Tag Archives: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Raúl Esparza to Star in Hollywood Bowl Production of “Jesus Christ Superstar”

Posted on by
Reply

Raúl Esparza has landed a Superstar role…

The 54-year-old Cuban American actor, considered one of Broadway‘s most prominent leading men since the 2000s, has joined the cast of next month’s Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring the Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert.

Raul EsparzaEsparza will play Pontius Pilate. Erivo is playing Jesus and Lambert is Judas.

Additional casting will be announced.

Sergio Trujillo directs.

The Andrew Lloyd Webber–Tim Rice musical will be performed on Friday, August 1, at 8:00 pm; Saturday, August 2, at 8:00 pm; and Sunday, August 3, at 7:30 pm.

Esparza’s many stage credits include Tony-nominated performances in Broadway’s Taboo (2005), Company (2007) The Homecoming (2008), and Speed-the-Plow (2009).

Other theater credits include Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Assassins and Evita.

On television, Esparza can currently be seen in Hulu’s limited series Candy, and he is perhaps best known for his long-running role of Rafael Barba in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

His film credits include Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene, Jonathan Ullman’s Trouble in the Heights, Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take and Sidney Lumet’s Find Me Guilty.

“Evita” Star Rachel Zegler Wows West End Passersby with Balcony “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” Performance

Posted on by
Reply

Rachel Zegler is expanding her audience on the West End beyond the theater…

In a new production of Evita, one of the 24-year-old Colombian American Golden Globe-winning actress and singer’s biggest moments isn’t on the stage.

Rachel ZeglerMidway through the show, Zegler, playing Argentine first lady Eva Perón, emerges onto an exterior balcony at the London Palladium and sings “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” to whoever is passing by below.

The performance is streamed back on video to the audience inside.

News has spread quickly since the show began previews this week, and hundreds have gathered outside the historic venue in London’s West End to enjoy the free serenade by the Snow White star.

The show’s composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, said that it makes for “an extraordinary moment” in his musical about a woman who rose from poverty to power and was adored by the masses.

“Within the theater, it’s really exciting because suddenly you see her with a genuine huge crowd, which you can’t do onstage,” Lloyd Webber told The Associated Press. “I think there will be people who are disappointed that she hasn’t sung it live in the theater, but I think it’s going to be greatly outweighed by the theatricality of using film in that way.”

The decision by director Jamie Lloyd has sparked some grumbling from ticketholders who paid up to 245 pounds ($330) for a seat, only for the musical’s most famous number to be sung offstage.

It’s a technique Lloyd has used before. He had a character in Sunset Boulevard perform a song while walking down the street outside the theater, and his production of Romeo and Juliet saw star Tom Holland play a key scene on the theater roof.

Theater blogger Carl Woodward told the BBC that he could understand why some theatregoers who’d forked out for a ticket felt “a bit aggrieved,” since “a trip to the theater for some is really a once-a-year occasion.”

But Lloyd Webber cited an opinion piece in The Times of London noting that the gesture is “kind of what Eva Perón would have wanted — that people are actually experiencing her big anthem, as it were, for free.”

Eric Anthony Lopez Signs with Reload Management

Posted on by
Reply

Eric Anthony Lopez is reloading… 

The Puerto Rican actor has signed with Reload Management.

Eric Anthony LopezLopez is best known for starring in the Disney Studios original film Chang Can Dunk.

He’s also known for his work on stage.

He made his Broadway debut as Passarino in The Phantom of The Opera, directed by Harold Prince and starred as Tony in The Chicago Revival of Terrence McNally’s Master Class.

He is currently attached to the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita, directed by Sammi Cannold.

Lopez continues to be repped by Natasha Matallana of Take 3 Talent and KAPR.

Antonio Banderas Teams Up with Andrew Lloyd Webber to Launch Amigos Para Siempre, Aimed at Spanish-Speaking Outreach

Posted on by
Reply

Antonio Banderas is teaming up with Broadway legend to entertain more Spanish speakers.

The 61-year-old Spanish actor is joining forces with his longtime friend and fellow collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber under the banner of new company Amigos Para Siempre (APS), aimed at producing theatre, musicals and live entertainment shows, including some of Webber’s best-loved works, for major Spanish-speaking markets.

