'Evita' at the Warner - My Review

Evita is a sung through musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, the same team that gave us Jesus Christ Superstar. It tells a romanticized version of the rise and fall of Eva Duarte de Peron, the wife of Argentinean dictator Juan Peron and seducer of a nation. A woman of humble beginnings, Eva slept her way to the top of Buenos Aires society as a radio host/actress and went on to rule together with Peron until her death at the age of 33.

A story with lots of drama to be sure, and the wonderful score doesn't hurt. Under the direction of the gifted Donald E. Birely, the community production at the Warner is a great one that unfortunately closes today. Mr. Birely lives in New York and often directs at Musicals at Richter; it was a treat for me to see him work his magic on the massive Warner stage.

Actors Equity member Arianne DiCerbo stars as Evita; unfortunately, her name was misspelled in all preshow press releases. Ms. DiCerbo is originally from Southington and this has been a dream role of hers. A talented actress with a wonderful singing voice, this lovely lady commanded the stage and was a joy to watch. Tim Reilly did a fine job as the dictator Peron; this actor has appeared in regional theatres all over the country and it shows. John Farias returned to the Warner to play the narrator Che for the second time and his performance was flawless. 

The always fantastic actor/musical director Meric Martin has the perfect tenor voice for Augistine Magaldi, the tango singer who gets Eva to Buenos Aires. Dominique Altomari also sang beautifully as Peron's Mistress that Eva kicks out so that she can move in. Rick Anderson, Patrick Hearn, Scott Iwanicki (also in his second Evita) and John Mullen, Jr. led a strong group of male members of the cast as the generals who played a symbolic game of musical rockers during "The Art of the Possible."

I have often said that a show is only as good as its ensemble and this is one of the best I have ever seen. They included William S. Dalton and Amber Mason as tango dancers, and various ensemble members played Eva's family members, aristocrats, soldiers, featured dancers and an eleven-member children's chorus. Mr. Birely knows how to allow each and every member of the ensemble shine and he effectively fills this large stage. Everyone in the ensemble must have built up their arm muscles with all of the arm pumping and waving to Evita on the balcony. Shout outs to Marsha Gaylord (as one of Eva's sisters,) Kristen Vanderlyn, Lyle Ressler in a stylish top hat, Holy Cross junior Justin Sanzari, Jessie Sawyer, Madalyn Sheehy, and the adorable Kennedy Morris (and her mother Kerri) and the uncredited Emma Wallace.

Richie Lucibello did an excellent job with the choreography and danced in the show. The large number of musicians in the pit were directed by Willard Minton and covered well the soaring score. The period costumes were designed by Matthew Dettmer (with the assistance of costume shop manager Renee C. Purdy and beautiful wigs by Jessica Branco) and were very effective. The sound design for this large cast was by Chris LaPlante and the set designed by Steve Loftus was perfectly lit by Dan Rousseau. 

This was the first time I have ever seen this musical and I really enjoyed it. Some of my favorite musical numbers included "Requiem" that opened the show, "A New Argentina" at the end of the first act, "And the Money Kept Rolling In (and Out), and of course the heartfelt "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina." The sparkling white gown worn by Ms. DiCerbo for this number was perfection.