Evita On Broadway

It is very interesting to read all of the varied responses to this show. I saw the show this past Friday evening, a friend had enjoyed it so much that she bought tickets to see it for a second time during her 1 week trip to the city. Elena– her voice is like nails on a chalk board. My husband and I stole several glances at one another during the first act, realizing we were on the same page. Despite Ricky Martin doing a nice job, I simply didn’t feel invested in any of the characters. I just didn’t care what happened to them and couldn’t wait for the show to be over. Thank goodness we had tickets to see ‘Once’ the following night… now that was an excellent show!

There are three questions facing any woman in the title role of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber-​Tim Rice musical Evita: How is her ”Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”? How is her arm raise (a.k.a. the signature Evita pose)? And how does she handle that vocal-​cord-​killing score? For Argentine actress Elena Rogers in the new Broadway revival, the answers are: Passable. Effective. And Atrocious
Not every Evita needs to produce aural pyrotechnics like original Broadway star Patti LuPone. She does, however, need to to have an adequate at the very least singing voice. Rogers misses every number. Her voice sounds like the offspring of Minnie Mouse and Alvin the chipmunk. She has absolutely no stage presence and basically screams each song rather then sing them. In 25 years of theater going, I have never seen a worst choice as a leading lady. Ricky Martin tries hard, but when the lead is so bad, it drags down everything else.

The whole production was good overall BUT… I could NOT stand Elena Rogers who played the role of Eva. Every time she sang I wanted to cover my ears. Her voice is so annoyingly nasally, pitchy, she adds a vibrato on everything and with her accent it makes it hard to understand what she is saying.
I’d not recommend if she is paying the role. Go to the matinée, I heard her understudy is better.

Throughout the first half of the show, I kept wondering why on earth the producers cast a short girl with no star quality and an unattractive nasal voice in the title role (even though she could move well and sing all the notes). It became evident when I read her bio: Elena Roger had won the Olivier and other awards for playing «Piaf». Aha, a «name» they can market.
Rogers’ voice and accent are perfect for Piaf. But Evita requires a fuller, more classical, resonant sound to bring out the scope of the music. Theater critics seem to agree on this —
Ricky Martin fit naturally into the role as he defined it. I could have done without seeing this show.

I have seen Evita 6 times now on Broadway this year.
4 Times with Ricky Martin as che, 1 time with Max Von Essen and 1 time with Daniel Torres as Che. Ricky is Amazing, and to get the opportunity to see Max and Daniel do it with their own style is really a treat.
This past weekend Friday i enjoyed Elena Roger who I love and i think gets better and better and is very authentic. Saturday Matinée was the wonderful Christina DeCicco who did her own twist and i loved her as well.
As others have said, the set is beautiful and the entire ensemble is beautiful to watch.
Definite don’t miss if you get the chance to see it, feel it, enjoy it and love every moment you are there.
Michael Cerveris is a perfect Juan Peron and an huge talent to add.
Rachel Potter brings me to tears with her beautiful voice as well.
Huge Fan!

