Sydney has won the opportunity to host the Australian premiere of the 40th Anniversary restaging of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical Evita, Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall announced today.
11 August 2017Mr Marshall said the Australian premiere has been secured exclusively for Sydney by the NSW Government and will be a major drawcard for visitors to NSW.
“We are committed to securing premiere musical productions like Evita which will attract visitors to NSW. More than 17,000 overnight visitors are expected to travel to Sydney to see Evita, generating an estimated $14 million in overnight visitor expenditure,” Mr Marshall said.
Celebrating 40 years since the musical premiered in London’s West End, this new production of Evita will bring together the original creative team and will be presented by John Frost and Opera Australia in collaboration with leading UK producer David Ian.
John Frost AM, Managing Director Gordon Frost Organisation and Lyndon Terracini AM, Artistic Director Opera Australia said, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to recreate the renowned original production of Evita 40 years after it opened in the West End, following the wonderful success of My Fair Lady. To have the original creative team of Hal Prince, Larry Fuller and Timothy O’Brien overseeing the production is a dream come true.”
David Ian, Chairman David Ian Productions said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be presenting the original West End and Broadway version of this truly iconic musical in Australia with Opera Australia and John Frost. Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and Hal Prince are legends of musical theatre; it gets no better than this.”
Evita is based on the life of Eva Perón, the wife of former Argentine Dictator Juan Perón. The production charts her rise from humble beginnings through to the extraordinary wealth and status, which led her to be heralded as the ‘Spiritual Leader of the Nation’.
Evita features some of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s best loved songs including Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, On This Night of a Thousand Stars and You Must Love Me.
Evita will be presented at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House from September 2018.
