Evita

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing shows of genuine quality for Brownhills MTC for the past few years and once again they have delivered a show of real genuine quality.

This latest offering of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita” was pure class from start to finish. Evita tells the story of the first lady of Argentina, Eva, who unashamedly sleeps her way up the social ladder until she meets Colonel Juan Peron. When he is elected as president following a crooked vote, she becomes the voice of the people, and one that the public respects. It is only later in her life following the influence of Che Guevara that she begins to question the path she has taken.

Richard Ainslie’s portrayal of Che was mesmerising narrating the show as he lurks in the background during the action.

Jamie Norgrove gave a strong all round performance as authoritative figure “Peron” and Emma Annis as “The Mistress” gave a charming rendition of “Another suitcase in another hall.”

But the night belonged to Alison Room who gave a stunning performance as Eva Peron.

She lit up the stage on every entrance and oozed confidence and determination in her character with those qualities admirably displayed in her account of “Don’t cry for me Argentina”.

There was also excellent support from Brett Dewsbury as Magaldi and also the chorus who were suitably disciplined to keep the sensitivity and emotion during the funeral scenes.

Jill Horne’s choreography was also suitably impressive to maintain the Latin American feel throughout and in her imaginative use of the theatre.

Fantastic stage set, lighting and period costumes added to the quality as did Ian Room’s Musical Direction.

This was another 5* performance from Brownhill’s MTC. Congratulations to everyone involved.

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