I’ve seen many musicals on Broadway. This is the only one that I didn’t actually enjoy… at all. That should tell you something.
I went to see the show on a Monday night and they had a performance change for: Che, Peron and the Italian Admiral. All three of them probably couldn’t take another night of having to listen to Elena Roger bawling and squalling on stage. Simply put — she is horrible. I am sorry, but there is no other word to describe what I had to experience last night. Ms. Rogers (who plays Evita) has an extremely thick accent that’s quite hard to understand when she sings. (But that’s the least of her problems.) I found Webber’s lyrics to be fun and interesting when I could actually hear them properly… which was no more than 20% of time.
I wouldn’t normally bash a whole performance based on one actress’ job. But she is in the lead role and well, the movie is in fact about Evita. So yes, I expected her to be much better than that. Unfortunately her high-​pitched piercing voice was unbearable at times. Not only did she lack the talent, she barely had any emotion. «Don’t Cry for Me Argentina» was a disaster. The director had applauding sounds added immediately afterwards. The audience was urged to swallow that utterly disappointing performance and clap along… and that’s just sad. «You Must Love Me» was somewhat bearable. «I’d be Surprisingly Good for you» was in fact nice (probably because she had to sing low.)
Rachel Potter’s voice when she sang «Another suitcase in another hall» seemed angelic compared to Elena Rogers’s shrieking.
The rest of the cast tried hard, but I realize that there’s only so much they could do.
The decors are quite good and the music is great.
As a (not so) side note: that was the first time that I’ve seen the public not get up when the leading actress comes on stage after the performance. Everyone was sitting down. Christina DeCicco plays Evita’s role on Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon. I wish I knew that earlier. I’ve never actually heard her sing live. But it can in no way be worse than what I had to endure for 2+ hours last night.
My advice to you is the following:
If you’re a tourist visiting New York and looking for an amazing show on Broadway — avoid seeing «Evita» at all costs. Do yourself a favor and go see «Marry Poppins», «The Lion King», «Wicked» or «Nice Work If You Can Get It.» You will be impressed.
If you’re a New Yorker, only go and see Evita if you’ve already been to 90% of the other musicals playing on Broadway right now.
If you really insist on seeing that show, you can use code BOX2 for discount tickets on TicketMaster. That’s how I got my center orchestra seats.

saw Evita w/​my mother on a Saturday 8pm performance. Growing up with Ricky Martin in Menudo, he’s def. a draw for our family. Currently there are only 2 shows that feature people of Color as main leads/​characters and Evita is one (Bring It On is the other) and we want to support people of Color in theater as we have in the past.
Our performance had Christina DeCicco as Evita. I cannot comment on Elena Roger’s voice, but I did watch the TONY awards, and other videos of her singing and I have to say if folks dont care for her voice, cool. But blaming her accent is weak. She’s Argentine just like Evita and has the accent that fits the role.
We were seated in the orchestra towards the left of the stage in the back and had a good view of the entire stage. The costumes were fantastic as were the dancing by the performers. Martin is clearly the draw for the show as he earned a standing ovation after. This is also the time for Broadway Cares so they solicited donations to support folks living positive with HIV.
Martin’s performance is grand. I personally didn’t think I’d be convinced of him as Che, but it works with the play. I would have liked to have had the story expand on Evita dying of cervical cancer as many folks don’t know this is what lead to her death.

The show overall was kind of «dark» and kind of difficult to understand because of Elena Roger’s (as Evita) accent. The mistress played by Rachel Potter did have the best voice on stage that night but only sang one solo. There was a couple funny parts, great stage sets and costumes but difficult to follow if you do not know the whole background of Evita. I enjoyed watching Ricky Martin steal the show and having him as a narrator was a great idea because he sang loud and clear throughout.
«Don’t cry for me Argentinaaaaaa!» stuck in my head for 3 days now.

i wanted Warhorse but le miss wanted to see Evita (señor Ricky Martin to be exact). I agreed cuz she was paying. speaking of, pricey orchestra seats meant bullocks as my stage center sight was blocked by a big-​assed head, dang. from what i could see and hear, Evita screeched all night (nasty) but the entire chorus was superb, as were the sets. and Ricky was, well, no doubt who most of the audience was really there for.

Unfortunately, I was not impressed with this show… and I so desperately wanted to b e.
Cons:
— Elena Rogers as Evita is OK at best. Her voice does not carry, and the accent is distracting. I could not understand most of the songs in Act 1.
— Ricky Martin is good, but not great.
— Act 2 feels rushed and unresolved.
— The ending is poor… but that could just be Webers writing.
Pros:
— the set is STUNNING… I really felt like I was in Argenina
— the dancing is very nice and they weave in the tango beautifully in subtle ways
— Rachel Potter blew me away with Another Suitcase in Another Hall. She stole the show for me.
— We had great seats which helped me enjoy the show.
— You Must Love Me and Dont Cry for me… were OK at best. I expected Elena to get a much more emotional reaction out of me, but I kept thinking about Madonna! If Madonna had my heart over a live show, then I know something is wrong.
If you get discount tickets, go see it. Don’t pay full price…

