Muny Announces Principal Casting for ‘Evita’

ST. LOUIS — Katerina McCrimmon, Paulo Szot, Omar Lopez-Cepero and Daniel Torres will star in Evita when the powerful pop-rock musical returns to the Muny stage after nearly 25 years.

Evita, the masterpiece by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, runs July 18-24 and is presented by Emerson.

The production is led by Josh Rhodes (director/choreographer), Lee Wilkins (associate director/choreographer), Ben Whiteley (music director/conductor) and Junior Cervila (tango choreographer). The design team includes Natalia Nieves-Melchor (assistant choreographer), Adam Koch (scenic designer), Brian C. Hemesath (costume designer), Paige Seber (lighting designer), John Shivers and David Patridge (sound designers), Steven Royal (video designer) and Kelley Jordan (wig designer).

“This is a powerhouse cast for the landmark show,” said Muny Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. “Rice and Webber’s ferocious score demands heavy vocal prowess, and this amazing cast delivers.”

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.

Additional casting will be announced. The Telsey Office is the official casting partner of The Muny.

The Muny artistic staff includes Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson, Associate Artistic Director Michael Baxter, Director of Production Tracy Utzmyers and Music Supervisor Michael Horsley. 

Evita unfolds against a backdrop of political strife in Argentina from 1934 to 1952, following Eva Perón’s journey from ambitious actor to first lady before her untimely death at age 33. The celebrated musical 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.”

Performances of Evita begin at 8:15 p.m. nightly, July 18-24. Season 107 at The Muny also includes Bring It On: The Musical (June 16-22), Come From Away (June 26-July 2), Disney’s Frozen (July 6-14), Dear Evan Hansen (July 28-Aug. 3), La Cage aux Folles (Aug. 8-14) and Jersey Boys (Aug. 18-24).

New season tickets start at just $126 and are on sale now at muny.org/season-tickets and at the Muny Box Office, located at 1 Theatre Drive in Forest Park. Single-performance tickets go on sale May 19. 

A 20% group discount is available for parties of 15 or more. To start the free reservation process, visit muny.org/groups or call (314) 595-5708.

Visit muny.org/evita to read content notes and more for Evita; watch In Focus, a Muny original series; and hear Muny Unscripted, a new podcast available exclusively on Spotify. 

Find headshots, show logos and other promotional assets in the Muny Press Room.

About The Muny

Now entering its 107th season in St. Louis, The Muny is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to producing exceptional musical theatre, accessible to all, continuing its remarkable tradition in Forest Park. As the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre, The Muny welcomes more than 300,000 patrons each summer for seven world-class productions under the stars. Learn more at muny.org.