Under the initiative, Spanish-language rights to Webber’s shows will be ceded to the new company by the UK composer’s London-based company Really Useful Group.

Shows earmarked for Spanish adaptations include The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and School of Rock.

The name of the company derives from a song Webber composed for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, which was performed at the closing ceremony by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras.

The pair announced the new initiative at a media event in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Monday.

“Not only is Antonio Banderas entertainment royalty, he is also one of the most versatile, creative minds I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” said Webber.

“It is truly exciting to partner with Antonio to bring my work, as well as other brilliant Broadway and West End titles, to new markets. While millions of people in the Spanish-speaking world already love our shows and music, the appetite for more, and the level of musical and theatrical talent, is extraordinary. I can’t wait to work with Antonio to bring the very highest-quality Spanish language productions to the world.”

Acting star Banderas, who has been based in his Spanish hometown Malaga since 2019 after a stint living in the UK and nearly two decades in Los Angeles, now devotes much of his time to his Soho Theatre, alongside feature film shooting commitments.

Martin to Leave Broadway’s “Evita”

Posted on by
2

Ricky Martin will be taking his final bow on Broadway in early 2013…

The 40-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actor will play his final performance as Che in the current revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Evita on January 26, 2013.

Ricky Martin in Evita

Argentine actress Elena Roger, who stars as Eva Perón, and Michael Cerveris, who plays Juan Perón, will also leave the cast, according to producers.

In his role, Martin – who recently won the title of “Sexiest Man on Broadway” in a poll by Broadway.com – created a character with a charming presence that remained commanding throughout the show.

“Evita 1 of the most amazing cycles of my career,” Martin tweeted this morning. “Discipline and growth…Thanks so much for your applause.”

Fans who came to the musical to see their idol up close on stage for two-and-a-half hours surely helped to make Evita a hit. The show broke the Broadway weekly box office sales record after only six performances. It has broken its own record six times since, earning $1,586,362 for eight consecutive performances.

A soundtrack album, released in June, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s cast album chart and was the top selling iTunes soundtrack in Argentina. The album has sold 10,000 copies to date in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

But it’s definitely not the last you’ll see of Martin…

The former Menudo member, who appeared earlier this year as Spanish teacher David Martinez on Glee, recently signed a deal with NBC/Universal‘s Universal Television to star in his own series. He has tweeted about plans to get back into the recording studio to make new music and he’s also planning to write a children’s book, according to his publicist.

Eva Perón’s Likeness May Soon Appear on Argentine Money

Posted on by
Reply

Eva Perón is considered an international pop culture icon… And, now the people of her native Argentina may soon be able to cash in on the former First Lady’s popularity.

Several members of Argentina’s Congress have introduced bills to put the likeness of Evita—who was just 33 at the time of her death—on Argentine money to commemorate the 60th anniversary of her death, according to the press.

Eva Peron

The new bills are being inspired by the 5-peso bill designed in 1952 after Evita’s death but later scrapped by the dictatorship that took power in 1955, government spokesmen told the Clarin newspaper.

Evita was the second wife of three-time President Juan Domingo Perón (1895-1974), who was president of Argentina from 1946 to 1955 and again from 1973 to 1974.

Eva Peron

The face of Evita—who died from cancer on July 26, 1952, and is hailed as a champion of the poor—appeared on limited coin issues in 1997 and 2002.

She’s buried at Recoleta Cemetery, the most elegant burial ground in Buenos Aires.

Evita’s body was removed from Argentina in 1957 on the orders of the military officers who overthrew Peron. After spending 14 years in a Milan tomb under another name, Evita’s remains were turned over to her husband. Gen. Peron kept the embalmed body in his home in Madrid’s Puerta de Hierro neighborhood for three years and the remains were finally returned to Buenos Aires in 1974.

Evita, who was wildly popular among Argentina’s lower classes, is known to people around the world thanks to the hit musical Evita, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, which was made into a film in 1994 by Alan Parker, with Madonna as the larger-than-life first lady. The Broadway musical made a triumphant return to the stage earlier this year with Elena Rogers, Michael Cerveris and Ricky Martin in the key roles.