Bowman captured Eva’s youth, but not her old age

“Evita” had “high-flying” and low moments at Broadway San Jose on Nov. 19.

The big song numbers left the audience unsatisfied.

“The performance of ‘You Must Love Me’ was inconsequential and needed to be more dramatic,” said audience member Marilyn Miller, 60, retired.

Actress Carolina Bowman captured Eva’s character perfectly in the beginning. Bowman mimicked the same motivation, sexuality and sassiness as her character.

Bowman captured Eva Peron’s appearance, movement and voice very well, but could have benefited from making the standout parts more grand.

“Carolina Bowman is absolutely amazing,” said actor Sean McLaughlin, who plays Mr. Peron. “It is very hard to find an actress to successfully play Eva, which is why ‘Evita’ doesn’t get produced often.”

Toward the end, Bowman lacked sorrow as Eva’s body became immobile.

As lead character Eva Peron moved up the social and political ladder, the cast successfully switched roles between poor and rich civilians of Argentina.

The highlights of the play all fell before the intermission.

The audience witnessed Eva’s journey to Argentina’s capital city during “Buenos Aires.”

In “Goodnight and Thank You,” Eva humorously dismissed her suitors.

In the tear jerker “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” Mr. Peron’s mistress is kicked to the streets by Eva.

The most well-known song from “Evita,” “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” was sung beautifully but lacked drama. The balcony extended outward and few citizens gathered below.

The costumes were all simple, but fit their scenes.

The play did not have a lot of dancing, especially compared to the theater’s last production, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”

Josh Young played the character Che, who is a narrator and Argentine citizen.

Young who lacked height for the male lead, had a strong voice and emotions throughout all scenes.
“I love being part of this play,” Young said.

“Josh did an excellent job,” said a usual attendee of Broadway San Jose, Kathleen Thornton, 59, retired.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice produced “Evita” in 1979. The play was turned into a film starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas in 1996.

Overall the play started out strong, but got lost in the end. Bowman did a great job, but was a few notes too weak than Madonna.

Rating: 3 out of 5