, for me, it was always going to be a tough act to follow. I was at last night's preview and thought I'd just post up my thoughts. Two friends and I were divided over many aspects of the production. Elena Roger - I really liked her. Friends thought her performance was uneven. I liked her initial vulnerability and then she grew stronger as the story progressed. I know the lyrics quite well so had no problem understanding them with her accent. She did have some difficulty with some of the phrasing. She is a great dancer and looks the right age and terrific in the costumes. Philip Quast - certainly the best Peron I've seen. Sings and plays it beautifully. I loved his bewilderment when Eva becomes ill - so what happens now? Absolutely bang on. Matt Rawle - gorgeous vocals. 'High Flying Adored' was certainly a highlight. He hasn't been given the 'Che' look; he is given the same look as Banderas in the film, which I thought was right. I did think he was under-directed at times. Occasionally I wanted Grandage to give him 'something to do'. Vocally, though, he was excellent and he engaged well with the audience. (So very much like his role as the Balladeer in the recent 'Assassins'). Staging - the set was beautiful, capturing time and place so well. Special mention about the lighting, which was stunning. I loved 'Beunos Aires' - some changes to Che's dialogue in this worked well. Other highlights included the wonderful staging of 'Another Suitcase, Another Hall' (again the lighting during this was beautiful) and Eva's entrance on the balcony. I thought this was so much better than the orginal; more dramatic. She looked stunning, appearing to 'float' to the balcony. That moment really stood out for me. I thought the production lacked the ingenuity of the original. This was a much more 'straight-forward' staging of the show and I suppose it had to be made as different from the original as possible. What I don't think came through at all were the political undertones. The staging gave little indication of the policital climate other than Peron's miltary scenes, whereas there was an ever-pesent feeling of it in Prince's staging. 'A New Argentina', therefore, lacked punch. The opening scene seems particularly long in this production without the 'funeral' of the original. It was literally a stage of 'mourners'; it looked effective, especially with the slow tango, but gets the show off to a slow start. Parts of the production lacked imagination; I really didn't like the fact that Eva and Che actually 'waltzed' in their number. I thought it worked in the film, but it was clearly a 'dream' sequence. I would like to have seen them choreograph the number where they didn't actually 'touch'. 'And The Money Kept Rolliing In' really did lack imagination and 'Rainbow Tour' didn't particularly work. I'm sure that some aspects will be tightened up before the show officially opens and last night was a very early preview. Having heard the mxed reactions of our group last night, it will be interesting to read more opinions about this particular production. - 86.139.22.248) | 04 Jun 06 |
| I saw the show Saturday matinee June 3rd and thought it was ok but didn't blow me away. I'm not sure about some of the new orchestrations either. Elena Roger does a brilliant job as Eva. I’ll have to see it again and make up my mind. Some numbers are good, well staged and choreographed, like Surprisingly Good For You, some others are just plain boring, like A New Argentina. I was surprised at how empty Stalls was, we were seating in the back rows but managed to move forward to great seats in row J. - 86.139.22.248) | 04 Jun 06 |
| AMAZING, FANTASTIC, CLASSY and LONG OVERDUE! - 86.136.240.217) | 03 Jun 06 |
| I saw the 1st preview last night and thought it was fantastic. I love the new orchestrations. The standard of the whole cast is so high! I’ll certainly see it again - 86.136.240.217) | 03 Jun 06 |
| I saw it last night and I got mixed feelings about it. Maybe my problem is that I saw the wonderful original production many times and I can't help but comparing. I agree of course with Philip Quast being great. Not sure I'm convinced by Matt Rawle take on Che though. Didn't like Gary Milner or the staging of his number. Lorna Want was quite good as the Mistress. Good ensemble. Elena Roger is brilliant. Some chreographic parts were nicely executed specially Buenos Aires. The set didn't work for me and made realised how much more effective the one in the original production was. The new orchestrations sounded good in general but they need to sound stronger in A New Argentina if only to make up for its weak staging. The part that I hated more was The Art of the Possible, it was totally ridiculous the way those men were attaking each other. Sorry to go back to the original production but I just loved the rocking chairs idea. I supposed there is still time to fix a few things before opening night. - 86.139.22.248) | 03 Jun 06 |
| Just came back from the first preview. I'm disappointed and I think lots of work need to be done before opening night. The beginning is boring to the extreme. It's stupid and confusing to have 4 girls singing Don't Cry... I prefer the original concept of Eva singing it as a peasant girl. The show gets better with the Buenos Aires number, a real showstopper, but then Goodnight and Thank You doesn't work with all the lovers coming to the balcony. The rest of the first act is fine except for the final number, A New Argentina, badly staged and confusing for those who are not familiar with the story. The second half is weaker in general after the opening scene reaching its lower point with Rainbow High, very poorly staged. It has the potential to be a great production but at the moment it isn't. Elena Roger is wonderful and makes the show bereable in the boring parts. Philp Quast is well cast as Peron and sings nicely. The ensemble are good, not exceptional but some girls wear really horrible wigs. The set is nothing special. The choreography is good although there is not much dancing. - 86.139.22.248) | 03 Jun 06 |
| I saw this last night - final dress rehearsal. Elena Roger was great, the music had some strange arrangements I'm not sure about, the acting bit Matt Rawle was a bit wooden. I only hope the whole thing improves during previews. The set looks impressive in some parts, in others it just look dull and out of place. The part in Junin is badly staged and boringly played. - 86.139.22.248) | 02 Jun 06 |
| I imagined I saw this last night - & wow what a show. The singing was great, the music supreme & as for the acting - well WOW. I only hope the real show lives up to my imagination. - 217.204.65.186) | 20 May 06 |
