Who is Eva?

I'm not really sure where to start with this one...

First thing that comes to mind is the choreography. Robin's choreography is amazing. I'm not just saying that because she is my mentor and boss and one of my best friends. Robin really gets it. I mean, she understands how the dance in a musical has to blend with the show itself. As a fellow choreographer myself, I've always hated how some people throw in flashy steps and difficult moves just for the point of showing off. That never made any sense to me. Sometimes I even see dance steps performed by people who don't yet have the skill level to pull off those steps. Why? Why do that to the dancers? Why make them struggle to perform steps they can't handle? Choreography is not about the hardest steps and the best tricks. It is about finding the theme and elements that are important to the show and incorporating those elements into the dancing. It's also about making the dancers look good. It's about knowing the abilities of the dancers and using those abilities wisely. That's why I admire Robin so much. She would never send her dancers out on stage with material that the group couldn't handle or didn't fit the material of the show. She takes the time to understand the story, the time period, and what is important at that moment of the show, and I appreciate that.

Moving on...

We ran act I essentially four times, and I feel more and more confidant with each run. I am really impressed with out cast. Sometimes I get so caught up listening to the music everyone else is making that I forget what I'm supposed to be doing. I feel like the fast I get off book the faster I can start to explore more important elements...

Like the rest of the cast, I've been doing a lot of research. I'm reading books, watching documentaries, and getting emails from Scott with new thoughts and ideas about Eva almost on a daily basis. I'm really enjoying exploring her character, but that's also where I'm having the most trouble. It's difficult to discuss my thoughts about Eva without giving away too much, but I'll try...

Most people really don't know that much about Eva Peron. I didn't either, before this production. Some people say that Patti LuPone made her out to be a monster, while others say that Madonna tried to make her too likable and human. I say, she falls somewhere in between. First of all, she couldn't have been a complete bitch or she wouldn't have had the following that she did. I mean, the working class of Argentina likened her to a saint. The people loved her, they worshiped her. If she was so horrible, why would they have loved her so much? On the other hand, she did step on a lot of people to get to the top. I think she was an incredibly confidant woman. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and did whatever she had to do to get it. Was her heart in the right place for the most part? Yes. Did she always go about getting her way in a fair and ethical manner? Probably not...

From what I've read and talked about with Scott, Eva was only 26 when Peron became president. She held an office in the ministry of labor and had an incredible amount of power. She really did love the working class of Argentina, because she was one of them. She came from poverty. She came from nothing and rose to the top, but her heart was always with her people. I'm 25, and I can't imagine having that kind of power right now in my life. Hell, I don't even know where my keys are right now, what in the world would I do with that sort of status? Eva wanted the people to know that she was still one of them. It was very important to her that the people know she had not sold out and left them. This was pretty much the first time that the working class of Argentina were even acknowledged with regards to political leaders, and Eva is the one who made that happen.

Through her charity, Eva really did a whole lot of good. She worked up to 16 hours days, giving help to the poor. People would come in with all sorts of different money troubles, and Eva would just hand them money or the means to fix their problems, and the people loved her. The other political leaders and aristocrats....not so much....

We've been discussing how Eva played many different roles throughout her life. Playing her simply as an ambitious, power hungry diva would just be too easy. Plus, that's been done. I think for me, finding each of those roles and finding balance for Eva is going to be my challenge. I have a lot of great material to work with though, so I think I can make it happen.

I've also never had so much fun singing before. Before this I've always done more "standard" musical theater. Love Kills was the first time I got to really let loose and just wail, and I loved every minute of it. I feel like this whole rock musical thing really suits me. If only there were some more rock musicals coming up....


I hope my ramblings make a little it of sense....until next time.

Taylor