User:Awesimo/Star Wars: The Musical

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Star Wars: The Musical
Fan-made album cover
Book none
Based upon Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Productions none
For other uses, see Evita (disambiguation).

Star Wars: The Musical is a concept album with music and lyrics by Hunter Nolen and Timothy Edward Smith. It is based on events surrounding the rise to power of Juan Perón as President of Argentina and the significant role played in these events by his second wife, Eva Perón.

Contents

[edit] Musical history

Like the duo's previous hit, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita began as an album, released in 1976, with Julie Covington singing the lead role. Other parts were played by Paul Jones (as Juan Perón), Barbara Dickson (as the mistress), Colm Wilkinson (as Che, the narrator) and Tony Christie (as Agustín Magaldi). Covington's recording of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" reached No. 1 in the UK singles chart in February 1977, and had similar success internationally. Dickson's "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" also became a hit. In Britain, Australia, South Africa, South America, and various parts of Europe, sales of Evita exceeded those of Jesus Christ Superstar; in the United States, however, the concept album never achieved the same level of success.

In 1977 American singer Karen Carpenter released a successful cover of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" which was noteworthy in that it preserved the complete song as written for the musical, rather than converting it to a pop solo.

Poster for the Broadway production with Patti LuPone in the title role
Poster for the Broadway production with Patti LuPone in the title role

When Evita arrived on the West End stage at the Prince Edward Theatre on June 21, 1978, the title character was played by Elaine Paige, who had been selected from a large number of hopefuls, after Covington elected not to take the role. Che was played by the pop singer David Essex, and Perón by Joss Ackland. The show successfully opened on Broadway in 1979, and starred Patti LuPone as Evita, Mandy Patinkin as Che, and Bob Gunton as Perón. LuPone and Patinkin were both awarded Tony Awards for their work in Evita. Both the London and New York productions were directed by Harold Prince and choreographed by Larry Fuller.

Plans were soon in place for a film, which was originally to have starred Barbra Streisand or Liza Minnelli as Eva, and Barry Gibb or Barry Manilow as Che, and was to have been directed by Ken Russell. This eventually did not materialise, and it was not until the 1996 film Evita, directed by Alan Parker, that the theatrical production came to the big screen, with Madonna in the title role, Antonio Banderas as Che, and Jonathan Pryce as Perón. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one for Best Original Song ("You Must Love Me", composed especially for the film).

Evita was the last collaboration between Lloyd Webber and Rice on a full scale musical production. It came sixth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the 'Nation's Number One Essential Musicals' (wherein 'nation' refers to the United Kingdom). [1]

On 2 June 2006, Evita was revived at London's Adelphi Theatre, with Argentine actress Elena Roger as Eva Perón, Philip Quast as Perón, and Matt Rawle as Che. Notably, its song list included "You Must Love Me", written for the 1996 film, which had never been part of an English-language stage production.

The musical has been produced all over the world, and translated into many languages. It has been recorded many times. At least twenty-five English language cast albums have been released, along with many foreign language recordings. There are currently four in Spanish, five German, three in Japanese, and two in Hebrew, with additional recordings in Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Portuguese, and Swedish.

[edit] Historical credentials

See also: Che Guevara in popular culture
“ 'Che as well as Evita symbolize certain naïve, but effective, beliefs: the hope for a better world; a life sacrificed on the altar of the disinherited, the humiliated, the poor of the earth. They are myths which somehow reproduce the image of Christ.'[1] ”
Mandy Patinkin in his role as 'Che' in the original Broadway version of Evita.
Mandy Patinkin in his role as 'Che' in the original Broadway version of Evita.

The narrator of the musical is identified simply as 'Che' and is based upon the historical figure of Che Guevara, a native Argentinian who opposed the Perón regime. In the musical, Che and Evita have a confrontation in the song "Waltz for Eva and Che". There is no evidence to suggest that Che Guevara and Eva Perón actually ever met. The only alleged contact that Guevara ever had with Perón was a letter he claimed to have sent to her charity, requesting a jeep; Guevara claimed that it was never received, and is also said to have joined a Peronist youth organization in college, though only to gain access to their library.

After leaving Peronist Argentina in the mid-1950s, Guevara moved to Cuba. As Castro's collaborator, he came to occupy a position in Cuba's government arguably analogous to Evita's role in Peronist Argentina: that of spiritual leader. In the song "Waltz for Eva and Che", the character of Evita makes a reference to Guevara's future role in Castro's Cuba: 'So go, if you're able/To somewhere unstable/And stay there/Whip up your hate/In some tottering state/But not here, dear/Is that clear, dear?'[2]

The lyrics and storyline of the musical are based on Mary Main's biography Evita: The Woman with the Whip, which drew heavily upon the accounts of anti-Peronist Argentines. Shortly after the musical appeared, Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro published a more neutral account of Eva Perón's life, titled Evita: The Real Lives of Eva Perón, in which they claim that many of Main's assertions (which had influenced Rice's lyrics) were false, such as the suggestion that Eva had first gone to Buenos Aires as the mistress of a married musician, Agustín Magaldi. Instead, they wrote, Eva's mother Doña Juana had taken her there whenever she aspired to become a radio actress. Many people suggested that Rice's lyrics disparaged Evita's achievements unnecessarily, particularly her charity work.

