A REVIEW EVITA
Evita was a resounding success. When the curtain opened the set just reached out and grabbed me, and landed me right in the middle of the action, and I felt as if I was there in Beuonos Aires and was one of those women running around singing and dancing (
Shenoj De Alwis who played the narrator Che was slightly shaky at the start but goodness, the boy warmed up to the role and warmed me up as well.
He had all the fire burning in his eyes expressing cynicism, and a strong clear voice with a good range and he was the star of the show. Shanuki De Alwis played Eva Peron that night, and I thought she held back in her portrayal of Eva's early life where she used her sex appeal.
She put full effort into performing scenes where Eva was scantily dressed and running through men like a runaway tractor but her body language indicated that she was self conscious. However She just shone in Eva's more dignified role as the first lady and took charge of the character with confidence and sang beautifully. My only sore point was that she developed an accent when she sang 'dont cry fourr mee arrrrrgenteena' which confused me.
Eraj De Silva played Juan Peron convincingly and showed his acting strengths by supporting the character Eva instead of trying to dominate it. Zahabiya Adamally played the role of Peron's young mistress and suited the part with her expressions and looks. Her singing was decent but not exceptional. Andre Perera did a great job playing the role of Augestine Magaldi. He played the first rung on Eva's social ladder to perfection. The chorus was entertaining- they were professional and each actor played their parts with conviction and dedication no matter how small it was.
The costumes, specially Eva's costumes, I felt, were shabby and not very well tailored which was disappointing. Her "poor" costumes certainly looked poor but it was sad that her "rich" costumes too looked poor. Eva also wore an ugly wig in the second half of the play which was supposed to make the character look classy, dignified and mature. But it only reminded me of the mother of Norman Bates in Psycho. I don't know why such a wig was put on such a pretty face and would've preferred if her own hair was put into a similar style. The music, lights and sound quality were faultless and well executed. Some old uncle behind me was complaining that he couldn't understand a word of what they were singing, maybe he didn't have his hearing aid on. But there were times when I would've liked the singing to be clearer and the words more clipped.
I must thank the Workshop Players for bringing this production to Colombo audiences so that we could catch a glimpse of how it is really on Broadway and other professional theatres. It requires courage and commitment to attempt a play like this and I really appreciate having being able to watch Evita.
- Mala (A reader)