Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice's 1978 rock opera Evita is filled with flaws. But the Tony Award-winning show is defiantly a guilty pleasure for many musical aficionados ( including me ) .
One major complaint leveled at Evita is its enigmatic ending when it's announced that the body of Eva Peron, the former first lady to dictator Juan Peron, disappeared for 17 years. You ask, 'So what happened to the body?'
Don't go to Trap Door Theatre's production of the play Eva Peron to find out. What you'll get is a blathering absurdist piece posing even more questions by late émigré Argentine playwright Raul Damonte Botana ( otherwise known as Copi ) , who died from AIDS in 1987.
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Kevin Cox and Holly Thomas in Eva Peron. Photo by Beata Pilch. Playwright: Copi ( Raul Damonte Botana ) ; translated by Anni Lee Taylor. At: Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland, Chicago. Phone: 773-384-0494; $17. Runs through: Feb. 2
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Copi sets the play in the final few moments when Eva Peron ( nicknamed Evita ) is in the death throes of uterine cancer. But instead of lying in a sick bed, Evita is just as demanding and manipulative as if alive.
Evita ( Holly Thomas ) bickers with her Mother ( Carolyn Hoerdemann ) over Swiss bank accounts, frames the morphine wielding Nurse ( Tiffany Bedwell ) and hints of an extramarital affair with a seedy guy named Ibiza ( Noah Durham ) while mocking a generally silent and befuddled Juan Peron ( Kevin Cox ) .
Copi imagines an almost 'Elvis Lives' type of outcome for Evita, suggesting that her death was a brilliant falsehood in her bid for immortality. It's an interesting concept ( especially for conspiracy theorists ) to question when a government is so well known for manipulating the public.
Copi's Eva Peron was loosely written in 1970 as part of Paris' Theatre of the Absurd movement, which no doubt caught the attention of the obscure and difficult-drama-loving folks at the Trap Door Theatre. Director Beata Pilch's production takes a few potshots at the musical with enough parody lyrics to avoid copyright infringement. There are also a few film excursions directed by Carrie Holt de Lama that look stylish, but oddly look nothing like the setting of the play ( they also include an odd reference to the restroom stall incident of Idaho Senator Larry Craig ) .
Despite the confusion, there's a nicely skilled live guitar accompaniment courtesy of sound designer Sam Lewis with loads of interesting historical footage that precedes the show.
And amid the repetitive shrieking, flailing and yelling, it is nice to note how the attractive cast is dressed Angela Ogle's frequently glamorous costume designs amid the largely white space with a marbleized floor and silhouette-friendly sheets by set designer Merje Veski.
Eva Peron all looks well, but ultimately it's not very satisfying as it incoherently dares you to take away your own meaning behind the nonsensical text. If you want real answers, get an Eva Peron biography from the library.