I was excited they were doing a revival of this show, but much more so when I realized that Philip Quast would be in it! Although Peron is not that great a singing role, it was still wonderful to finally see him on stage, after being a fan for such a long time. And he made the most of every moment that he did have. I loved his interaction with Eva, and when she collapsed near the end, I was surprised to find myself with tears in my eyes, but it was his reaction to her collapse that did it to me.

I was also pleased to see Matt Rawle as Che. This is quite a different take on the character from what I am used to, but for the most part it works. He has a charming cynicism, and a great voice, of course. His performance of "And the Money Kept Rolling In" was one of the highlights of the show.

Unfortunately, Elena Roger was out of the show, but I was aware of that going in. And there was very little to complain about with her understudy, Jodie Jacobs. She has a great voice, and a very good presence on stage, and seemed very sure of herself. I particularly enjoyed her interaction with Peron, and her quieter moments towards the end of the show.

I'll also mention that both Gary Milner as Magaldi and Lorna Want as the mistress were also very good. It was driving me crazy where I knew Lorna Want from, until I recalled that she was Juliet in the short-lived London production of Romeo & Juliet. Anyway she has a lovely voice, and her "Another Suitcase" was very nice.

The biggest change in the show overall was the inclusion of "You Must Love Me". Although I like the song, I don't really feel that it flows with the character of the rest of the music. That said, it was a nice moment, and I liked how Peron reprised it during the Montage. They also included the second verse of the "Lament", which I've only ever heard on the concept recording before. It does add a bit to the character, but then left me wondering why her wanting children or not wanting children was never mentioned at any other point during the show.

The brutality of Peron's regime seems quite toned down in this production. In previous productions I have seen, there were always bodyguards roughing up Che, compelling people to vote, etc, but they were not there in this production. The military aspect is also toned down by having them interact with the aristocracy in "Peron's Latest Flame". It was an interesting choice, but I didn't feel it worked quite as well. I was also not entirely convinced by the staging of "The Art of the Possible" - having the combatants face off in a tango, rather than the musical chairs concept I have seen before. Again, an interesting idea, but not quite the impact it might have had.

There was little time for applause at the end of each song, often continuing right on with no break at all. The performance I was at was not at all well attended, so I'm not sure how much longer this show will be here, but if you are a fan of the show, I'm sure you would find this production interesting. And if you've only seen it on film, definitely come check it out live.