Martha Kirby will star as Eva Perón in Evita at Leicester Curve. Picture: Marc Brenner
Leicester Curve has unveiled the full cast for the venue’s highly anticipated new production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita later this year.
As previously announced, Martha Kirby (Bat Out of Hell, UK tour Grease, UK tour will star as the formidable Eva Perón opposite Tyrone Huntley (Jesus Christ Superstar, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Dreamgirls, Savoy Theatre) as Che. They will be joined by Gary Milner (The Third Man, Menier Chocolate Factory; Doctor Zhivago, The Broadway Theater) as Perón, Chumisa Dornford-May (Aspects of Love, Lyric Theatre) as Mistress and cover Eva Perón and Dan Partridge (Grease the Musical in the West End/UK tour, Hairspray, UK tour) as Magaldi.
The company will be completed by Tia Antoine-Charles, Jacob Atkins, Tanisha-Mae Brown (cover Mistress), Harrison Burley, Harry Chandler (cover Che), Shona Eaton, Jacob Fisher (cover Magaldi), Olivia Foster Browne, Ashley Gilmour (cover Perón), Jack Harrison-Cooper, Jordan Isaac, Tamsin January, Fallon Mondlane, Samuel Routley, Toby Seddon, Darcey Simmons and Rebecca Wickes.
Curve’s artistic director Nikolai Foster, whose recent acclaimed productions include the UK Theatre Award-winning Billy Elliot the Musical, The Wizard of Oz and Sunset Boulevard, will take charge of the production which will run from 27 November 2023 until 13 January 2024. The production will feature set design by Michael Taylor (Billy Elliot the Musical) and musical supervision from Stephen Brooker (White Christmas), with choreography by World Choreography Award-winner Adam Murray (Rocketman, Cruella, The King’s Man). The musical director Ben van Tienen (Funny Girl, UK tour) will lead a nine-piece live band sponsored by musical licensing company PPL.
The production team will also include costume designer Edd Lindley (Billy Elliot the Musical), lighting designer Joshie Hariette (Cake the Musical), sound designer Adam Fisher (The Wizard of Oz) and wigs, hair and make-up designer Sam Cox. Casting is by late Curve Associate Kay Magson and Olivia Laydon.
Confirming the full cast, Curve’s chief executive Chris Stafford and artistic director Foster said: “We are thrilled to welcome such a terrific company of performers to join us this Christmas at Curve for our production of Evita. With Martha Kirby, Tyrone Huntley, Gary Milner, Chumisa Dornford-May and Dan Partridge at the helm, we cannot wait to see this phenomenal cast raise Curve’s roof with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s epic musical.
“This production is dedicated to our Curve associate artist and casting director of Evita, Kay Magson, who recently passed away. Kay worked on the casting of most of our Made at Curve productions over the past decade, delivering astonishing artists to our stages and often helping young actors make their stage debuts. Kay wasn’t able to complete casting on Evita, but secured Martha and Tyrone and laid the groundwork for the fantastic casting director Olivia Laydon to join us.
“We are all looking forward to getting started and creating an extra special Christmas show that Leicester can be proud of.”
Accessible performances will be available throughout the run including audio described performances on 15 December at 7:30pm (with a Touch Tour from 6pm) and 11 January 2024 at 2:15pm (with a Touch Tour from 12:45pm).
The performance on 19 December at 7:30pm will be British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted, and performances on 20 December at 7:30pm and 28 December 2:15pm will be Captioned. A Relaxed Performance, for those who would benefit from a more relaxed environment, will take place on 6 January 2024 at 2:15pm. A Dementia Friendly performance, tailored to support audience members living with Dementia, their families, friends and carers, will take place on 10 January 2024 at 2.15pm.
Curve will also provide a range of workshops and learning opportunities and digital resources around the production, including a Theatre Day on 7 December offering audiences the chance to see behind-the-scenes and hear from those involved in the show.
With more than 20 major awards to its credit, and an Oscar-winning film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita features some of the best-loved songs in musical theatre, including ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’, ‘On This Night of a Thousand Stars’ and ‘Another Suitcase in Another Hall’.
Angela Thomas