There’s just something about musicals focused on the wives of world leaders: Six is a smash hit with a rock concert spin on the wives of Henry the VIII, the Imelda Marcos disco biography Here Lies Love is currently tearing up Broadway, and here in D.C., Evita reigns again. The concept album turned rock opera about the life of the late Argentine First Lady Eva Perón has had a surprisingly long and durable shelf life, and this production, directed by Sammi Cannold, shows why it has such staying power while infusing it with fresh life.
As the show begins, the first lady’s iconic white strapless gown is suspended above a sea of flowers on the stage floor, edged by what look like the frames of a coffin. Eva Perón’s death is announced by Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero), as in the revolutionary Che Guevara, who serves as narrator and commentator, as grievers file in and stumble among the floral panels in anguish. Eva (Shereen Pimentel) arrives, intoning that her mourners should “share my glory … share my coffin”—this entanglement of Evita and her fellow Argentines forms the thrust of the play.
The foreshadowing of Eva’s death is followed by a chronological account of her life and rise to power that follows the trajectory of a typical biographic story—girl moves to the big city, becomes a radio star, meets and weds a powerful man, and assumes her place in history. (The show’s program contains a helpful timeline of Perón’s life and Argentine politics, but the lyrics fill in most of the necessary info.) The sweeping biographic structure is subverted by the interjections of Che, as well as opinionated asides from members of the military, Argentinian elites, and the descamisados, or “shirtless ones,” (meaning underprivileged workers) who revere the promise of Juan Perón’s administration.
Decades after her death, Evita remains a complex and controversial figure, someone who placed a global spotlight on her country and served as a potent figurehead while also being complicit in her husband’s fascist regime and conducting shady humanitarian practices. Pimentel is revelatory in this role, and is able to wield both her commanding voice and her mannerisms to encompass all of the many facets of Evita: the innocent yet yearning teenager, the calculating seductress, the grassroots political upstart, the charitable saint, the power-tripping diva, the diplomat, the dying martyr, and every sly layer in between.
The staging artfully weaves in the roiling political backdrop. When a young Eva arrives in bustling Buenos Aires, the dancers are a mix of workers and well-heeled urbanites high stepping and soldiers goose stepping, hinting at the coming military coup. Anytime the audience is threatened to be carried away by the fantasy and bravado of Evita’s life, Che is there to remind the crowd of the real world consequences of her actions. President Perón (Caesar Samayoa) plays a literal game of musical chairs with other military men until he’s the last one standing. He doesn’t dirty his hands himself, but he is seen dispatching minions who then mete out punishments in the background, unremarked upon.
Cannold’s production takes a more feminist look at the character of Eva than the musical traditionally has, which sometimes portrays the heroine as a nefarious schemer who set out to trade sexual favors for clout. This telling makes clear that she was a child when she broke out of her small town, and a number in which 15-year-old Eva flirts with a much older tango singer is choreographed in such a way that it’s obvious that she is the one being taken advantage of. Evita is not let off the hook for her other sins, but this background adds complexity to the character and suggests that she attained power the only way a woman could at a time before Argentine women had even achieved suffrage. “Another Suitcase in Another Hall,” a heartrending number in which Eva sends her new beau’s mistress (Naomi Serrano) packing, further emphasizes the helplessness that Eva experienced in the same position, and reminds us that most down-on-their-luck women are not rewarded with a meteoric rise to prominence.
Lest this sound like a stuffy political drama, worry not, because this play comes with the expected level of camp for an Andrew Lloyd Webber production. Pimentel is often unexpectedly funny and giddy in her delivery. She enjoys an easy chemistry with her male co-stars, particularly in the sexy tango number “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You,” during which she meets her future husband. The tongue-tripping lyrics of Tim Rice are sometimes muffled by the orchestra or sound issues, but the show still brims with clever lines that get big laughs. Eva’s big global tour and charitable ventures lead to some of the most fabulous choreographed sequences, including nimble and quick onstage costume changes that capture the whirlwind of her time in the public eye.
Evita, directed by Sammi Cannold with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, plays at Harman Hall through Oct. 15. shakespearetheatre.org. $54–$225.