Eva (Dawn Sniadak-Yamakoski) and Che (Justin Williams) share a moment in Act II of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s Evita (PHOTO CRED: Andy Dudik)
“Eva Peron” is a name that may stir a variety of emotions. Beloved and equally hated by many, this alluring woman has been subjected to immense controversy throughout the course of her lifetime. Peron, famously known as “Evita” by the rest of the world, is well-known for her rags-to-riches story. Born as an illegitimate child, she began her short life at the age of 15 in Buenos Aires, where she began as an actress, rose as a politician to the presidential palace, and eventually died at the age of 33.
All this, essentially, is the basis for Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice’s Evita: an audacious musical (considered an opera by some) that captivated new audiences and served as a milestone in theatrical history. The show is noted for being towering and tremendous in its nature, not much unlike its title character. Brecksville Theatre on the Square, however, does not quite evoke this impression. The theatre, located in a renovated town hall building, seats no more than 150 people at most. When I walked in for the opening night performance on Friday, June 6th, I felt uncertain about how this setting could possibly suffice for such a monumental production. I would soon learn, however, that the contrary would manage to be true.
The scenery was simple, consisting of nothing more than two scaffolding platforms, some chairs, and two projection screens.Throughout the show, projected images of Evita and 20th century Argentina would accompany the onstage action. This was a very compelling aspect of this production, as it was interesting to see history presented simultaneously with live storytelling. Ultimately, the set’s minimal design assisted in allowing the audience to focus on the raw emotion and subtle nuances in every actor’s individual performance.
It was no mystery that leading lady Dawn Sniadak-Yamokoski (“Eva”) had done her homework when preparing for this role. Her “Eva” was very sensible, ambitious, and passionate. Perhaps what I loved most was that her performance was highly dynamic. While Yamakoski would belt where appropriate, she also some very soft, graceful moments. This was most evident in her emotionally stirring renditions of “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” and “You Must Love Me”. Truly, in spite of some of the character’s most despicable moments and attributes, Yamokoski portrayed an “Eva” that you could not help but love.
Leading man Justin W. Williams played an unforgettable “Che”. This role has been envisioned in a variety of ways in different productions of the show. In some shows, “Che” is a representation of Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, while in other productions he is depicted as an everyman. In this show, Williams seemed to portray “Che” in such a way that he resembled Eva’s conscience. Both haunting and humorous, Williams served as a strong foundation in telling this story. His singing voice also had a very nice pop sensibility.
In addition to these two great performances, the ensemble collectively featured a strong group of singers and actors. Each actor conveyed the story with charisma and conviction. Perhaps one of my favorite moments (and maybe even my most favorite song in the show), was hearing Abby Zerull (“Mistress”) sing “Another Suitcase, Another Hall”. This was one of the only moments in the show where we witness the experience of a character other than Eva. Zerull, in spite of having a very small part in the story, had shared a very emotionally evocative performance with the audience.
Thankfully, the show had a live orchestra as opposed to a CD track or solo accompanist. Because the musicians were located underneath the scaffolding, however, there were some messy moments between the singers and the orchestra. In spite of this, the music still managed to maintain its effectiveness in telling the story.
As you may have noticed, I have used the words “story-telling” a lot in this review. Director Ian Atwood emphasizes this idea in his program notes. The story of Evita, as he describes, is not limited to early-20th century Argentina. The story is a classic, and is easily relatable to our society today. Just as it was then, the same struggle is evident between classes, races, and other groups within our own country. Is there something to learn from Evita? Did the work that she had done during her short lifetime end up making the world- let alone one country- a better place? The decision will be yours to make when you go and see this fantastic production before it closes.
Evita is running NOW until June 20th at Brecksville Theatre on the Square, located near State Routes 82 and 21 at 49 Public Square, Brecksville, Ohio 44141. Tickets are available for $14 on http://www.btots.org and at the door. No service charge when ordering online. All seats reserved.
Verismo 