Teatru Astra announces auditions for ‘Evita’

Following on from the success of Grease the Teatru Astra is embarking on an even more ambitious project: Andrew Lloyd Webber’s and Tim Rice’s musical Evita, filled with memorable tunes such as Another Suitcase in Another Hall, Oh hat A Circus, The Rainbow Tour and of course Don’t cry for me Argentina.

Evita brings to life the dynamic, larger-than-life persona of Eva Peron. Beginning with a young and ambitious Eva, the production follows her meteoric rise to sainthood. The story tells of the enormous wealth and power she gained and the means by which she became the beloved Evita.

Evita’s memorable Don’t cry for me Argentina was recorded and released in 1976 followed by the complete double album release, which went gold. The stage production opened on 21 June 1978 at the Prince Edward Theatre in London with Elaine Paige in the title role and Joss Ackland as her formidable Juan Peron.

Following stints in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Evita premiered on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on 25 September 1979.

Evita won an impressive seven Tony Awards including Best Book, Best Score and Best Musical of the year. In 1981, the Evita cast recording was awarded a Grammy Award.

Productions of Evita have been performed all over the world, including Austria, Spain, Mexico and South Africa. And now for the first time Evita comes to Gozo. Open auditions for all the roles including those of Evita, Che, Juan Peron, Arturo Magaldi and the Mistress will be held on 3 September.

Evita, the musical also requires a varied ensemble cast. Indeed the production calls for strong singers, strong dancers and strong actors of all ethnicities, shapes and sizes from the ages of 15 to 70 to portray a variety of roles. The same creative team that was responsible for Grease is on board for Evita. Mro Sigmund Mifsud is the musical director of what promises to be yet another incredible and ambitious production. Julie Zahra and Mariella Spiteri Cefai share duties as vocal coach and chorus mistress respectively, Chris Gatt and Jean Marc Cafa are in charge of the staging and overall vision of the musical and Christabel Bajada will be polishing up some snazzy Argentinian tango steps.

Auditions are scheduled for Saturday, 3 September at Teatru Astra. The audition pack and more information is available on www.lastella.com.mt. For more details send an email on info@lastella.com.mt