Evita
July 18-24 Her Legacy. Her Power. Her Story.
Performances at 8:15 p.m. nightly
Set to a powerful pop-rock score, Evita charts Eva Perón’s meteoric rise to political “sainthood.” The celebrated musical unfolds against a backdrop of political strife in Argentina from 1934 to 1952, following Eva’s journey from ambitious actor to first lady before her untimely death at age 33. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece was last seen on the Muny stage in 2001 and includes the beloved songs “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “Oh What a Circus,” “Buenos Aires” and “Another Suitcase in Another Hall.”
Lyrics by Tim Rice • Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
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Josh Rhodes
Director/Choreographer
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Lee Wilkins
Associate Director/Choreographer
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Ben Whiteley
Music Director/Conductor
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Junior Cervila
Tango Choreographer
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Adam Koch
Scenic Designer
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Brian C. Hemesath
Costume Designer
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Paige Seber
Lighting Designer
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John Shivers
Sound Designer
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David Patridge
Sound Designer
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Steven Royal
Video Designer
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Kelley Jordan
Wig Designer
Cast
KATERINA McCRIMMON
Eva Perón
makes her Muny debut. A Miami-born performer, Katerina broke onto the national stage as Fanny Brice in the Broadway tour of Funny Girl, with Entertainment Weekly naming her “the next greatest star” with a “once-in-a-generation voice.” Her credits include The Rose Tattoo (Broadway), Counterfeit Opera (Little Island), The Light in the Piazza (New York City Center Encores!), Ride the Cyclone (McCarter Theatre Center) and Ah, Wilderness! (Hartford Stage). She recently debuted her solo show, Katerina McCrimmon: Naked, at Joe’s Pub. Katerina is a Florida State University alum, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and a proud YoungArts winner.
PAULO SZOT
Juan Perón
received the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards for his Broadway debut in South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theater and an Olivier nomination for the same production at the Barbican, London. He was born in São Paulo and studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Other work in musical theatre: Here We Are (National Theatre, London); Chicago, & Juliet (Broadway); My Fair Lady, Candide, Chicago (Sao Paulo); Evita (Sydney, Melbourne). Opera: Ten seasons with the Metropolitan Opera; collaborations with La Scala, Paris Opera, Teatro Real (Madrid), Bayerische Staatsoper, Canadian Opera, Washington Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera di Roma, Opéra de Bordeaux and Opéra de Marseille. Concerts: Multiple collaborations with Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New York Pops, American Pops, OSESP, Barcelona Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. Albums include Jardim Noturno and Broadway cast recordings for South Pacific and & Juliet.
OMAR LOPEZ-CEPERO
Che
returns to The Muny after being seen in On Your Feet! (Emilio Estefan), Paint Your Wagon (Armando) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Larry). This marks Omar’s sixth Evita — five as Che, one as Perón — most recently in acclaimed productions at ART and STC. National tour: 50th Anniversary Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar (Judas). Broadway: American Idiot, On Your Feet! Off-Broadway: The Unsinkable Molly Brown, The Capeman. Regional: South Pacific (Emile de Becque), The Notebook (Lon), The Flamingo Kid (Alejandro), Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), Les Misérables (Marius). TV: The Detour (TBS), Vegas (CBS), Blue Bloods (CBS). Training: University of Miami, Frost School of Music. Omar is proud to represent his Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage.
DANIEL TORRES
Agustín Magaldi
makes his Muny debut. On Broadway, Daniel performed in Tammy Faye, Sweeney Todd, The Music Man (Ewart Dunlop), Beautiful (Barry Mann), Evita (Che Alternate), The Pirate Queen and The Woman in White. Other New York credits include Young Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (Madison Square Garden), Juan in Altar Boyz (New World Stages), Mr. Appopolous in Wonderful Town (Encores), The Major in Titanic (Encores) and New York City Center’s Evita. Daniel toured the US and Canada in Wicked. Evita is special to Daniel, as it was the first musical he saw as a child, thanks his mother, a proud Spanish teacher. He got his Equity card performing in Evita regionally and later joined the Broadway revival as the Che alternate for Ricky Martin, routinely performing the role throughout its run. Proud Puerto Rican.
Creative Team
Josh Rhodes
Director/Choreographer
is thrilled to return to the Midwest and the beautiful Muny stage, where he directed and choreographed Chess, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Paint Your Wagon, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jersey Boys (the first time!). Josh’s Broadway credits include Spamalot, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, It Shoulda Been You, First Date and Bright Star. West End highlights include Carousel and Sweeney Todd. He has also directed/choreographed extensively in regional theatre, with notable productions such as The Who’s Tommy (Kennedy Center), Regency Girls, Cabaret and Guys and Dolls (The Old Globe), The Sound of Music and Knoxville (The Asolo Rep). His television work includes Sweeney Todd, Company and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (PBS).
Lee Wilkins
Associate Director/Choreographer
Evita is Lee’s sixth production at The Muny, following Jersey Boys, Paint Your Wagon, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Chess. He was the director of the NBCUniversal Upfront at Radio City Music Hall in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2023. His work has been seen in regional theatres across the country and on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS), Hatfields and McCoys (NBC), Alpha House (Amazon Studios), Sondheim: The Birthday Concert (Lincoln Center and PBS) and Company (Lincoln Center and PBS). He performed in the Broadway productions of Kiss Me, Kate; Wonderful Town; Spamalot and Elf. Graduate of Point Park University.
Ben Whiteley
Music Director/Conductor
Muny: Anything Goes; The Sound of Music; Singin’ in the Rain; A Chorus Line; 42nd Street; My Fair Lady; The Addams Family; Spamalot; Pirates!; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; Kiss Me, Kate; Oklahoma!; The Music Man; Meet Me in St. Louis; South Pacific. St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: A Little Sondheim Music and Muny at 100. Music director for 1776 at New York City Center Encores! Broadway/national tours: Hello, Dolly!; A Christmas Story; The Addams Family; Spamalot; The Full Monty; Cats (conducted final original Broadway performance); Grand Hotel; Falsettos; Big. Carnegie Hall: Sail Away, with Elaine Stritch. Madison Square Garden: A Christmas Story. Sacramento Music Circus: Oklahoma!, Something Rotten. Choral direction/preparation: Carousel (NY Philharmonic/PBS) and 31 City Center Encores! productions. Other: Paper Mill Playhouse, 5th Avenue Theatre, University of Michigan, Three Irish Tenors. Recordings: Allegro, Boardwalk Empire.
Junior Cervila
Tango Choreographer
has performed on Broadway with Tango Argentino at the Gershwin Theatre, as well as at Lincoln Center, Town Hall and other venues. As an actor, choreography assistant and dancer in the film Tango by Carlos Saura, he received an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film. He starred in the BBC documentary Travel With My Tutu, with Deborah Bull, the prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet of London. In 2006, he was a guest dancer with the orchestra of Daniel Barenboim and also performed for the Rolling Stones rock band. He has performed in various tango productions, including Tanguera in Amsterdam, London (Sadler’s Wells), Munich and Paris (Théâtre du Chatelier). Since 2007, he has served as a judge of the Tango World Championship finals. Additionally, he has performed and choreographed tango in productions of Evita and Grand Hotel, directed by Josh Rhodes.
Evita is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. concordtheatricals.com