LOS ANGELES (1980) The pre-sold subscription audience in California had hidden the fact that Evita wasn't really a hit there the first time around. But success in New York was contagious and, in an unprecedented move, the second American company of Evita opened in Los Angeles on January 9, 1980--less than six months after the show had played to partially empty houses. It was an instant hit, an overnight sensation, just like the commercials said. It ran two full years at the Shubert Theatre, breaking records all along the way. Loni Ackerman was an experienced dancer, but the Broadway wigs, costumes and choreography changes made for Patti proved durable and the show became "frozen." Even London was modified in many places so all companies were as alike as possible. However, each company's actors always brought different nuances to the show. Loni, Scott, Jon, Sal and Cynthia were no exception. Loni's Eva was more brittle and harder, Scott's Che was just as biting but smoother, Jon's Perón was more dignified. Sal was a great Magaldi but no one ever did the white dinner-jacketed aristocrat with the long cigarette holder better than he'd done it on Broadway. Cynthia was so good, she was taken to Broadway when Jane left the show. One unexpected crisis arose less than a month after the second company's opening. With the alternate Evas in each company, no Eva understudy had ever been required to go on in either London or New York. The push to get the Los Angeles company open meant things had to be prioritized and then the unthinkable happened. Three weeks after they opened, a flu bug swept the company, felling both Loni Ackerman and Valerie Perri, her alternate. The understudy's wigs, costumes and shoes were still in New York, being completed. Some things were thrown on a plane with a courier, some of Valerie and Loni's costumes were hurriedly adjusted to fit, and with no rehearsal and a great deal of chutzpah, an understudy named Emily Grinspan did a very credible performance that night. The technical crews for all the Evita companies deserve praise for keeping the show so trouble-free. There were mishaps occasionally, but nothing like what might be expected from a show this technically complicated. Abe Jacobs' sound design was a breakthrough for the time, with the amplification more natural-sounding than in many shows before (or since). Dealing with the body mikes was complex. The actress playing Eva gets dressed and undressed several times onstage in full view of the audience. When an Eva does "Rainbow High," she sings one verse in her slip, a microphone concealed in her bodice. As the actors onstage slip the skirt of her suit over her head, they must be careful not to jar the wiring or battery pack worn right at the base of her spine so she can sing the next verse. She then puts on a jacket, which has a battery pack sewn into the peplum and the microphone is in the lapel. At exactly the right moment, the sound person at the control board must turn off the one on her slip and turn on the one in the jacket. The same thing happens at the end, when Eva is helped into the hospital bed. Loni Ackerman's microphone failed once at this point in the Los Angeles company. Scott Holmes, playing Che, improvised brilliantly, yanking loose his own body mike and shoving it in her face, in a bitter parody of his reporter guise from earlier in the show. Before the Los Angeles company finally went on tour, it became the proving ground for nearly every woman who would play the part in one of the national companies. Loni lost her first alternate, Valerie Perri, to Chicago, her second, Derin Altay, to New York (partly because of the bitterness during the tryout, Terri Klausner left the Broadway company before Patti did, becoming one of the only alternates never to take over the role), and then Florence Lacey to Detroit, Broadway and a World Tour. Loni herself (and Scott Holmes) took over on Broadway when the L.A. company's tour ended early. This commentary is actually continuous, though relevant parts have been placed under each production's section. To read the entire commentary straight through, use the buttons below: This material is strictly the opinion of the author of this website. © 2000