Performances begin July 18 for the Muny staging of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical Evita. Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes, the Tony-winning musical will play the Missouri venue through July 24.

Katerina McCrimmon, who opened the national tour of Funny Girl in the title role, plays Eva Perón with Tony winner Paulo Szot (South Pacific) as Perón, Omar Lopez-Cepero (On Your Feet!) as Che, Daniel Torres (Sweeney Todd) as Magaldi, and Sabrina Santana as Perón’s Mistress.

The ensemble includes Andrés Acosta, Leyla Ali, Marissa Barragán, Leah Berry, Patrick Blindauer, Jordan Casanova, Marilyn Caserta, Junior Cervila, Devin Cortez, Nicholas Cunha, Kyle de la Cruz Laing, Daniel Alan DiPinto, Kylie Edwards, Noelia Guerrero, Natalia Nieves-Melchor, Zibby Nolting, Arnie Rodriguez, Leann Schuering, Trevor Michael Schmidt, Sharrod Williams, and Noah Van Ess. The company is joined by the Muny Kids and Teens Youth Ensemble.

The through-sung musical follows Eva Duarte, an illegitimate young girl from Los Toldos, who rose from anonymity to become an actress and eventually the First Lady of Argentina before her tragic death from cancer at the age of 33. Song titles include "Don’t Cry for Me Argentina," "Buenos Aires," "Rainbow High," and "High Flying Adored," among others.

Evita originally premiered as a two-LP recording in 1976 starring Julie Covington in the title role and Colm Wilkinson as Che. Harold Prince staged both the original London and New York productions of the musical, which made stars of Elaine Paige in London in 1978 and Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone the following year on Broadway, where it won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Lloyd Webber and Rice had previously collaborated on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar. Evita would mark their last major collaboration together.

Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce starred in the 1996 film version of Evita. A 2012 Broadway revival starred Elena Roger and Ricky Martin. The most recent New York production, staged at City Center in November 2019, featured Solea Pfeiffer and Maia Reficco splitting the titular role under the direction of Sammi Cannold. Jamie Lloyd is currently directing a production at the London Palladium starring Rachel Zegler. Read the reviews and check out photos from that production by clicking here.

The Muny staging also has associate direction and choreography by Lee Wilkins, music direction by conductor Ben Whiteley, tango choreography by Junior Cervila, assistant choreography by Natalia Nieves-Melchor, scenic design by Adam Koch, costume design by Brian C. Hemesath, lighting design by Paige Seber, sound design by John Shivers and David Patridge, video design by Steven Royal, and wig design by Kelley Jordan. Casting is by The Telsey Office's Alex Cortinas with production stage management by Kelsey Tippins.

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

The Muny season will continue with Dear Evan Hansen (July 28-August 3), La Cage aux Folles (August 8-14), and Jersey Boys (August 18-24).

Visit Muny.org.