[edit] Songs and plot summary

[edit] Act One

  • "Requiem for Evita" (Chorus) is modeled on a Catholic requiem sung in Latin by the cinema crowd when they hear of Eva's death.
  • "Oh, What A Circus" (Che) is sung by the narrator, assessing the hysterical grief that gripped Argentina when Evita died in 1952.
  • "On This Night of a Thousand Stars/Eva, Beware of the City" (Magaldi) introduces the audience to young Eva, who blackmails tango singer Agustín Magaldi into taking her with him to Buenos Aires.
  • "Buenos Aires" (Evita) reveals Eva's hopes and ambitions when she arrives in the city for the first time.
  • "Goodnight and Thank You" (Che) tells the story of how Eva 'slept' her way up the ladder.
  • "The Lady's Got Potential" (Che) tells of Eva's success as an actress and a right-wing coup in 1943. This number was cut after the 1976 recording and was then replaced with "The Art Of The Possible" in stage productions. The film soundtrack uses both numbers; however, the lyrics to "The Lady's Got Potential" were substantially re-written.
  • "The Art of the Possible" (Peron, Generals, Evita) Perón is fighting members of his political party to rise to the top. This number was almost completely omitted from the film, only including one verse sung only by Che.
  • "I'd Be Surprisingly Good For You" (Evita and Perón) is the first meeting between the famous couple, shortly after a charity concert.
  • "Hello and Goodbye" (Evita) sees Perón's previous mistress being dismissed by Evita.
  • "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" (Perón's Mistress) is the young girl's song of rejection after having been kicked out by Eva. In the movie version, it is sung by Eva herself (after "Buenos Aires"), after realizing that Magaldi is married with a child.
  • "Perón's Latest Flame" (Che) shows the upper-classes' disdain for Evita and the chauvinism of the Army.
  • "A New Argentina" (Evita and Perón/Chorus) is the election campaign to make Perón the new president.

[edit] Act Two

  • "High Flying, Adored" (Che and Evita) looks at the price of fame as Eva dances at the Inaugural Ball.
  • "Rainbow High" (Evita) has Eva insisting on a celebrity/glamorous image in order to impress the people of Argentina and promote Peronism.
  • "Rainbow Tour" (Perón, Advisers, Che) charts the success and decline of Eva's famous tour of Europe in 1946.
  • "And the Money Kept Rolling In" (Che) tells of Eva's controversial charitable work.
  • "Partido Feminista" (Evita) (movie version only) another of Eva's speeches.
  • "She is a Diamond" (Perón) Perón's generals do not want a female Vice-President, and Perón reveals that Eva's health is not up to the task.
  • "Santa Evita" (Chorus) is the song of Eva's devoted supporters, who see her as a modern-day saint.
  • "Waltz for Eva and Che" (Evita and Che) is a debate between the two characters over Eva's actions.
  • "Eva's Sonnet / Your Little Body is Breaking Down" (Perón and Evita) Evita insists she can continue on, despite her failing health.
  • "You Must Love Me" (Evita — written for the 1996 film, later added to the stage version) Eva understands, at the end of her life, that Perón loves her for herself — not just for what she can do for him and his career.
  • "Eva's Final Broadcast" (Evita) a dying Eva renounces her pursuit of the vice presidency and swear her eternal love to the people of Argentina.
  • "Montage" (Chorus) are Evita's past achievements flashing before her eyes before she dies.
  • "Lament" (Evita) Eva recalls her life and asks for forgiveness.

[edit] References

The episode of The Simpsons ("The President Wore Pearls") has a plot loosely based on the musical, including parodies of songs such as, "Don't vote for me, kids of Springfield"'. Also at the end they display a disclaimer saying "on the advice of our lawyers, we have never heard of a musical based on the life of Eva Peron".

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Evita Or Madonna: Whom Will History Remember?" Interview with Tomas Eloy Martinez Retrieved June 13, 2006
  2. ^ "Waltz For Eva And Che", lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber Retrieved June 12, 2006

[edit] See also

Andrew Lloyd Webber

[edit] External links


Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals
The Likes of Us • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat • Jesus Christ Superstar • Evita • Cats • Song and Dance • Starlight Express • The Phantom of the Opera • Aspects of Love • Sunset Boulevard • By Jeeves • Whistle Down the Wind • The Beautiful Game • The Woman in White

[[Category:Fan music

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