Music guru Howard has been doing a fantastic "Dark Monday" series on his BLOG, where he highlights the music from Broadway. This week he showcases a musical that I am crazy for - Evita - a musical I've actually never seen performed onstage. Let me explain...
Back in the early 80's my parents took a trip to NYC, where they saw Patti LuPone in Evita. They brought back the Broadway cast double-album (yes, I'm OLD), and I proceeded to wear those records out. I memorized every word of the show - lyrics I can recite to this day. I even choreographed an imaginary drag routine to the song "Rainbow High" - complete with hot Papi salon attendants and a FIERCE "reveal". Did I mention that I was 13 years old at the time?...
Evita - by Howard
Back in the early 80's my parents took a trip to NYC, where they saw Patti LuPone in Evita. They brought back the Broadway cast double-album (yes, I'm OLD), and I proceeded to wear those records out. I memorized every word of the show - lyrics I can recite to this day. I even choreographed an imaginary drag routine to the song "Rainbow High" - complete with hot Papi salon attendants and a FIERCE "reveal". Did I mention that I was 13 years old at the time?...
Evita - by Howard
It was 1979, and the musical Evita was all the rage. The music and lyrics were written by the hot young duo of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. And by hot I am meaning professionally, because there is no way at any given point in time Webber could be considered physically hot. It starred a young woman who had many roles on Broadway prior to this, but used the role of Eva Peron to skyrocket to fame. Patti LuPone was a tour de force in the role, and earned endless praise. Another breakout star was Mandy Patinkin in the role of Ché Guevara, with his amazing voice and vocal range, and an acting ability that saw no bounds.
Evita was the story of Eva Peron, and her rise from commoner to the first lady of Argentina. It is thought she slept her way to the top, chewing up and spitting out many on her way, and this musical doesn't disagree with that point. But with her booming voice and amazing charm, LuPone keeps the story interesting and the character human. Here is Patti singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina in a special event.
The production won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Lead Actress In A Musical for LuPone, and Best Featured Actor In A Musical for Patinkin. It opened in September 1979, and closed in 1983 after more than 1,500 performances.
Evita was the story of Eva Peron, and her rise from commoner to the first lady of Argentina. It is thought she slept her way to the top, chewing up and spitting out many on her way, and this musical doesn't disagree with that point. But with her booming voice and amazing charm, LuPone keeps the story interesting and the character human. Here is Patti singing Don't Cry For Me Argentina in a special event.
The production won 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Lead Actress In A Musical for LuPone, and Best Featured Actor In A Musical for Patinkin. It opened in September 1979, and closed in 1983 after more than 1,500 performances.
Brilliant post! Evita is truly one of the best musical scores ever written. You are very lucky to have seen it on Broadway.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar relationship to A Chorus Line. (I believe I'm about your age -- born 1966.) My sister and I wore out the cast album, memorized every word, and choreographed dances. Being girls, ours didn't have the drag component, but I suppose that at 11 and 13, our "Dance 10, Looks 3" had a certain amount of shock value.
ReplyDeleteThis was during the time after my parents' divorce when my father had moved in with a male "roommate" who had to share my father's bedroom "until we finish renovating the other bedroom." The fact that they were wearing out their copy of Evita (not to mention several Barbra Streisand albums) did not constitute any kind of red flag for my sister and me. Eventually though, when it was clear that the second bedroom had been usable for some time and my father and his roommate were still sharing a bed, we became suspicious.
Bittybis -
ReplyDeleteLOL! Ah, it was a much simpler time then: when men listened to Steisand and got 2-bedroom apartments to share with their "roommates" - but never seemed to use that 2nd bedroom. :)
XOXOXOXOXOXO
I wish I'd seen Evita on Broadway instead of the movie.
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