From Nashville City Paper 05/23/2003:

Review: 'Evita' fans will cry for more
By LEO SOCHOCKI, Lifestyle Correspondent

Andrew Lloyd Weber could have retired in 1980. One of his finest works, Evita, was new to Broadway and had taken the eye and the ear of critics and audiences alike. Prior to the show's 1979 Broadway opening, Weber and Tim Rice had collaborated to create a recording that propelled the show's feature melody, "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," into an international hit. The show garnered a total of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The story follows Eva Duarte-Peron from her poverty-stricken youth to becoming the wife of Argentine President Juan Peron. Weber's masterpiece presents an irony that can't be overlooked. If an illusion is presented with enough realism, is it still an illusion?

Duarte-Peron is an unscrupulous woman who manipulates the working-class people and the media to achieve fame, wealth and power. Yet she is loved and adored by her people. Her life is played out to the narration of Che Guevara, depicted as an anti-Peron activist who exposes her selfishness and greed.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre's production stands worthy of the legacy. Artistic director David Grapes has created a rich presentation that allows Weber's score and Rice's lyrics to envelop the audience in the sentiment of the time. The show takes your attention even before the house lights dim. The opening number, "Requiem," displays the Argentinean people's grief at the loss of their beloved "Santa Evita." Immediately juxtaposed is Che Guevara's cynical representation of the woman's silent critics.

As Guevara, Robert Bartley is remarkable. His "Oh What a Circus" is the perfect counterpoise to the opening number, and there we have the evening's argument set to a tee. Bartley is a tour-de-force in this role. Nearly always on stage, his energy and presentation never faltered. In short, his Guevara carries the show.

Throughout the work, the opposition of Guevara as the voice of the dissidents and Evita as the epitome of popular appeal propels the story. The energy that is created serves to enhance the superb choreography by Lynne Kurdziel-Formato. "Rainbow Tour" and "And the Money Kept Rolling In" are as visually stimulating as anything I've witnessed.

A side note here ó when is Billy Ditty going to get that big break? The man is simply electric. Kurdziel-Formato and Grapes have wisely chosen to feature Ditty's dance talents throughout the show.

Lest we forget, Evita is first and foremost an incredible musical that displays Weber's real genius, arrangement and melody. Here musical director Vince di Mura, with the help of a first-rate orchestra, has allowed those elements not only to shine but also occasionally luminesce. The first act finale, "A New Argentina," brought an ovation before the song ended...couple that to Bartley's perfection as Guevara and a strong ensemble with show-stopping production numbers, and the show is well worth the ticket.

The production's set, by Gary Hoff, is well suited to the work. Simple steel square-tube construction left open without adornment allows the audience the freedom of imagination. Hoff's set is complemented with Todd Bowden's exceptional lighting design. The actors are given a perfect presentation to allow the scope of the music to transform the austere imagery.