Very very disappointed in this production… I agree with all that have voiced their opinions… but to top this off. We paid $ 150.00 for a ticket and Ricky Martin’s understudy replaced him… If the production knew that he takes off on Thursday nights… they should list that in their website…
Terrible performance by Elena Roger… then need to replace her quickly… she is not suited for the part of Evita…
I have to say that Ricky Martin’s understudy was pretty good… I saw the original production with Patty Lupone… tremendous Wow factor…
Overall the show was just ok… nothing stood out as a WOW factor.

Okay, I will admit that I fell asleep watching Evita on Broadway. That was one expensive nap.
I preferred Ricky Martin’s performance in She-​Bangs and Shake Your Bön Bön. At one point, I wondered when Eva Perón was going to die already. I know, I’m a horrible. But, she kept singing even after she died!
I would suggest watching the musical first before watching the movie. Madonna will seriously spoil this performance.

Maybe this production is trying to feature Latino talent for this production. Maybe the show is trying to feature the main star Ricky Martin. Eva Peron’s performace is so bad they they really need to rethink the female lead. The female lead’s vocal range is limited. She stared to scream at upper register. Also, she murdered the two key songs (Don’t cry for me Argentina and if you don’t love me).
Go on the Ricky Martin Facebook before you purchased the ticket. His facebook posts when will he be on vacation.
I gave three stars because of the chorus did a good job.

I came to the show with low expectations, knowing the mixed reviews that it had gotten. I liked the production but hated Elena Roger’s voice… her voice was shrill and shrieky, and it was not pleasant at all, especially in the higher soprano range. In the lower octaves, she shouted the songs the entire time. Unfortunately, there’s no getting around having an actress I didn’t like in the title role, as much as I liked Michael Cerveris as Peron and Max Von Essen as Che (who I actually like better than Ricky, and it probably doesn’t help that I absolutely love this musical and have all the songs memorized. The best parts of the show are when Evita isn’t singing, which is only a couple scenes. Boo… a good production and show ruined.

It’s hard to believe it’s been over thirty years since Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s warhorse of a musical played on Broadway. It made stars out of Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin, who coincidentally just reunited for a limited Broadway concert engagement earlier this year. I saw them lo those many years ago and remember being bowled over by their performances. In fact, I recently saw Lupone in «Gypsy» and «Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown» and still felt her ‘wow’ factor in complete working order. That ‘wow’ is what’s sorely missing from Elena Roger’s strenuous interpretation of the role.
A diminutive woman and a true Argentinean, she performs with fireball energy and puts every effort into making the monster role of Eva Perón her own. Where she goes wrong is in her song delivery. Her voice tends to get screechy in the upper register, and her sense of nuance is about equal to a leaf-​blower on a busy street in the Reseda. And frankly, she doesn’t exude the sex appeal that would make her credible as a woman who seduced a nation one power broker at a time. Not that Lupone has ever been that sexy, but at least she’s a true belter who knows how to sell a song. That leaves all the sex appeal to, of course, Ricky Martin as Che Guevara and no doubt he’s got it in spades.
What I find interesting about Martin’s lighter-​than-​air performance is that he plays mostly an observational role but can’t do much to conceal his showman-​like zeal even when he is simply in the background. With his perma-​megawatt smile, he reminds me a bit of Hugh Jackman in that his charisma tends to overshadow everything around him, including and especially Roger. He sings in his familiar style, but what’s missing is the hard-​edged revolutionary spirit you would expect from the character. More tactful and certainly the most professional in the cast, Broadway veteran Michael Cerveris brings much needed gravitas and his beautiful voice to the underappreciated role of her husband Juan.
The revisionist history presented in Rice’s book never bothered me much, but as directed by Michael Grandage, the episodic structure still feels clunky (especially in Act II) and the operetta style can sometimes feel strained. What is a major improvement is Rob Ashford’s snazzy, lock-​step choreography, in particular, in the «Buenos Aires» number where Roger shines the most. Here her Edith Piaf-​like voice is not as distracting because she brings the requisite scrappiness to the ambitious young Eva. And in case you need to know, Roger handles the signature number, «Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina» reasonably well. Overall, there is a sheen of freshness to this aged show, but it just didn’t ‘wow’ me.

