THE TONY® AWARD-WINNING “EVITA”
COMES TO BROADWAY PALM!
October 14 - November 19, 2016
FORT MYERS, Fla – October 13, 2016 – Broadway Palm is thrilled to present the dynamic musical EVITA playing now through November 19, 2016. This Tony® Award-Winning production is based on the unforgettable life story of Eva Peron, an activist, suffragist and adored celebrity.
Said to be one of the most popular collaborations between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice,EVITA tells the story of Argentina's controversial First Lady. Rising from nothing, driven by ambition and blessed with charisma, Eva Peron “saint to the working-class, reviled by the aristocracy and mistrusted by the military” was destined to leave a fascinating political legacy unique in the 20th century. She was a starlet at twenty-two, the president’s mistress at twenty-four, First Lady at twenty-seven and dead at thirty-three. The mesmerizing score features the memorable song Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.
Directing EVITA is Brian Enzman and choreographing is Amy Marie McCleary. Starring as Eva Peron is April Monte. Audiences may remember April from numerous Broadway Palm productions including Cabaret, All Shook Up, Miss Saigon, The Wedding Singer, CATS and most recently as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The cast also includes local children Jamie Dorris, Liam Hutt, Chase King, Maddie Negip, Hannah Roos, Annika Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Eli Veldhuyzen van Zanten and Marianna Young.
The musical masterpiece EVITA is playing now through November 19, 2016 at Broadway Palm. Performances are Wednesday through Sunday evenings with selected matinees. Beginning October 25, performances are Tuesday through Sunday with selected matinees. Ticket prices range from $40 to $65 with group discounts available for parties of 20 or more. Tickets are now on sale and can be reserved by calling (239) 278-4422, by visiting BroadwayPalm.com or by stopping by the box office at 1380 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
~ April Monte as Eva Peron ~
~ Sarah Cammarata as the Mistress ~
~ Scene from Don’t Cry For Me Argentina ~
~ April Monte as Eva Peron being cheered on by
ensemble members ~
My Review:Eva Duarte Peron was an amazing woman, who passed away from cervical cancer at age 33, with many mysteries surrounding her.
The story of Evita, in her short life of 33 years, was a former actress turned First Lady, adored by many Argentineians for helping women get the vote, securing labor benefits for the working classes and founding hospitals and orphanages, was turned into a West End musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The 1996 film version stared Madonna in the lead role and Antonio Banderas as Chi.
Now back to the Broadway Palm adaptation: if you were able to come to see Les Miserables, or Phantom of the Opera, at The Broadway Palm Dinner theatre, you were close to the majesty of Evita in this production.
Again, SOMEHOW they keep coming up with the finest singers, the most incredible and sheer numbers of clothing designs. I am so in awe of the costuming, (I hope to be able to interview the Amazing John White very soon. He MIGHT even let me see some of the costumes that were worn by Evita and maybe even TOUCH one or two.. my heart is truly palpitating just thinking of that), but I digress.
I love songs that have an intro, middle, chorus and end.. Evita's music is so random it takes several times listening to it to find out that there ARE all of those parts in the songs..what TO ME would be so hard is to change tempos, maybe even modulations and SO MANY WORDS! I can't believe Che (gifted performance by....) and Evita (another gifted performance by April Monte) not only remembering all the song wanderings but THE WORDS! Billions of them. All slamming into each other from one song to the next.
I love Che, who basically tells the story of Evita when she started at 15 working her way to being the wife of the President of Argentina in another 15 years. No time for frittering around and resting up. Che fell in love with Evita's story at the first and then as the times changed, so did his adoration of this wonderful woman. Just like many things, the honey moon didn't last all that long, but then again, she left when she was supposed to after doing so many wonderful things.
I'm trying to figure out what I have done in that short of time.. sadly, not much. (Ok, I"ll keep working on that..)
More fabulous voices (not a weak one in the cast at all.) and the DANCING!!! Choreographer extraordinaire: Amy Marie McCleary does it again. A tango worthy of Dancing with the Stars featuring Sami Doherty and Drew Stark ... totally erotic and breath-taking. A song or two sung in Spanish, many Latin-inspired dances. Wowsers! I want to go back again!
Check out the who.. you MUST go see this production!
The FOOD!! More Yum than you can shake your spoon at!
All menus include a complete salad bar with specialty salads, rolls and butter. Assorted desserts include pies, cakes, ice cream sundaes and more. Sugar-free options are available.
All meals include coffee, tea, and hot tea. Sodas and all other drinks are an additional charge.
GF = Gluten Free
LF = Low Fat
* = Evening Only
All Salad Dressings and Ice Cream are Gluten Free.
