Evita

“Evita” is a difficult and demanding show for any Society to perform.

However, given a production team of Director (Malcy Burnett), Musical Director (Suzanne Stewart) and Choreographer (Clare Stewart), LADAMA have risen to the challenge and scored highly.

In the title role, Fiona MacKenzie doesn’t disappoint. She captures the role perfectly as the ambitious young woman who blackmails Magaldi (Adam Campbell) into giving her a new life in Buenos Aires. Fiona’s singing and acting brought to life the highs and lows of Eva Peron’s short and troubled life. The role of Che Guevara requires an actor with confidence and ultimate stage presence, and tonight we were lucky enough to see Mark Grieve in the role. Mark’s experience in stage craft made Che stand out for me in this production. Juan Peron (David Mutch), like Eva, was completely absorbed in his role, and, like all the principals, was vocally excellent. In the smaller, but nonetheless important role of Peron’s Mistress, Laura Campbell gave a first class performance of her one solo “Another Suitcase In Another Hall". The chorus and dancers were a credit to the show. There is a huge range of singing styles called for in “Evita”, but Musical Director Suzanne Stewart made it appear straightforward for LADAMA’s large ensemble, who, together with their dancers, choreographed by Clare Stewart, formed the icing on the cake for a wonderful evening of emotional musical theatre.

Well done LADAMA! And many thanks for inviting me to review your show!

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