“Simply put, New Line Theatre’s current production of Evita absolutely rocks! . . . Scott Miller’s direction is impeccable. . . . The cast is sharp and focused throughout, and the ensemble singing is gorgeous.”

– Chris Gibson, BroadwayWorld.com

“Miller’s Evita is visceral, raucous and always entertaining, bringing out the best in Lloyd Webber’s complex and diverse score and underscoring Rice’s sophisticated and compelling lyrics in clever fashion. A 4.5 on a scale of 1-to-5.”

– Mark Bretz, Ladue News

“I really admire what New Line found in Evita, and I’m afraid the standard version is going to disappoint me even more when I see it next.”

– Gerry Kowarsky, Two on the Aisles

Money, sex, power, fame –

who knew they had a dark side?

At the center of the story sits a popular, charismatic political figure, beloved by followers and despised by opponents. A celebrity.  A demagogue. The leader of a movement. Nope, we're not talking about Barack Obama or Sarah Palin or even Glenn Beck.

Or are we?

In Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterwork of rock opera, it's Argentina in the 1940s. It only feels like America today.

New Line closed its 19th season with the brilliant political potboiler, the rock opera EVITA.  And with this production, New Line offered audiences a new, more intimate, more political, more rock and roll Evita, based more on the original 1976 concept album than on the massive 1979 Broadway production. No violins and no giant chorus, just sex, power, and rock and roll. The original Broadway show focused on the story's pomp and spectacle, but seen through the lens of 2010, New Line's EVITA centered on the petty games and grudges that make politics a contact sport, but also the unconventional love story between Eva and the working people of Argentina.

Evita tells the story of Eva Perón, from her roots in a small town through her meteoric rise to international fame/infamy as the faux-populist first lady of Argentina. Today, it's hard not to see her rise in parallel to our current political superstars like Beck, Palin, and Obama. Though Eva was a real historical figure, Tim Rice fashions her turbulent life into a rowdy, visceral, Shakespearean thriller of intrigue, betrayal, greed, power, and obsessive love. With Evita, lyricist Tim Rice honed his smartass, acerbic bite, but also went deeper than before into the emotional life of his characters. And composer Andrew Lloyd Webber recreated the energy of his Jesus Christ Superstar music but went beyond it to wrote the most mature score of his career, still rooted firmly in rock and roll. Like Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar before it, Evita is real rock opera.

The cast for New Line's EVITA included Taylor Pietz (Eva Perón), John Sparger (Che), Todd Schaefer (Juan Perón), Zachary Allen Farmer (Agustin Magaldi), Terrie Carolan (Perón's Mistress), Aaron Allen, Tyla Daniels, Mike Dowdy, Macia Noorman, Jeanitta Perkins, Eeyan Richardson, David Sajewich, Michelle Sauer, Kimi Short, and Christopher Strawhun. The production staff included Scott Miller (director), Jake Fruend (asst. director), Robin Berger (choreographer), Thom Crain (costume designer), Todd Schaefer (scenic designer), Kenneth Zinkl (lighting designer), and Robert Healey (sound designer).

Check out our Evita blogs, chronicling our creation process through the eyes of Scott Miller, Terrie Carolan, Jake Fruend, Robert Healey, Taylor Pietz, Todd Schaefer, and Christopher Strawhun.

New Line's Evita