@NICKJONAS & @PEREZHILTON VISIT TO “EVITA” ON BROADWAY!
starring Ricky Martin!

Such a special way to end a special day in New York City yesterday!
We took Momma Perez to see Ricky Martin in Evita, playing Broadway for the first since the musical ended its original run in 1983, and both the Puerto Rican superstar and the production did not disappoint!

Like Newsies, Evita is a MUST see!

It has everything we LOVE and want in a Broadway musical – excellent songs (timeless ones by Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber), great singing, great dancing, great acting, big sets, fancy costumes, razzle dazzle and all that jazz!

But this production of Evita has more than just flash! It also has a lot of heart! And the show shines brightly mostly because of its two leads – Ricky as Che and in the title role is Argentinian actress Elena Roger, who not only brings authenticity but also gravitas to her performance.

At first we were a little puzzled by her casting. “She’s not tall enough,” we thought. “She doesn’t posses the movie star looks this part demands,” we also told ourselves. But all that soon melted away as Elena transcended and transformed! It was fascinating and thrilling to watch her go from unknown Eva to adored Evita. It was equally thrilling to see her so skillfully sing and dance and act, doing it all with aplomb and class. She wasn’t acting. She was BEING!

Such believability!

We would vote for her!!!!

And Ricky, as the everyman narrator, definitely has our vote! It was so beautiful to see his beautiful spirit shine so brightly on the Broadway stage!

His interpretation of Che oozes with charisma, just as he does in real life.

We had never seen him “act” in anything before, and we were pleasantly surprised by how well he did! His singing was excellent. His acting was too. And he even showed off his dance moves!

The only critique we had about Martin’s performance was that there were a few moments when the heartthrob went into “Ricky” mode and channeled his inner idol. HOWEVER, that is not a lazy choice on his part. The director told us backstage, when we mentioned that (because we like to be honest), that it was his idea for Martin to do that. To give the audience a little of Ricky along with Che. Because, let’s be more frank, it is Martin that is helping Evita do huge box office business.

And it is the great production that will help it continue to flourish!!!!

P.S. We totally geeked out and LOVED that Eva sings You Must Love Me in this production – a song written for the feature film adaptation, starring the Queen Of Pop.

P.P.S. Such a pleasant surprise to run into our old pal Nick Jonas at the show!