Ian Cheeseman admits Evita isn’t his favourite musical, but Romiley Operatic Society’s production at Stockport Plaza might just make him rethink. With standout performances and masterful direction, this amateur production delivers a special experience.
I’ll start with an admission, Evita is far from my favourite Musical. There I’ve said it.
I’m not a massive fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, they tend to be built around about just three of four songs. I agree that he’s written some great songs and maybe if he’d written half as many musicals and not spread his best into so many, the overall quality of them would be higher.
That’s just my opinion and clearly there are millions of people who love his shows, so what do I know. It’s just a matter of opinion.
Romiley Operatic’s version of Evita, running at Stockport Plaza until Saturday, March 29, was perfectly performed.
The brilliant Gary Jones played Che masterfully and also choreographed the show, which included every movement of the fifty-eight strong cast. No wonder he’s been selected to play Javert in the UK Amateur Premiere of Les Miserables at the Liverpool Empire in early July. Gary is a real talent.
Director Dawn Leigh told me, at the interval, that her starting point for this ambitious production was simply the musical score. The rest was down to her fertile imagination. How she visualised and then mobilised the cast into this great interpretation is beyond me, but she certainly pulled it off in spectacular fashion.
Louise Colohan was perfectly cast as the older Eva Peron. Her performance of Don’t cry for me Argentina was a true show stopper, not just because of her amazing voice, but the fact that she performed the song completely in character.
She never gave into (what must have been) the temptation of dropping the persona to enjoy her special moment at the wonderful Stockport Plaza. Who could have blamed her, it must have been a great feeling to sing such an iconic song, in front of such a supportive and big audience.
As I walked back to my car, after the show, I felt guilty that, despite the quality of what I’d just seen, Evita is still not among my favourites. It’s not a soundtrack I’ll be listening to again any time soon, but in the hands of the wonderful creatives at Romiley Operatic Society it really is something special.
Tickets available: https://stockportplaza.co.uk/whats-on/romiley-operatic-society-present-evita/