Jul 3
Is London 'Evita' Heading to Broadway Sooner than Later?
READ TIME: 3 MIN.
From the moment "Evita" was announced in the West End, there has been talk of a Broadway transfer, but not for two years. But in exclusive comments, the show's composer and co-producer Andrew Lloyd Webber tells Deadline he would like it in New York much sooner. "I would love for it to go straight away," he said – by which, the writeup clarified, he meant in early 2026.
"Tim Rice, who wrote the show's lyrics, concurred," Deadline relayed; "We're not getting any younger are we?" Rice said, "nodding to his collaborator, whom he has known for six decades."
Their opinions are also shared by the production's director, Jamie Lloyd, who is also a producer. Lloyd said he would like to see it New York sooner, rather than later.
"That's when I would like it to go, as soon as possible, really," he said. It's a point, Deadline adds, that "he repeated to me several times on Tuesday night and into the early hours of Wednesday following one of the biggest, buzziest London first night openings in years."
Amongst the celebrities appearing at the show's opening were Keanu Reeves, Pedro Pascal, Sarah Paulson, Ben Whishaw, Dame Elaine Paige – who created the role of Eva Perón in "Evita" in 1978 – Richard E. Grant, and Dame Arlene Phillips.
Certainly, there hasn't been a London stage production as ballyhooed as Lloyd's reimagining of Webber and Rice's rock opera, which first turned up on record as a rock opera in 1976 before finding its way to the London stage two years later in a legendary production directed by Harold Prince. British musical star Elaine Paige debuted the title role, but when it came to America in 1979, Patti LuPone was cast as Evita and won her first Tony Award for her performance, along with Prince for his direction. It was successfully revived in 2012, but this time the star at its helm was Ricky Martin, who played the second lead, Che. Argentine actress Elena Roger played Eva Perón.
Lloyd's radical rethinking of the musical stems from his earlier Regent's Park Open Air Theatre production in 2019. It opened this week at the London Palladium to mostly ecstatic reviews. (Read a round-up of reviews at this link.) It runs through September 6.
"Evita" marks Lloyd second collaboration with Webber. His highly successful revival of "Sunset Boulevard" (shortened to "Sunset Blvd.") is currently winding down its run in New York City after winning Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Performance by a Leading Actress for Nicole Scherzinger. Previously, it was a hit in London, where it won seven Olivier Awards, including Best Revival, Best Actress in a Musical (Scherzinger), and Best Actor in a Musical (Tom Francis). Lloyd has also expressed interest in staging another Webb/Rice musical, "Jesus Christ Superstar."
"Lloyd reveals that he already has advisors checking out Broadway houses," adds Deadline. "He confirms that Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals would produce the Broadway transfer with his Jamie Lloyd Company."
Watch Rachel Zegler perform "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from the London production of "Evita."
One telling point is whether or not they can find a Broadway house where the celebrated "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" staging can be re-created. "I would love to see [this scene] go to Broadway. We've just got to find the right theatre. I would love for it to go straight away," Lloyd told Deadline with, the outlet noted, "that determined flash in his eye."
"However, Lloyd notes that the practicalities have to be worked out, like road closures and also ensuring that a live performance to a crowd on a sidewalk, or a closed-off road, wouldn't interfere with neighboring theaters by being too loud," Deadline added.
"You can imagine the logistics of doing that in New York. Everything in New York is bigger and bolder so if the crowd here is in excess of 1,000 a night what's it going to be like over there?," he says gulping at the prospect of it all.
"We've got to do it in a way that makes it safe for everyone. We'll work closely with the mayor's office when the time comes and make it a big event for New York in the way that it's become a big event for London and for British theater."
While some have criticized the balcony scene as a publicity stunt at the expense of those who bought tickets inside the theater, Lloyd defended it to Deadline: "The balcony scene is in the fabric of the production," he said, "and it's so specific for me in terms of charting the emotional and psychological journey of the role, and it says so much about the production and the story."
