PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating Latin American history with its latest show, “Evita.”
The classic musical follows the life of the former first lady of Argentina, Eva Perón, a celebrated and complicated figure.
“She finally gets the fame that she's always wanted. The money, the class, the platform, the love,” said actress Gabriella Enriquez, who takes on the lead role.
“But with that, you then see her start to get sucked in by the riches, the fame, and there's a darkness and corruption.”
“Don't Cry for Me, Argentina” is one of the main songs in the Andrew Lloyd Webber show, and its most recognizable tune, one most famously recorded by Madonna in 1996.
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“How can you cry about someone who did so much damage?” Enriquez asked. “But also how could you not, seeing like, how not one person can change the whole system.”
The show is known for its spectacle, but this production is stripped down to an intimate setting inside a tango bar.
“Tango is an art form of the lower class,” said Enriquez. “It all takes place in a tango bar, where it's the 10-year anniversary of Eva’s death, and all of her followers get together in this bar to retell kind of ritualistically her story, and remember her and honor her.”
Enriquez said the show has been an opportunity to celebrate Latin American culture with their audiences, and to honor it within the all-Latino cast.
“There's an unspoken understanding between each other that creates a sense of safety, where you don't have to explain your customs or your culture,” she said, “and just have all of those customers be part of the unspoken dialogue, you know, it's really special.”
“Evita” is on stage now through Oct. 30 at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope.
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