For Immediate Release
March 7, 2005

THE ART OF BECOMING EVITA
Jo-Anne MacDonald Rodgers to portray Eva Peron at Imperial Theatre

For Jo-Anne MacDonald Rodgers, becoming Eva Peron means memorizing a million lyrics, studying a smattering of South American history - and learning how to get in and out of a parade of chic costumes lickety-split.

“I’ve seen the costumes in their construction,” she says. “There’s going to be a lot of accessories. I’m as busy backstage as I am onstage.”

MacDonald Rodgers will play the lead role in the Saint John Theatre Company’s much-anticipated production of Evita, which opens at the Imperial Theatre March 17th.. The award-winning musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice tells the remarkable story of Eva Peron, the glamorous, impassioned and controversial wife of Argentine president Juan Peron.

“This is a great, meaty role for a woman,” says MacDonald Rodgers, well-known locally for her appearances in KV Players shows such as Nunsense and The Music Man. “I just have to really be true to her. I’m not playing a fictional character. I feel like it’s a little bit of an honour to portray this woman.”

The show comes on the heels of the Company’s rousing production of Guys and Dolls, a hit with audiences in late 2003. The director of Evita is, once again, theatre veteran Bob Doherty.

“Rehearsals are coming along very well,” he says. “We have a very talented and dedicated cast and we are all very excited about bringing what we know will be a great production to Imperial.”

The former Eva Duarte was anything but a silent sidekick to her husband. After a rags-to-riches rise in the 1940s, the outspoken actress became a “saint” to Argentina’s working class and an annoyance to the elite. Doherty says MacDonald Rodgers makes a great Evita, and not just because of her powerful voice.

“She also has many years of stage experience that enable her to immerse herself in the role, command the stage and really deliver a performance,” he explains. “And if you're going to play the role of such a powerful character as Eva Peron you have to have the ability to be a dominating presence on the stage. Jo-Anne certainly has that ability and more.”

For MacDonald Rodgers, a travelling pharmaceutical rep by day, fitting such a demanding theatre role into her life has been a challenge. She will appear in 21 of the 23 scenes in Evita, there are countless costume changes and the rehearsal schedule is rigorous. One bonus is that her 11-year-old son will get to see her perform in a musical for the first time in years.

“He’s a bit blown away that his old mother will be trotting around on stage,” she laughs. “I’ve taken some time to explain who this woman was, that she was a real person.”

The production will feature an orchestra lead by Richard Kidd. Audiences will also enjoy some of the best singers in Saint John, including Scott Thomas in the challenging, intense role of Che Guevara. Although Guevara and Evita didn’t know each other, Webber and Rice chose to make him key to the telling of her story.

“Che, the angry, idealistic revolutionary, is useful as a dramatic pawn who draws the audience's attention to the failings of Eva as the First Lady of Argentina,” Doherty says. “I think it is up to us to decide if there were also some positive aspects to the woman who became a cult figure to many of the Argentine poor and working classes.”

Evita runs March 17, 18 and 19 and 8 P.M. There is also a matinee at 2 P.M. on the 19th.. Tickets, which range in price from $19.50 to $27.50, are available at the Imperial Theatre box office at (506) 674-4100 or 1-800-323-SHOW (7469).

Evita promises to be one of the high points of the theatre season in New Brunswick. “I think the conflict of the powerful main characters, their passionate struggles to achieve what they believe in and to destroy what they despise will grab our audience,” Doherty says. “The voices and music will blow them away.”

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