THIS new national touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s award-garlanded musical “truly promises to be the theatrical event of the year”. Or so said the flyer.

The reality is somewhat different when faced with a performance that needs sharpening up on its energy levels.

Let’s start with the good points. Produced by Bill Kenwright and directed by Kenwright and Bob Tomson, the show looks the part, Matthew Wright’s design combining grandeur and spectacle with its multitude of columns, stairways and a balcony, all well lit for both ensemble and solo moments by lighting designer Mark Howett. Costumes are impressive too.

The show’s history goes before it: 20 awards since its 1978 West End debut; roles for David Essex and Elaine Paige; a number one hit for Julie Covington; and then the Oscar-winning movie with Madonna and Antonio Banderas.

Abigail Jaye does not fully fill those shoes in the role of Eva Peron, whose rags-to-riches rise took her from illegitimate beginnings in a poor village to First Lady status as the wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron (Earl Carpenter).

Jaye improves as Eva ages but her Eva does not seem larger than life and her singing voice is too often shrill. Sasha Ransley’s rendition of Another Suitcase In Another Hall surpasses her.

Carpenter has the stature for Peron, whereas Mark Powell’s Che needs to be more dynamic in the narrator’s role. What’s missing overall, not least from the ensemble dancing to Bill Deamer’s choreography, is passion.

Evita, Leeds Grand Theatre, until Saturday - 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday. Box office: 0844 848 2701 or leedsgrandtheatre.com