Evita by LAOS at Loughborough Town Hall
Written by Emmie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
The Tony Award-winning musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber has seen a recent surge in popularity following the smash-hit revival at the London Palladium starring Rachel Zegler. So, it’s no surprise that when the production is performed locally, it presents a fantastic opportunity to experience this phenomenal show once again.
LAOS are an award-winning theatre society who have been delivering high quality musical theatre for nearly 130 years! Evita takes on retelling the historical story of Maria Eva Peron, a poor Argentinian girl who grows up to become the First Lady of Argentina. An influential woman who is worshipped as seen as a saint by the poor and working class. Of course, it isn't all that easy and we see how Eva learns to use her position as a powerful woman amongst a cultural and political system so driven by men.
Directed by Sally Bruton, this production makes fantastic use of projections throughout, setting the tone and helping audiences to navigate the story within its historical and theatrical context. This was particularly beneficial to those seeing this musical for the first time. Josh Hill’s musical direction and Lianne O’Connor’s choreography support the production well and utilise the space and minimalist scenery to their full ability.
The performing collective are engaging to watch, with Helena Stone anchoring the production as Eva Perón. She brings a commanding presence to the role, and her rendition of ‘Don’t Cry for Me Argentina’ is particularly memorable. At times, however, it felt as though she was working against an overly loud band, which meant some of the bigger numbers didn’t come across as comfortably as they might have. Her relationship with her Peron, played by Richie Phillips, didn’t feel as believable as I would have expected. Personally, there felt like there could have been more work in the relationships to really cement her role further, but potential definitely oozed here.
Rhianna Boulton’s turn as Mistress and rendition of ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ is gentle and well performed!
The direction showcased several interesting and creative choices in the staging of musical numbers and in the collective’s overall presence. However, there were also moments where the company relied on more ‘traditional’ and somewhat worn-out approaches to filling the space and background, which occasionally lessened the impact of the stronger directorial ideas. There were missed opportunities to be more ambitious with some of the musical numbers and how characters presented themselves in the space. However, this doesn’t distract from how they filled the auditorium alongside a brilliant live band.
The saving grace of this production for me was David Sturla’s portrayal of Che. From the very beginning, he draws the audience into Eva’s world, and throughout the show, he proves himself to be an incredibly talented performer. Che acts as the narrator and commentator of the musical so his role is fundamental in navigating us through the action which is unfolding around us. At times, I found myself wishing he would play more with the fourth wall and bring even greater animation to the role, especially as he often steps outside of the story. This would elevate the production even further.
This production of Evita is certainly ambitious and filled with enjoyable moments, but it would benefit from some further fine-tuning to truly reach star quality.
Evita plays at Loughborough Town Hall until 13 September
★★★
