EVITA On Tour Review

 EVITA On Tour Review

This week I had the pleasure of attending Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's hit musical sensation EVITA at The Academy of Music in Philadelphia! I must say, I was very very surprised by how amazing this show was. I had no prior knowledge of the show, and what I did know- it just personally did not seem thrilling. The opening number is what really had me stunned and turned on! The cast is out on stage singing "Requiem for Evita", mourning the death of their leader. It is an emotional number with powerful voices, and amazing projector use used onstage to show video reels from Eva Peron's (whom the story is based on) funeral. This then led into "Oh What a Circus" sung by Josh Young (Che). Let me give you a brief summary of the show. EVITA tells the story of former Argentina First Lady Eva Peron, who used her beauty and charisma to rise meteorically from the slums of Argentina to the Presidential Mansion as First Lady to the President Juan Peron. Adored by her people as a champion for the poor, she became one of the most powerful women in the world- while her greed, outsized ambition, and fragile health made her one of the most tragic. EVITA tells Eva's passionate and unforgettable true story, and features some of theater's most beautiful songs, including: "Don't Cry For Me Argentina", "Another Suitcase in Another Hall", "High Flying, Adored", and "Rainbow Tour". That being said.... this is a show that YOU MUST get over  to see! If there is one show you should  see that I have recommend over the last few  months- it has to  be this one! If it weren't for my crazy schedule this coming week I would be attending again.. A nice little incentive with this show is that they do student rush tickets! This means that if you are a student in high school or college (must have a SCHOOL ID with you) you can buy tickets for the show at an incredible $35. The tickets go on sale 2 Hours PRIOR to the actual start time, and can be purchased at the box office!

 Now let me get into the characters and their roles. I will begin with the lead, and star of the show Caroline Bowman (Eva), who hails from Broadway in her run with the Original Broadway Cast of Tony Award Winning musical Kinky Boots as Maggie.  She was absolutely stunning and fantastic! I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I was with this lady! You could tell she was really enjoying herself onstage, and was grasping every moment of it. Even though she was playing an Argentina Women, she did not play it with an accent which I thought was really good, it was more real and authentic I felt! She is a big belter-but not in the over doing it type of way, she is a strong belt singer with soul! Her dancing was quite on par, and stunning as well! They picked a very good person for this role, and after a playing an ensemble member  in WICKED, and a feature role in Kinky Boots I am very happy she got her shinning moment in the spotlight! Josh Young (Che), who originally played this same role in the Ontario Shakespeare Festival, and hails from  a year run in the New Broadway Cast of the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar,  was quite phenomenal as well! He was just getting over a cough, but that did not stop him, nor could you notice! He is a strong Barritone-Tenor who really leads the show. They had him play his role as more of a "buddy or pal" instead of JUST the narrator, which was a very interesting angle to take, I thought it was good! He had the audience cheering and loudly clapping after every number, especially after his favorite number "And The Money Kept Rolling In" (Stated in his interview with me on my website.) I  was quite excited to see him, as I was a fan of his when he did Superstar  and  I was excited to hear his voice live- he certainly delivered!!! Sean McLaughlin(Juan Peron) was also very good as well! He was recently seen in Phantom of The Opera  on Broadway and in Canada as Raoul. He played the strict and sly army Colonel Juan Peron very well! He has such a beautiful voice, and was great in this role. One of my favorite songs of his were "Peron's Latest Flame", a  very upbeat rock song about Peron's latest flame, and how Eva is not good for him because of her past. One of my favorite numbers! Christopher Johnstone (Magaldi), and Krystina Alabado (Mistress),  also were great as well! The whole cast was fantastic, I wish I could go on about each of you- we would be here all night!

EVITA runs at The Academy of Music from June 17th-22nd for a limited engagement! You can follow the show on Facebook /EvitaTour, on Twitter @EvitaTour, and you can join in on the conversation by using the hash tag #RainbowTour. For Tickets visit www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway for tickets. To view my interview with Josh Young and to keep following all my interviews, buy my apparel, and more! Please  visit me at www.ThePositivityProject.org also follow me on Twitter @RyeTheNewsGuy , Facebook /ThePositivityProject1, and Instagram @OfficialRyeMy . Join in on the fun and use the hash tag #ThePositivityProject when Tweeting, Facebooking, or Instagramming me! xx RyeMy