EVITA Review Round-Up

After the press night for Jamie Lloyd’s EVITA here’s the Evita review round-up. The show has garnered many 5 stars reviews across the board with high praise for Zegler’s performance as Eva Peron and the rest of the cast. The direction choices also received a lot of praise with the balcony stunt’s effectiveness and strong staging. The audience reception was also noted as some of the most strong reactions and applause seen in the West End. Here are some of the most notable comments from my EVITA review round-up.

EVITA Review Round-Up

WhatsOnStage ★★★★★

“Cue insanity, crowds gathering outside the theatre for her performance. And an earnest debate about whether the audience is getting what they have paid for. The answer is quite simple: they are. Everyone is.”

“Part of that is down to the effect of Zegler’s central performance. She really is superb, with a clear, strong voice and astonishing amounts of energy as she powers her way through the show.”

“The movement, performed by some astonishing dancers, is full of detail. Curved arms raised to heaven that frame the action, poses that create friezes, extended legs, passionate lifts.”

“She delivers the famous piece with great delicacy, smiling when she says, “I choose freedom”, letting the words land lightly.”

“Ultimately, like it or loathe it (which some people will), this Evita is an event with a capital E, an assertion of the unique power of theatre to become both story and spectacle, to draw people in.”

Sarah Crompton

LondonTheatre ★★★★★

“I’m thrilled to report that it’s just as electrifying, if not more, as part of the show. On a giant screen we see, live, not just Eva but hundreds of watching people, camera phones raised aloft, transfixed by her – a jaw-dropping encapsulation of this timely tale of populist politics, showbiz, celebrity worship, and purposeful myth-making.”

“But this is really a visceral experience. When Fabian Aloise’s super-athletic choreography – which combines tango and twerking – kicks into high gear, and when the phenomenal ensemble, whipped into a frenzy by the Peróns. Wave signs and scarves while confetti rains down on us. It feels like being inside a stadium gig, a football match and a political rally all at once: exhilarating, addictive, ultimately terrifying.”

Marianka Swain

The Stage ★★★★★

“Jamie Lloyd is a master of canny reinvention.”

“Now that production returns, and it’s punchier, darker, more exhilaratingly dynamic and more brilliantly layered than ever. It is meta, without being arch, and while it has the raw energy and high-octane energy of a rock gig, it’s also full-bloodedly theatrical.”

“It’s a blisteringly modern take on the show – a production that’s articulately in dialogue with our 21st-century world of image manipulation, interchangeable identity, dubious iconography and deep division. And above all, it’s an absolute blast. Unmissable.”

Sam Marlowe

Telegraph ★★★★★

“The result is a total triumph, dominated by a powerhouse, reputation-restoring performance from Zegler, 24, and stamina-testing choreography by Fabian Aloise”

“It’s a continual button-pushing spectacle, from the mournful posturing of the opening funeral where the dry-ice flows as thick as tear-gas.”

“Exuding self-possession, Zegler can dance nimbly in step with the tireless entourage – delivering suggestive hip-thrusts, gyrations and self-caresses, especially during the big, infectious, lushly Latin numbers”

Dominic Cavendish

The Independent ★★★★★

“Rachel Zegler is enthralling as Evita in this gorgeous sensory overload of a show”

“this populist gesture is emblematic of Jamie Lloyd’s big, bold, stadium rally of a staging. With its virtuoso star Zegler romancing a rapt audience both inside and outside the theatre’s walls.”

“this gorgeous sensory overload of a show is its own comment on the rising tide of fascism. Populism is sexy, captivating, overpowering – a way for weary people to escape the dull realities of right and wrong. You know there’s something deeply twisted under that pretty shiny surface, but, like the audiences of Evita, you’re powerless to resist.”

Alice Saville

The Evening Standard ★★★★★

“Rachel Zegler is an absolute smash in Jamie Lloyd’s thrilling revival. The 24-year-old packs an impossible amount of slyly insouciant star power into her tiny frame and proves to have both stage presence and a passionate, expressive vibrato”

“Great theatre can be about many things: star quality, spectacle, the lightning-in-bottle capture of a moment, the alchemical power of song or speech on a bare stage. In this Evita, all those things come triumphantly together.”

Nick Curtis

DailyMail ★★★★★

“Prepare to be blown away by Rachel Zegler. She is simply sensational.”

“… there’s nothing innocent about Jamie Lloyd’s raunchy production. He gleefully embraces the neo-fascist pageantry of Peronism, fleshing it out with vividly athletic choreography by Fabian Aloise. The result is a carnival of body-popping physical fireworks”

Patrick Marmion

TimeOut ★★★★

“In terms of pure column inches, the balcony scene from Jamie Lloyd’s Evita is surely the biggest news to come out of the theatre world in years…. the scene – which is, to be clear, astonishingly good – can only really be contextually appreciated if you’ve seen the one before it, which very much takes place in the theatre.”

“There are a lot of things to be excited about. The balcony stream stuns. Fabian Aloise’s choreography is phenomenal: playful, jerky and contorted, like sexy demonic possession. And my god, Zegler… Zegler’s performance is brilliant and unsentimental.”

“… you’re pretty much entirely at the mercy of Rice’s lyrics for context… which can be tough. They’re good song lyrics, but a bit hazy as a guide to the ins and outs of mid-twentieth century Argentinian politics.”

“Coherence isn’t this Evita’s strong suit. But there is so much that is good about it”

Andrzej Lukowski

The Guardian ★★★

“It is 360-degree theatre, for the rich inside (who see it on a video feed) and for the “hoi polloi” outside – very fitting for Perón given her disdain for the wealthy.”

“It’s hypnotic but the narrative takes a backseat for this rock musical. Which is almost entirely sung through, with what feels like thin connective tissue in its story.”

“If you feel denied of the subtleties of story, character and commentary on populist power, you will still have an eye-popping night out.”

Arifa Akbar

I hope you enjoyed this EVITA Review Round-Up and now with these overall glowing reviews it has cemented Evita as the theatrical event of the summer. Book tickets to this unmissable show now! For the best prices book in advance for midweek late July and August.