Aug 18, 2006  |  By: PATRICK FOLLIARD  | COMMENTS     

What is most powerful about the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice pop opera “Evita” (and the reason why more than one gay boy wore out his original cast recording album) is its message that a driven but otherwise unremarkable girl can effectively shake oblivion for the peaks of fame. Before becoming Argentina’s high-flying, adored first lady, Eva Perón (Amanda Johnson) was a backwater nobody willing to do anything or anyone to get ahead.

Staged by Joe Banno, Open Circle Theatre’s spirited production of the 1979 musical drives the point home.  Set in a down-market tango hall, “Evita” introduces a woman who springs up from the common folk, strikingly represented by a large ensemble cast that includes handicapped performers.

Onstage throughout most of Eva’s climb to the top and beyond, the ensemble is the unstoppable energy of the people that lifts Eva, an unlikely mix of glamour and grit, to saintly status. Loved by the masses so well portrayed by this grandly diverse ensemble cast, the tacky duckling emerges as soignée swan.

Choreographed by a team from Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, the ever-present ensemble enthusiastically performs a series of Latin-flavored labor marches, some more polished than others, but all infused with energy. Included in the cast are sign language interpreters who fluidly sign while dancing.  Once or twice, the ensemble is overwhelming and a favorite song from the terrific score (like “Buenos Aires”) can be lost.

AMANDA JOHNSON MAKES a passionate Eva. She displays the kind of “screw the middle class” brass and guts required to play the charismatic anti-heroine who died from cancer at 33 in 1952. The role’s vocal demands are daunting, and though Johnson falters here and there, overall she pulls it off with great brio.

Each of the leads is paired with a sign language interpreter seamlessly integrated into the action. Signing beside Johnson in a joyful performance is Roslyn Ward as young Eva. Throughout the show, young Eva remains costumed in a simple skirt and blouse, sparkly barrettes hold back her short hair, while Evita evolves from a tacky bumpkin to a couture-clad blonde.

Cynically observing Eva’s ascent is revolutionary Che Guevara (in life, the two icons never crossed paths). Che (Rob McQuay) is sickened by the Peróns’ unabashed manipulation of the people, particularly Eva’s doling out gifts of money to the poor but effectively changing nothing, while her dictator husband single-handedly destroys Argentina’s economy and tramples civil liberties.

McQuay uses a wheelchair, but for the show he opts for wittier modes of mobility: a café table and chair on a wheeled platform, a miniature army jeep, a rolling bed and more. As Che’s second-in-command, Warren “Wawa” Snipe does a brilliant job of helping McQuay get around while interpreting lines and lyrics.

PERHAPS THE STRONGEST of Weber and Rice’s collaborations, with its depiction of politics as show biz, “Evita” remains a timely offering, and its mix of cynicism and sentiment is potent.

David C. Ghatan’s worn nightclub set, Marianne Meadows’ atmospheric lighting, and Zoe Cowan’s subtle costuming suggest Buenos Aires at once. The good, but imperfect small orchestra only adds to the show’s charm.

With each new production, Open Circle Theatre unfailingly adds an unanticipated dimension to whatever work it’s tackling. This feisty “Evita” is no exception.