Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is an unapologetic pastiche, of course, filled with anachronisms and appropriations, but its variety and melodic drive make it eminently listenable. Many lovers of this show, and the pop-opera form, would be quite happy with an evening of just closing our eyes and listening to the score, especially when it is sung as well as it is with this particular company of vocalists. If that's your bag, roll up to Oakbrook Terrace and enjoy. Both Sean MacLaughlin, who plays Juan Perón, and Richard Bermudez, who plays Che, have fantastic instruments. And on opening night, Michelle Aravena, who plays the title role, didn't miss a single note. Add in these young ensemble voices (some making their Equity debuts) and you're all set."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...At nearly 45 years old, "Evita" shows little signs of aging in the glittering, provocative staging director-choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge has created for Oakbrook Terrace's Drury Lane Theatre. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice track Eva Duarte's meteoric rise from impoverished childhood to Argentina's First Lady, concluding the loosely biographical story with Eva's death in 1952. But even though "Evita" ends in the distant past, Dodge's staging feels eerily of-the-moment. And under Valerie Maze's music direction, the lush, intricate score has never sounded better."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...Director/choreographer Marcia Milgrom Dodge teases the second act's celebrated balcony scene during the production's opening moments. The curtain rises on what appears to be a theater, where a tango dancers' rehearsal is interrupted by a broadcaster announcing the death of the actress turned politician. During the outpouring of grief that ensues, Eva (Michelle Aravena) appears in all her finery poised as if to address the crowd while narrator Che (Richard Bermudez) mocks the hollow spectacle that marked her turn on the national stage. A brief run that emphasized style and produced little substance."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Drury Lane offers a fresh look at this iconic figure, making the Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical feel new."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...The actors and singing were excellent, featuring Michelle Aravena as Evita. Richard Bermudez was awesome; Che and those adorable kids (Presley Rose Jones, Levi Merol, Aaliyah Montana, and Peyton Wilson) singing on stage almost stole the show. The set, which seems drabbed at first sight, actually blended nicely with the production, as did the 50's style Argentinian clothing. Unfortunately, some awkward high pitch notes were out of tone from Tim Rice's lyrics, making hearing the words to the song hard to hear."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This is a production that uses more dance than one might expect in "Evita" and the creativity of Jones shows through again in the scene for "The Art of the Impossible" which has always been rocking chairs, odd man out. She has added drums and as the officers bang them, little by little they are eliminated, leaving Juan Peron as the leader ( winner). This , like many other small changes made this production one that i could see many times over. I am sure I missed some other changes from her wonderful mind, and I would love to make sure I see them all. The Drury Lane Orchestra is conducted by Christopher Sargen and they are also up to a higher standard. Again, I loved the additional sounds of the accordion and Ms Goodrich never overshadowed the action. She is a true artist."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...For those audience members experiencing this show for the first time, it will be the production against which all future versions will be compared. And many of us who know and love this musical, this inventively creative interpretation is a sound version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved early collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice. Featuring haunting songs like “Don’t Cry for me Argentina,” “High Flying Adored,” “On This Night of a Thousand Stars,” and many others, this production is in every way a brilliantly remarkable “Rainbow Tour.”"
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Dodge's entire cast is terrific. No one does it better than the magnificent talent of Richard Bermudez as omniscient narrator Che, loosely based on Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. Along with gorgeous Michelle Aravena as Eva, who doesn't miss a note in this most demanding libretto, these two (along with Sean McLaughlin who shines as Juan Perón) lead their multi-talented lovers, mistresses and descamisados through the quickest two hours and 30 minutes imaginable."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...This musical, however, belongs to the triad of Evita, Che and Peron, and mostly to Evita. (There’s a reason it has her name, after all.) Aravena, from the moment we first see her, simply refuses to be anyone’s background player. Like her character, she shines even in peasant costumes, but when she gets “dressed to the nines” in Park’s utterly glamorous white gown, she dazzles, seeming absolutely natural in what could be called “the Evita pose” (still and upright with outstretched arms inviting the world in). Aravena makes those “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” moments her own, but I prefer the quieter, more subtle illustrations of Evita’s character like “You Must Love Me,” the Academy Award-winning song that Webber and his longtime collaborator Tim Rice wrote for the 1996 film adaptation with Madonna."
PicksInSix - Recommended
"...Music director Valerie Maze and conductor Christopher Sargent expertly bring out the majesty of the lush score. The scenic work by Michael Schweikert is stellar, including a multi-level courtyard that provides the perfect optics for Aravena's powerful rendering of Evita's anthem "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." The ensemble is bursting with top singing and dancing talent of all ages. Park's gorgeous costumes keep coming, with some changes occurring in plain view while others appear magically, as if out of thin air. Not unlike the brief, but fascinating, life of Eva Perón."
Splash Magazine - Somewhat Recommended
"...Alas this ended with the arrival of Evita, herself, Michelle Aravena, who I must add looked absolutely terrific throughout. I wish I could say more nice about her, but she was horribly miscast here. This is not the right part for her and she was in over her head."