Went to see the matinée performance on May 16^th.
It would have been 3 stars, but Ricky Martin saved it.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with those who voiced their displeasure of Roger’s performance. As good as an actress that she is, her singing ability is not up to task of taking on such a pivotal role. She clearly has difficulty reaching the high note. Sometimes she would use falsetto to hide it. Other times, she was almost screeching to get to the note. Because of that, those memorable songs like Don’t Cry For Me… and You Must Love Me came across as ordinary.
I also love the set, simple yet effective, with shadow casting through the openings of the window or arch way.
Yes, Ricky may not be the best singer in the world, but his role does not require it. And he pours out the charm like no others.
And kudos to Max von Essen, who did a marvellous job as Magaldi.
See it if you can score the discount tickets, but not worth the full price I am afraid.

I went to the Wednesday matinée show and enjoyed the show very much.
Elena Rogers was the role of Evita and was sassy and dramatic. I didn’t have a problem with her vocals like many have mentioned (I have never seen the original Evita, but I thought her singing and dancing fit the role fine). Ricky Martin was the star attraction and I was impressed by his performance as Che– very charismatic and great voice. Michael Cerveris was also wonderful and powerful as Juan Peron. Also a notable mention for Rachel Potter who played Juan’s mistress– what a beautiful voice in her one scene!
I had 14^th row Orchestra seats and had no problem getting tickets a week in advance online, the show looked sold out when I got there. I did not see tickets available at the TKTS booth in Times Square either.
Would recommend if you love Andrew Lloyd Weber or are interested in a more dramatic/​theatrical broadway show!

I read mixed reviews of this production of Evita, which surprised me as both my Mom and I really enjoyed it. We saw a Saturday matinée show which starred Christina deCicco instead of Elena Roger. Apparently most people didn’t realize that Roger doesn’t perform at the matinees as I heard one woman asking how to get her money back.
I honestly don’t think we were worse off seeing deCicco perform as she was excellent. Her voice was great, as was her acting. If I hadn’t been informed that she wasn’t the main actress I never would have known.
I also have to give high marks to Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris. To be fair Michael Cerveris is amazing in everything he does (I’ve seen him previously in Tommy and Assassins) and can do no wrong in my eyes. So perhaps I’m biased. But Ricky Martin was a nice surprise. I was expecting very little from him but I really enjoyed his performance.

I saw this show with Christina DiCicco, not Elena Rogers and she was good in the role. Was very surprised that they didn’t cast a belter for the role of Evita, her voice was softer more like Kristen Chenoweth but without Kristen’s belt. I saw this show in the 70’s with Patti Lu Pone/​Mandy Patinkin also with Lonnie Ackerman (yes I was under 10 years old at the time, but have a fantastic memory) and this was staged very differently.
Ricky Martin was great, it was a thrill to see him on stage. Michael Ceveris is always great. They played the roles very differently from what I was expecting and it was a nice change. The sets were better than the original show and so was most of the staging.
I found it hokey that they used a lot of the elements from the movie in the show and it lost some of it’s subtlety — like just how conniving Juan Peron was. Also they incorporated the Madonna song, «you must love me» which is an okay song but a bit unecessary. Michael played Juan with a lot of heart and made him less wooden. Ricky Martin was able to fade in and out of the ensemble a lot better than Mandy Patinkin did, but they both played the roles very differently.
All in all it was a very enjoyable show and I hope it has a good run.

Ricky Martin is the best part!!! It’s a great take on a classic show. I’m glad it’s back on Broadway for the new generations to experience.