By Alex Biese
It’s time for “Evita.”
Yes, the iconic musical depicts events of more than 70 years ago. And yes, the show has been a staple of the stage since its Tony-winning Broadway debut 45 years ago. And yes, the show is no stranger to co-producer Andrew DePrisco, executive artistic director of the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal Park – he’s brought the story to the Jersey Shore theater three times now.
Yet the current production of “Evita,” directed by Jose Zayas and running through June 16 at Axelrod’s Vogel Auditorium, feels insistently urgent. This, the production argues, is a story that needs to be told again, right here and right now.
With lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Evita” is a pop-rock opera of sorts chronicling the rise to power of Argentinian first lady Eva Peron before her death in 1952 at the age of 33. The show takes the complicated legacy of Eva and her husband, military leader and eventual president Juan Peron, and uses it as the kindling for a raging bonfire at the intersection of celebrity and politics, the place where dictatorship can hide in the guise of populism, glamor can mask corruption and the ends justify the means in the relentless quest for power. This is a show, after all, where our protagonist name-checks Christian Dior and Machiavelli within a few bars of each other.
At the Axelrod, New Jersey rock and soul sensation Remember Jones (also co-producer) stars as Che Guevara – the proletariat Greek chorus and ideological foil of the proceedings – and rising star Gaby Albo is consistently captivating as Eva, turning in a powerhouse performance that is at once empathetic and unwaering. In a story that is so concerned with cults of personality, fueled by some of the catchiest compositions either Webber or Rice have created – good luck getting “Oh, What a Circus” or “Rainbow High” out of your head anytime soon after seeing this production – this staging’s two leads deliver the mandatory star power wattage and then some.
Jones, in particular, does great work making Che his own. The character was given an iconic start thanks to Mandy Patinkin on Broadway, and Antonio Banderas brought grit and charisma to the role in the 1996 film adaptation, but Jones smartly puts his own spin on things. He plays Che with what can only be described as righteous sass and post-modern soul.
A lot of anger can be felt in this production of “Evita,” down to the brutalist set design dominated by massive, reflective jagged pillars that dominate the stage. While Eva speaks of her love of the people, Che is the unrelenting vox populi. When Jones and Albo finally have their sparring match late in Act 2 in the pivotal “Waltz for Eva and Che,” you can feel the fireworks.
But sometimes, it’s the quiet moments that speak the loudest. Toward the end of Act 1, when Eva and Juan Peron (here powerfully played with a steady hand by Samuel Druhora) have become an item, the time comes for Eva to show Juan’s previous mistress the literal and proverbial door. Cue the shattering “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” heartbreakingly delivered by Madison Figueroa. Making her professional debut in this production, the Rider University senior brings grace and pain to her single scene as a displaced lover – the most explicit example the show gives of the human cost of Eva’s ambition. Yes, Eva now finds herself by Juan Peron’s side, but in doing so she has turned the life of another young woman inside out without blinking an eye.
“So what happens now?” Figueroa sings. In that moment even Che, the unflinching conscience of “Evita,” can’t say. “Don’t ask anymore,” he responds, because really there’s no answer. When ambition is allowed to go unchecked in pursuit of personal, professional or political power, there’s no telling what the consequences could be.
“Evita” runs through June 16 at the Vogel Auditorium at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, 100 Grant Ave., in the Deal Park area of Ocean Township. For tickets, $32 to $65, call 732-531-9106 ext. 14 or visit axelrodartscenter.org.
The article originally appeared in the June 6 – June 12, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
