2013 National Tour: My Review!

Saw the national tour of Evita on Wednesday, with my mom and sister, and it was amazing!  Can I just say, our seats were awesome!  I think we sat closer than we were supposed to, but I'm okay with that!  As far as the show itself, here's a quick rundown of my thoughts.

Sets were the most beautiful I've ever seen for a production of this show.  Ensemble was awesome, and dancing was great.  Where the principles are concerned, (though I seemed to be the only one in my party to share this opinion), Caroline Bowman handled the vocals of the amazingly demanding lead beautifully.  From the other end, she isn't the best actress.  Unfortunately, with only a few exceptions, she failed to deliver.  While her performance in the first act was passable, if not good, the second was hard to watch at times.  The final fifteen minutes of the show require the ability to unleash raw emotion, and she wasn't capable.  As a caveat, I have to wonder if some of her choices were not her own.  Just an interesting thought.

Josh Young was the perfect Che!  While I am definitely not a fan of the new direction of the character, (from revolutionary Che Guevara in previous productions, to everyman observer since the 2012 Broadway Revival), Mr. Young delivered above, and far beyond what the role requires.  His voice makes this notoriously difficult score seem effortless to sing.  His acting was on point throughout.  A pleasure to watch!

Impressive pipes aside, Shawn McLaughlin's Peron is expendable.  Don't remember him showing emotion, or displaying acting chops.  Sad to say given the importance of the role, but he was hardly a presence.

The Mistress and Magaldi were great all around!  On the whole, even with significant flaws, the show was extremely enjoyable.  Would I recommend it?  Yes, but if you're attending for performance ahead of vocal ability, I would choose to see Desi Oakley as Eva.