Evita - Eighth National Tour: Chicago, Illinois (September 28, 2013) *Evening*
Cast:
Caroline Bowman (Eva Peron), Josh Young (Che), Christopher Johnstone (Magaldi), Sean MacLaughlin (Juan Peron), Krystina Alabado (Mistress), Ryan K. Bailer (Ensemble), Nicholas Benton (Ensemble), Jessica Bishop (Ensemble), Ronald L. Brown (Ensemble), Holly Ann Butler (Ensemble), Diana DiMarzio (Ensemble), Smantha Farrow (Ensemble), Katharine Heaton (Ensemble), Tony Howell (Ensemble), Katie Huff (Ensemble), Christopher Johnstone (Ensemble), Patrick Oliver Jones (Ensemble), Chris Kotera (Ensemble), Alison Mahoney (Ensemble), Megan Ort (Ensemble), John Riddle (Ensemble), Jeffrey C. Sousa (Ensemble), Ian Liberto (s/w Ensemble), Morgan Rose (s/w Ensemble),
Back-story:
Ok, so me, and my friends Meghan, Nate, Taylor, & Meghan’s Mom were in Chicago to go to a College Fair at Navy Pier. To make a long story short, we made our way over to The Ford Oriental Theatre. We got there at about 4:15 p.m. and I wanted to go inside and see if I could by a souvenir program. They actually did not have any. So, I picked up a bunch of Playbills. I asked them all if they wanted to get them signed and they all said YES! They thought it was so cool that you could actually meet the actors and get them to sign your Playbill (well, besides Meghan she already knew about it). So, we went and met about 4 people. Morgan Rose came out and was so sweet. We told here we had not seen the show and she was just plain thrilled we were there to support them. Then, Jeffrey C. Sousa (I’m pretty sure it was him) came out. So, we told him we had not seen the show, he gave us a code for $25 dollar Orchestra seats. Up until this point, I thought all the rush tickets would be gone. So, I never thought to ask my friends to try it, as it never was in our plans. So, we decided we were going to take him up on his offer. Afterwards, we bolted to the box office and got tickets. We got Row M - ORCHESTRA SEATS! We were all so excited! So, after about messing around Chicago for three hours, we made our way back to the theatre.
Review:
The show was beyond amazing! I honestly, was not expecting to love it as much as I did. First off, our seats were so fantastic. After almost 4 years of attending The Ford Oriental Theatre, I finally sat in the Orchestra. The view was fantastic. So, CAROLINE FREAKIN BOWMAN! She is a goddess. Caroline, was fantastic as Eva! She gave her such youth and innocence, while still making her seem like a powerful scary woman. Her vocals were outstanding! She did non-stop belting the whole show. Buenos Aries was epic. How she did that entire dance routine, while singing. Let’s just say, she deserves a medal. Josh Young was awesome as Che. I honestly was not too familiar with him. I knew he was in JCS, but that’s about it. His vocals were fantastic. He probably has my favorite male Broadway voice. His voice just soared the whole show. Also, the giant high note he hits in “And The Money Kept Rolling In” is again EPIC! Sean MacLaughlin was great as well. However, the character of Peron really doesn't do that much. However, he played the character very well and had the perfect voice to match it. Krystina Alabado was great as The Mistress. Her voice was beautiful. You felt her pain. I won’t lie everyone in the audience wanted to cry. The ensemble was in top form. The dancing is this show is tough, and this cast did everything perfectly. The set is also great. They did not downscale very much from Broadway. So, overall the show is great. Possibly, one of the most tight tours I've seen since Wicked (3rd Time). I would give the show 10/10 :D
Stage Door:
So, for our second time at the Stage Door we met a lot more people. Morgan Rose & Jeffrey C. Sousa were so happy that this time we actually saw the show. They are both very nice people. Krystina Alabado came out and she was so sweet. My friend Taylor said “You’re the lady that got kicked out without her shoes, right?” So, that got us all to laugh. A bunch more came out, but it’s all a blur now (as I’m writing this legit almost a month after). We met one of the Ryan K. Bailer’s mom and she was a very sweet lady. So, after it seemed everyone was gone when, CAROLINE CAME OUT! She, was such a sweet woman. We talked to her for like 10 minutes. We even got to meet her old vocal teacher. Then, we took a picture. So, after that we went home. It was a pretty cool stage door!