Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info I’ll be honest, prior to watching Evita I didn’t know much about Eva Peron or the musical.
I did however know I definitely wanted to watch Rachel Zegler’s West End debut. After watching her in The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and that viral clip of her singing ‘Gimme Gimme’, Evita became a must see. Evita tells the real-life story of Eva Perón – an actress who became the first lady of Argentina after marrying Juan Perón who later becomes president.
She often advocated for the poor, sympathising with their plight as she grew up in poverty herself. The production is notably Jamie Lloyd: simple costuming, dark lighting, screens and a relatively bare stage. For the most part this works, we are forced to focus on Evita and give her the attention she commands.
The Balcony Scene Following the interval, crowds gather to watch Zegler perform ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ on the balcony of the theater. Inside, the audience watches onscreen at first with a sort of stunned silence, before erupting in applause at the sight of the crowd. The screen merges images of the crowd and Rachel enabling you to watch them simultaneously.
As someone who is not a fan of screens in theatre, I will say in this instance it aids in creating a moment of meta theatre. The indoor audience become citizens who are watching a live broadcast. As Evita dedicated herself to the plight of the working classes, it is fitting that members of the general public can watch a scene from a West End play for free.
Diego Andres Rodriguez was also spectacular as Che, an incredibly demanding role as he narrates Eva’s story and is present for a majority of the musical numbers. He frequently skulks around the stage perfectly embodying the scorned lover. The use of dim stage lighting adds to this image of him lurking in the shadows, a constant reminder of Evita’s past.
Saying this, the subdued staging means there is less of that fantasy storytelling element, common in West End musicals. The storyline can be slightly less easy to follow if you are not familiar with the play already. I have no doubt I would’ve been lost at times had I not scanned a summary before watching.
I usually prefer to watch plays with more intricate set and costume designs and a world I can fully immerse myself into. There is a particularly poignant scene towards the end of the play when Zegler sings ‘You Must Love Me’.. You really feel the desperation as she tries to cling onto her life as she knows it . Multiple audience members were moved to tears during this number.
Rachel Zegler’s performance fills the stage and for that alone it is a must watch. The applause and standing ovation following the performance seemed limitless and left the actress in floods of tears. It is a legendary performance that will no doubt earn her an Olivier nomination and be talked about for years to come.
Evita is showing at the London Palladium until September 6. You can buy tickets here
