Opening night for the new West End revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita was July 1 at the London Palladium, and the reviews are in. See what critics are saying about the new production, directed by Jamie Lloyd (Sunset Blvd.) and starring Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, Romeo + Juliet), below. Plus, scroll all the way down for more production photos.
Previews for the limited engagement began June 14, with Zegler as Eva; Diego Andres Rodriguez, who made his Broadway debut as Artie in Lloyd's Tony-winning revival of Sunset Blvd., as Che; James Olivas as Juan Perón; Aaron Lee Lambert as Agustín Magaldi; and Bella Brown as The Mistress/Alternate Eva.
READ: Jamie Lloyd Reveals the 3rd Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical He Wants to Revive
The ensemble includes Carl Au, Gabriela Benedetti, Shakara Brown, Damian Buhagiar, Kyeirah D'Marni, Sally Frith, DeAngelo Jones, Lucas Koch, Natasha Leaver, Michael Lin, Dianté Lodge, Louis Mackrodt, Mireia Mambo, Mia Mullarkey, Perry O’Dea, Alysha Sontae, Monica Swayne, Jon Tsouras, and Harrison Wilde, with Myla Carmen, Barney Hudson, Nathan Louis-Fernand, Kirsty Anne Shaw, Ricardo Spriggs, and Regan Bailey Walker as Swings. Auora Breslin, Lois Haidar, Siena Merilind-Wu, and Ffion Rosalie Williams share the role of The Child.
Read the reviews below.
The Hollywood Reporter (Demetrios Matheou)
Jonathan Baz Reviews... (Jonathan Baz)
London Theatre (Marianka Swain)
London Theatre Direct (Hay Brunsdon)
London Unattached (Lucy Foxell)
Mr. Carl Woodward (Carl Woodward)
The New York Times (Houman Barekat)*
The Telegraph (Dominic Cavendish)*
TimeOut London (Andrzej Lukowski)
West End Best Friend (Ryan Bishop)
*This review may require creating a free account or paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Video: Rachel Zegler's Complete Rendition of 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' at West End Live 2025
The creative team also includes choreographer Fabian Aloise, set and costume designer Soutra Gilmour, music supervisor and musical director Alan Williams, lighting designer Jon Clark, and sound designer Adam Fisher. All but Fisher are reprising their work from the production's 2019 Regent's Park staging. Casting is by Will Burton, with U.S. casting by Jim Carnahan. The creative team also includes wig, hair, and makeup designer Carole Hancock; children's casting director and children's administrator Harry Blumenau; fight director Kate Waters; prop supervisor Lily Mollgaard; and intimacy coordinator Ingrid Mackinnon, with orchestral management by Andy Barnwell and Rich Weedon for BW Musicians.
Company of Evita
Bella Brown in Evita
Carl Au, Diego Andres Rodriguez, Damian Buhagiar, and DeAngelo Jones in Evita
Diego Andres Rodriguez, Rachel Zegler, and James Olivas in Evita
James Olivas in Evita
Natasha Leaver and Dianté Lodge in Evita
Diego Andres Rodriguez and Rachel Zegler in Evita
Rachel Zegler and James Olivas in Evita
Rachel Zegler and company of Evita
Rachel Zegler and company of Evita
Rachel Zegler and company of Evita
Rachel Zegler and company of Evita
Sally Frith, Diego Andres Rodriguez, Rachel Zegler, Aaron Lee Lambert, Mireia Mambo, and company of Evita
The through-sung musical follows Eva Duarte, an illegitimate young girl from Los Toldos, who rose from anonymity to become an actress and eventually the First Lady of Argentina before her tragic death from cancer at the age of 33. Song titles include "Don’t Cry for Me Argentina," "Buenos Aires," "Rainbow High," and "High Flying Adored," among others.
Evita originally premiered as a two-LP recording in 1976 starring Julie Covington in the title role and Colm Wilkinson as Che. Harold Prince staged both the original London and New York productions of the musical, which made stars of Elaine Paige in London in 1978 and Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone the following year on Broadway, where it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Lloyd Webber and Rice had previously collaborated on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. Evita would mark their last major collaboration together.
Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce starred in the 1996 film version of Evita. Though 2012 was the last Broadway revival of Evita (starring Elena Roger and Ricky Martin), there have been attempts to bring it back to the Main Stem. The most recent New York production, staged at City Center in November 2019, featured Solea Pfeiffer and Maia Reficco splitting the titular role under the direction of Sammi Cannold. That same production was then staged in Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, Massachusetts—though future plans have not materialized.
Lloyd first directed Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre as part of its 2019 season.
Performances are currently scheduled through September 6.
The revival is produced by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals and Lloyd for The Jamie Lloyd Company by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd.
Visit EvitaTheMusical.com.
