SF’s “Evita” Musical Is Surprisingly Good
Evita has come to town; honestly, I have been skeptical.
San Francisco Playhouse has decided to end their season with this spectacle of a production. One of the shows in which if the lead actor doesn’t have star quality, the show is doomed. I remember the Broadway revival with a less-than-impressive Eva Peron and it affected my overall enjoyment.
Now here it is…in the intimate Playhouse theatre through Sept. 7. In the past, the Playhouse pulled many a rabbit out of the hat with their great staging and grandiose sets. Can they continue to amaze or is this a fumble?
And succeed they did. First off, they found an actress who commands the stage in Sofia Alawi. Alawi has the chops to take on “Don’t Cry for Argentina” and the sex appeal to seduce every man Eva comes into contact with. Alawi is convincing as the younger Eva and ages well into the older, more famous version of the title character. Kudos for sure to make-up and wig team!
Costume designer Abra Berman also gets high praise. Not only is the Argentina song dress SPECTACULAR but she goes all out as if she had a $1 million budget. If I were trying to save money, I would have cut all of the quick changes in the song “Rainbow High” but SF Playhouse opted to disappoint. They really Christian Dior me to no end.
An area that might have saved money – but we didn’t feel it really – is the sets. Heath Kenyon’s scenic design cleverly used transportable stairs to emphasize so many different locations where the show takes place. That, along with the inventive lighting of Michael Oesch gives us the feel of richness and class while not making the show seem or feel overproduced.
Nicole Helfer’s choreography is also inventive. In many ways, she makes the actors on stage seem like tens of thousands and not 14 people. A lot of her work here is timing and taking a motion and making the actors do it as if it were done in domino effect. Brilliant move and it pays off.
This is not a one-woman show by no means – but it could be. Alawi may command attention but the always-wonderful Alex Rodriguez is brilliant as Che. I went in worrying about the role of Eva, but then there’s Che, who is just as important as he narrates the story through song. I’ve seen Rodriguez in many roles and even though this one might be his biggest challenge yet he succeeds. His phraseology was spot on and he controlled how we felt about through his interpretation and storytelling.
Of special note, Nicholas Tabora played the role of Magaldi at my performance. Not a big role but he does have one big number and like everything else, his performance was a winner.
Once again, SF Playhouse has surpassed my expectations and the only surprise about that accomplishment is not how big their shows are but how intimate their stage and theatre.
Next season also looks wonderful – so let’s together book the season together.
But for now, get tickets at San Francisco Playhouse Official Site – Theatre Tickets
