The current national tour of Evita will make a stop at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus March 23-28. Tickets for this engagement are available ($53.50-$35) by calling the box office at (614) 431-3600.
The Broadway-bound show, directed by Larry Fuller (Tony nominated for Evita), stars Natalie Toro and Ana Marie Andricain, sharing the title role. Raul Esparza is Che and Raymond Jaramillo McLeod stars as Juan Peron. The Latin casting is part of an effort to instill this production with a more culturally authentic feel.
Also in the cast is sixteen year old Angela Covington as Peron's Mistress. The ensemble includes Neil Badders, Raquel Baldwin, Charles Bergell, Kevin Bernard, Kathryn Blake, Scott Blanks, Leslie Blumenthal, Catherine Chiarelli, Sterling Clark, Bill E. Dietrich, Karin Farrel, Tom Flynn,William Gilinsky, Scott Hayward, Steve Hogle, R. Kim Jordan, Amir Levy, Charlie Marcus, Heather McFadden, Halden Michaels, Mary C. Sheehan, Matthew Sipness, Lauren Thompson and Tara Tyrrell.
The tour premiered at the Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit, MI Nov. 3, 1998 and is set to reach Broadway in fall 1999.
Fuller, who also created the dancing for the show, was the original choreographer of Evita. Timothy O'Brien designed the sets and costumes. The new staging is produced by Manny Kladitis, Magicworks Entertainment and Pace Theatrical Group. Evita premiered in the U.S. At Los Angeles' Civic Light Opera in 1979. The show then opened on Broadway Sept. 25, 1979, with Patti LuPone as Eva Peron, Bob Gunton as her husband, and Mandy Patinkin as Che.
Following are the tour dates through June 6, 1999:
March 23-28, 1999: Columbus, Ohio Theatre
March 30-Apr. 4, 1999: St. Louis, Fox Theatre
April 6-11, 1999: Dallas, Music Hall
April 20-25, 1999: Costa Mesa, CA, Orange County Performing Arts Center
April 27-May 9, 1999: Seattle, Paramount Theatre
May 11-30, 1999: Los Angeles, Wilshire Theatre
June 1-6, 1999: San Diego, Civic Center
One tour date change comes with the Boston dates, which will be moved to a different time, according to an Evita press representative. The rest of the summer dates will be announced soon.
Other musicals composed by Lloyd Webber include Cats, Aspects Of Love and Whistle Down The Wind.
-- By Christine Ehren and Robert Simonson
