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Don't Cry for Me
November 28th, 2007 10:13 pmMom and I dressed up and saw Evita at the Washington center this evening. It was an interesting mix of wonderful and middling that makes me wonder how long this tour has been together, and gave mom and I lots to talk about at intermission.
I was surprised to find that a lot of the lighter notes came from Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero - Look, Mom, Che's actually ethnic! I am so unPC...), whom I expected to be more consistently upset. He interjected almost manic lightheartedness in with the ranting and bittersweet stuff, though, and like I said, great voice (Okay, Che's parts have always been a favorite of mine, I admit).
Evita's voice was terribly overwhelmed by both Peron and Che.Peron, Phillip Peterson (whom I think I just missed seeing in Cats...what year did we see that?) had a beautiful voice but less chance to play than Che, as you'd expect. Evita...was disappointing. The part demands a powerful voice with strong lows, and frequently ends phrases low, which provides that whole powerful/sexy vibe. This actress avoided those, shouting 'star quality' whenever it appeared, leading mom and I to think she can't actually hit the note (I think it might be the lowest in her part, but I wasn't listening particularly for that). Even if that change had been okay, I really noticed the lack of a low, powerful core through the rest of her parts.
The nameless mistress who sings Another Suitcase in Another Hall (NOT Evita, Thank you VERY MUCH Madonna) had a lovely voice...I wonder if she didn't have the power for the whole show, or if it's just such a sweet song that it's easier to sing well, or if they miscast that one...
The set, dancing and transitions were hit and miss - there were brilliant ones, like the balcony of the casa rosada, and not-so-great, like the terrible doll-house hooker beds. The upper-class chorus was brilliant, all running together in a little clutch, but the soldiers did that weird head-shake thing from Cats, which works fine when you're being all Fosse but doesn't fit in goose-step choreography, thank you.
There was a pair of tango dancers in a dimly gelled spot while Eva and Peron met (I'd be surprisingly good for you) that were incredibly distracting, because the staging almost worked. They were kind of mirroring Eva and Juan, but they were too far off to the side, and weren't actually dancing well (Mom thinks that the awkward dancing was intentional, to show the halting progress, but it just irked me). It was one of those things that was almost really cool, and for me failed miserably. Once again, Evita lacked the vocal power for that "I'd be surprisingly...good for you." Low notes again.
For a musical about sleeping your way to the top, the dancing was really unsexy. This poor Evita didn't have a waist...that couldn't have helped. But still, TANGO, people.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed it - a voice like Che's is always great to hear, and it was really neat to see something that was so good in areas, and so close in others.
I didn't get a souvenir program! I always, always get one, but they'd packed up the souvenir stand by closing. They also didn't move the semi's more than a block away, and I'm thinking their must stop must be farther away than Portland if they want the show on the road that fast. Oly often gets shows moving between Seattle and Portland for a night, but Evita was a last minute replacement for the Johnny Cash thing, so perhaps they trucked it from farther away.
I was surprised to find that a lot of the lighter notes came from Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero - Look, Mom, Che's actually ethnic! I am so unPC...), whom I expected to be more consistently upset. He interjected almost manic lightheartedness in with the ranting and bittersweet stuff, though, and like I said, great voice (Okay, Che's parts have always been a favorite of mine, I admit).
Evita's voice was terribly overwhelmed by both Peron and Che.Peron, Phillip Peterson (whom I think I just missed seeing in Cats...what year did we see that?) had a beautiful voice but less chance to play than Che, as you'd expect. Evita...was disappointing. The part demands a powerful voice with strong lows, and frequently ends phrases low, which provides that whole powerful/sexy vibe. This actress avoided those, shouting 'star quality' whenever it appeared, leading mom and I to think she can't actually hit the note (I think it might be the lowest in her part, but I wasn't listening particularly for that). Even if that change had been okay, I really noticed the lack of a low, powerful core through the rest of her parts.
The nameless mistress who sings Another Suitcase in Another Hall (NOT Evita, Thank you VERY MUCH Madonna) had a lovely voice...I wonder if she didn't have the power for the whole show, or if it's just such a sweet song that it's easier to sing well, or if they miscast that one...
The set, dancing and transitions were hit and miss - there were brilliant ones, like the balcony of the casa rosada, and not-so-great, like the terrible doll-house hooker beds. The upper-class chorus was brilliant, all running together in a little clutch, but the soldiers did that weird head-shake thing from Cats, which works fine when you're being all Fosse but doesn't fit in goose-step choreography, thank you.
There was a pair of tango dancers in a dimly gelled spot while Eva and Peron met (I'd be surprisingly good for you) that were incredibly distracting, because the staging almost worked. They were kind of mirroring Eva and Juan, but they were too far off to the side, and weren't actually dancing well (Mom thinks that the awkward dancing was intentional, to show the halting progress, but it just irked me). It was one of those things that was almost really cool, and for me failed miserably. Once again, Evita lacked the vocal power for that "I'd be surprisingly...good for you." Low notes again.
For a musical about sleeping your way to the top, the dancing was really unsexy. This poor Evita didn't have a waist...that couldn't have helped. But still, TANGO, people.
Overall, I really, really enjoyed it - a voice like Che's is always great to hear, and it was really neat to see something that was so good in areas, and so close in others.
I didn't get a souvenir program! I always, always get one, but they'd packed up the souvenir stand by closing. They also didn't move the semi's more than a block away, and I'm thinking their must stop must be farther away than Portland if they want the show on the road that fast. Oly often gets shows moving between Seattle and Portland for a night, but Evita was a last minute replacement for the Johnny Cash thing, so perhaps they trucked it from farther away.
