'Evita' by Newtown High School Drama

“I get out here, Buenos Aires
Stand back, you oughta know whatcha gonna get in me
Just a little touch of star quality…” from "Buenos Aires" in 'Evita'

Bethel, CT - ‘Evita’ is an old friend to Newtown High School Drama director Jane Matson. The first time she performed in the musical, she was a senior at Newtown High School and then she did the national tour of ‘Evita’ many years ago. As a result, she loves the story and the score by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, as I do. The director chose to do her old favorite this year because she knew that she would not be able to use the Newtown HS auditorium due to renovation at the school. The Walnut Hill Community Church graciously offered them the use of their beautiful theatre and welcomed them with open arms, just as they had done for the NewArts wing of the 1214 Foundation’s productions last summer. Ms. Matson sensibly thought that approaching the show as if they were setting up for a tour might be a valuable learning experience for her students. “The ability to package a show and drop it into a venue is a skill that our young performers, who choose to go into theatre, will need.”

The staging of this historical piece was impressive at every turn at the final dress rehearsal that I was fortunate to attend. There were black and white projections of the Perons and others, but the action on the stage took us where we needed to be. There was a lovely tango number embedded in “Charity Concert/I’d be Surprisingly Good for You” that benefitted from the input of the Associate Choreographer Allie Indelicato. Next to the first act closer “A New Argentina” in my copy of the program, I simply wrote “Wow!” I loved the energy of “And the Money Kept Rolling In” and the montage of Eva’s life was also made a strong impact.

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‘Evita’ runs March 23-25 at 7pm and March 25-26 at 2pm and don’t forget to head to the very nearby Walnut Hill Community Church for the performances.

Photo by Kristie Petershack