You Guys are SO JUDGY! (I just saw Evita)

[Kelly2]

Okay, so, I saw Evita tonight finally and of course Ricky Martin was out. I couldn't possibly care less about Ricky and honestly was thrilled that Elena Roger would be on and hopefully in good voice after her vacation.

You guys. Elena Roger is incredible. She inhabits that character every second that she's onstage and her Eva is achingly real and desperate and powerful all at the same time. After reading the mixed-to-negative reviews on here and in the various publications, I had pretty low expectations of her and the show, but honestly my mind was blown. Either she usually sounds much worse than she did tonight or complaints about her voice have been wildly exaggerated because she sounded fine to me. No, she doesn't sing it the same way others did but there were no sour or missed notes. Elena is a dynamic actress with a keen sense of her instrument and how to use her voice to its best advantage. I can't say enough great things about her.

Michael Cerveris was, as always, amazing and a true chameleon but I also have to mention Daniel Torres, who I saw on for Ricky, was wonderful. He was energetic and sang the part beautifully, he added a few vocal flairs that I really appreciated and his chemistry with Elena was great.

I don't know, I just feel compelled to add a positive voice to the chorus of opinions on Evita. Oh, and to the rude woman who talked throughout the show behind me and then had the nerve to ask me not to stand up and applaud because I was blocking her view: you know where to stick it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

How as the the QUal!?

[FindingNamo]

I find your enthusiasm charming.

Love,
Judgy Fudgy Namo

[castlestreet]

I'm with you- I loved her & the show- have seen it twice now

[iluvtheatertrash]

I'm with you, Kelly. She blew my mind, too. An astonishingly beautiful performance.

[Harpz2006]

Agreed- loved the show. Is Rachel Potter (Mistress) still on vacation? Was Emily or Sydney on for her?

[Kelly2]

I'm so glad some of you share my newfound adoration for Elena! :) Harpz, Rachel Potter was in the show today. She was lovely as well.

[broadwaydevil]

To not like a show - how JUDGY!!!

[Rainbowhigh23]

Thank you for the review, Kelly2. I'm glad that Elena is back and in fine form.

But like Phyllis I'd also like to know, how was the QUAL?

[Kelly2]

I'll have you know I just read like 5 pages of the other thread to figure out what the f*ck you and Phyllis were talking about. Now that I have wasted my life doing that I can report that the QUAL is alive, well, and burned forever into my mind.

[nicnyc]

I agree with you about Elena - I enjoyed her performance immensely. I'm seeing it for the 4th time in August (during RIcky's vacation - I saw Max von Essen play Che in July and he was wonderful) and I think the complaints about Elena's voice are a bit much. She is heartbreakingly convincing as Eva Peron & it is a powerful performance. The drive and ambition are the heart of the character - and Elena has that in spades. It reminds me of the complaints about Glenn Close playing Norma Desmond - it's theater, not a vocal technique class.

[Wishing Only Wounds]

You're twisting what many people have said. Few people are undermining her Eva; I found her Eva to be enthralling, and it is probably one of the most accurate portrayals we'll ever see.

However, I was left wanting a lot more from her (vocally). At the end of the day, it is a musical. Eva is a heavy singing role. You can act the hell out of it (as I felt Elena did), but if you can't hit the numbers out of the park, you're not doing the "show" justice.
Maybe her voice is healing, if so, great; I'm truly happy for her. But, when I can't sit through a musical without cringing, I am (or anyone is) allowed to give a negative review. It's not being judgmental, it's being a patron of the theatre who is allowed to have an opinion.

If you enjoyed her, more power to you. People on this board say when they're wrong; believe it or not, we don't want people to be bad. No one will get angry at you for enjoying Elena, the fact just happens to be: a majority of the people on this board were left disappointed with her.

[shane54]

I agree. Elena is amazing. And the show is wonderful!!!

[The Scorpion]

You guys. Elena Roger is incredible. She inhabits that character every second that she's onstage and her Eva is achingly real and desperate and powerful all at the same time. After reading the mixed-to-negative reviews on here and in the various publications, I had pretty low expectations of her and the show, but honestly my mind was blown. Either she usually sounds much worse than she did tonight or complaints about her voice have been wildly exaggerated because she sounded fine to me. No, she doesn't sing it the same way others did but there were no sour or missed notes. Elena is a dynamic actress with a keen sense of her instrument and how to use her voice to its best advantage. I can't say enough great things about her.

Couldn't agree more, and London and Buenos Aires agree with you, even if Broadway fans don't. She's completely mesmerising for all the right reasons.

[JamesBroadwayWiner]

I agree that she embodies the character beautifully! Her interpretation is amazing! However, when I saw the show (which was the second day after it opened), her voice was not good at all. There were many "sour" notes. I am glad to here that the vacation has helped her!

[Mercades]

Say what you will about elena. The show is awful. You kids YouTube the patti/Mandy version, learn what high stakes are then get off of my lawn.

[CarlosAlberto]

I couldn't possibly care less about Ricky...


And who exactly is being "judgy"...

Hey POT meet KETTLE!

[Rainbowhigh23]

Phyllis had me confused at first, too.

I am totally happy Elena is back in the show and will be seeing it again.

[Kelly2]

"And who exactly is being "judgy"... "

Not judging. Maybe he would've be wonderful. I was just making the point that I've never been a particular fan of his so it wasn't devastating to me that he was out. :)

[gabbym]

Maybe she got better as the show is going on...sometimes that happens...I saw it in May and she was terrible...too much nasal uopper register and the accent made the lyrics incomprehensible.

[Kelly2]

Is her accent really that hard to understand? I mean, yes, she has a noticeable accent but I didn't really find it difficult to distinguish the lyrics, nor did I find that missing a line or two here and there took away from my ability to understand/appreciate her performance.

Based on the few recordings I've heard of Elena in London it seems like her accent has actually softened quite a bit.

[TotallyEffed]

Elena is absolutely incredible in the role.

[kec]

I've seen Elena Roger three times in the role, twice in London, and have never had any difficulty understanding her. I liked her in the role. Kelly, I envy you your seeing Daniel Torres in the role. I would love to see him play Che, but I'm moving out of the country shortly and no possibility of seeing him before I leave. I've heard great things about his performance.

[The Scorpion]

I feel secretly embarrassed for anyone claiming not to understand the lyrics when Elena sings them. Partly because these comments inadvertently make the posters seem like they inhabit some kind of incredibly sheltered, Bible-belt, godforsaken little town in Middle America that has never been exposed to anything non-American (the sort that wouldn't be able to point out Argentina on a map), and partly because the diction of a certain Ms LuPone, as much as I loved her Eva as well as Elena's (I think they were both terrific), was probably even more incomprehensible, especially live.

[wonderfulwizard11]

I'm only basing this on the recording, but I don't think the issue is Elena's accent- her diction is actually pretty decent. For me, the problem was just that her voice, though she has the notes, is simply unpleasant to listen to. It's more than just having the notes- her voice lacks a certain richness that makes some sections hard to listen to. Still, she's better than Ricky Martin.

[GlindatheGood22]

I do so love the QUAL.