City Center Encores! presents Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Evita" - New York City Article

City Center Encores! presents
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita”
City Center
131 W 55th St., CityTix (212) 581-1212
November 13 to 24

First heard in 1976, Evita is one of the signpost works of Andrew Lloyd Webber (not yet “Sir”)’s early years when he and lyricist / librettist Tim Rice conceived of their productions as concept albums and / or song cycles first, and then expanded them into fully-staged musical theater; the same path they followed with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (my personal favorite ALW show, 1968) and Cats (1981). Whereas later works, like the eternally-running Phantom of the Opera, are much more consistent in their musical “tone,” the strength of Evita lies in its diversity and even self-contradictions - at certain times it seems to be deifying Eva Perón, the beloved First Lady of Argentina, while it other points it portrays her as nothing more than a street-smart opportunist with more than just a little touch of star quality. Likewise, the musical style spans the gamut: Eva’s iconic Act II lament, “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” sounds so authentically South American that it’s easy to believe the rumor that it was inspired by a traditional Argentine folk song, and “Buenos Aires” is also legitimately Hispanic whereas “Oh What a Circus” is Broadway style rock-and-roll, of the sort heard in The Rocky Horror Show and the opening scene "Requiem" aspires to the opera hall.  There are also compelling ballads and love songs, like “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” and “High Flying Adored,” and some of it even sounds like conventional show tunes. In all, it’s a ripe and fertile paella of a score and a show, which has been a continual success in every incarnation, from the album to West End to Broadway and even the 1996 Hollywood adaptation (with Madonna).