WEST End leading lady Emma Hatton will play the iconic role of Eva Perón when the 2017 tour of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Evita visits the Grand Opera House, York, this spring.
Hatton has been thrilling audiences in the lead role of Elphaba in the London production of Wicked and previously played the principal parts of Scaramouche and Meatloaf in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre and Donna in the West End run of Dreamboats And Petticoats.
She continues to perform regularly as a jazz and blues singer with previous residencies and appearances at The Savoy hotel and Ronnie Scott's, and her one-woman show, Songbird, sold out at the Live At Zedel’s season for Crazy Coqs.
Later came her show Unforgettable at the Jazz Café for the London Jazz Festival. In 2015, she recorded her first EP with Anthony Strong, entitled Merry Christmas, Darling, and she is now working with Strong on her next EP.
Joining Hatton in Bill Kenwright's touring production will be Italian actor Gian Marco Schiaretti, who will play Che, a character that reflects the voice of the Argentine people. Linked to Eva by destiny, Che brings conflict to the story of her rise to fame.
Gian Marco Schiaretti, the new Che in Evita
Schiaretti latterly took the title role of Tarzan in Disney’s musical Tarzan in Stuttgart and previously played Mercutio in Romeo And Juliet across Italy. Alongside him, Kevin Stephen-Jones will appear as Argentine president Juan Perón after performing in Britain and Europe in more than 20 operas. His musical theatre credits include Cats, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Love Beyond.
Telling the story of Eva Perón, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Perón, Evita follows Eva’s journey from humble beginnings through to extraordinary wealth, power and iconic status, which ultimately lead her to be heralded as the spiritual leader of the nation by the Argentine people.
Rice and Lloyd Webber's musical has more than 20 major awards to its name and spawned Alan Parker's Oscar-winning film starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas in 1996.
Best known for the songs Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, On This Night Of A Thousand Stars, You Must Love Me and Another Suitcase In Another Hall, the show will be on the road from January 12 in a production co-directed by Bob Tomson and Bill Kenwright, designed by Matthew Wright and choreographed by Bill Deamer. Sound design will be by Dan Samson.
Evita last toured the Grand Opera House in June 2014 when Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow starred as Che and Madalena Alberto, originally from Lisbon, Portugal, was Eva.
Evita will be on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, from March 28 to April 1 and Leeds Grand Theatre from May 16 to 20. Box office: York, 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com; Leeds, 0844 848 2700 or leedsgrandtheatre.com
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