ADELAIDE AUSTRALIA (1980) Robert Stigwood is from Adelaide, Australia, and is truly "local boy makes good, is famous man." Naturally, he scheduled the Australian production to open there, as part of the Adelaide Festival Trust. Again, there was a countrywide 'search' for an Eva, and a very pregnant Jennifer Murphy had been cast the year before. Again, the show was a virtual clone of the other productions, with the very heavy hype seen in London and New York. In addition to 'pop-up' mailers with a paper 45 record of "Don't Cry for Me" in it for the press and lavish flyers and ticket folders for the theatregoers, there were department store promotions of the Evita look with fashions that had a 40s feel and retro jewelry. There had been a few technical problems during previews and one night, the big screen stuck downstage and the show had to be stopped. When Hal Prince came out to make an announcement, he fell into the orchestra pit. Fortunately, nothing was bruised but his ego, though ever-witty David Land approached him afterwards and said the fall was such a sensation, he insisted Hal do it every night from then on. The typically lavish Stigwood opening night party featured waiters all dressed like Che. The show toured Australia and New Zealand for several years. When star Jennifer Murphy was forced to leave the company due to illness, Patti LuPone went down to Sydney and did the show for three months. In 1990, it was announced that Evita would be revived with Julie Covington finally doing the part onstage for the first time. Two days before the opening, she withdrew and Stephanie Lawrence, who had been the third Eva in London, jumped on a plane and filled in. 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, 2019