Evita at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking Review

Evita
New Victoria Theatre, Woking

23-28 June 2014

www.atgtickets.com/new-victoria-theatre

Reviewed by Christine Charlesworth

It was just two days after Midsummer Day, the evening was warm and although the streets and squares of Woking were still bathed in sunshine the New Victoria Theatre foyer and bar areas were thronging and there was not a seat available in the sumptuous piano bar area half an hour before curtain up. We were all going to see Evita, produced by Bill Kenwright and starring Marti Pellow (Wet, Wet, Wet) which explained the high numbers of younger women in the audience.

Evita, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, first came to the stage in 1976 and still remains a popular production. It tells the compelling story, through songs, of the rise of a young girl, Eva Duarte, from humble beginnings who, as the wife of Juan Peron, President of Argentina, was heralded as ‘the spiritual leader of the nation’.

Madelena Alberto as Eva has an excellent stage presence which shines above the rest of the cast, although it was difficult to understand that the girl in the first scene was the same person. Her singing was good, even if at times it did tend towards shrieky, but she held the audience well and often I saw them wiping tears away. Sarah McNicholas (Mistress) sang ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’ so beautifully that many of the audience were still clapping long after she had left the stage. Andrew C Wadsworth played a very believable Peron and Marti Pellow as Che was very good at strutting, but I am afraid that his singing was a great disappointment as often we could not hear the words clearly.

Lighting was excellent throughout the production and the set was extremely adaptable and visually very pleasing, with imaginative use of pillars to great effect.

The male choreography was excellent but sometimes the female dancers were out of time with each other. However, the costumes were very much in keeping with the time and the colour combinations good.

What a shame that the orchestra was offstage.  Live musicians lend so much to a show like this that having them out of sight, although not out of sound, was very sad. Unfortunately having the orchestral music via speakers was a mistake as the volume was such that at times they drowned the singers, who seemed not quite in key with them. This was the first night in this theatre and I know that sound technicians were doing checks, so I am confident that the overpowering sound problems will not be repeated during the rest of the week.

The Lament by Eva meant there was hardly a dry eye in the house and a number of the audience gave a standing ovation at the end, with many of the younger women clapping loudest for Marti Pellow.

Evita is in Woking for the rest of this week and continues to Tunbridge Wells, Torquay, Aylesbury and Belgium.

Rating: 4/5

Tickets cost from £12.90 to £42.90 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

Evita is at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking until 28 June 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 7645.

New Victoria Theatre, The Ambassadors, Peacocks Centre, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6GQ