Review: Auckland Music Theatre's Evita

Heather Wilcock stars as Evita Peron (Supplied)
Heather Wilcock stars as Evita Peron (Supplied)

Andrew Lloyd Webber has been enjoying a resurgence of sorts in Auckland this year: first Cats, then The Phantom of the Opera and now the rock opera Evita.

The short life of Argentina's adored first lady was an unlikely but inspired choice of subject matter by Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, and Auckland Music Theatre's amateur production of this musically complex work is a wonderful opportunity to revisit it.

Heather Wilcock stars as Eva (Evita) Peron, the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron (Russell Dixon). Evita’s fairytale rise to power from peasantry captured the nation in the late 1940s to early 1950s -- she was particularly revered by the poor and working class, who saw her as their advocate and saviour.

Review: Auckland Music Theatre's Evita

The company of Evita (Supplied)

Wilcock portrays Evita with confidence, taking her from a precocious teenager to an ambitious political leader and finally a vulnerable, dying woman. She struggled to navigate some of the high notes early on, but settled in to deliver a strong performance in the second act.

Dixon largely stays in background, as indeed the show implies Juan was overshadowed by his wife. He is vocally strong but somewhat dull in character.

Lloyd Webber's book has always struggled under the weight of having to cram 12 years of the Perons' meeting and ascendance to power into the first act, but thankfully the narrator Che helps to fill in the gaps.

Matthew Pike is masterful in this role. Part flamboyant ringmaster and part political dissident, he adds flair to his storytelling while also highlighting the ominous undertones to Peronist politics, raising questions of money laundering, the 'disappearing' of detractors and the uncomfortable incongruity of Evita's desire for glamour while claiming to represent the descamisetas -- the 'shirtless' and poor.  

Review: Auckland Music Theatre's Evita

Caption: Matthew Pike (L) and Heather Wilcock (Supplied)

Anthony Cotton is also memorable as the showman Magaldi, as is Emily Hermon's performance as Juan Peron’s mistress of 'Another Suitcase in Another Hall', which has got to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written for such a tangential character.

The ensemble on the whole is strong, although some of the transitions between numbers feel stilted, possibly exacerbated by the lack of pieces to be moved in the rather sparse set.

This is an amateur production though, and it chooses its moments of impact judiciously. Evita shines no more brightly than when she appears on a balcony above an adoring crowd to sing the iconic 'Don’t Cry for Me Argentina', dressed in an impossibly large gown that makes her appear untouchable.

But the song that gave me the most chills was 'Santa Evita' -- the first plaintive words sung by a tiny choirboy with heartrendingly perfect tone and pitch, it made Evita's unravelling all the more emotive.

Evita, Bruce Mason Theatre Auckland, until June 18.

Reviewed by Kim Choe/Newshub.