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Kalamazoo Civic Opens Season With Evita

Fred Western

The Kalamazoo Civic will open its 87th season with the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Evita, which is based on the true-life story of Eva Perón, whose rise from the slums of Buenos Aires to First Lady of Argentina is the stuff of high drama. Abbey Brooks, who was cast in the lead role of Eva Peron, will be sharing the role on alternating weekends with another actor, Hannah Hesseltine. The roles of both Eva and Che have been double-cast due to their vocal demands.

Members of the cast Abbey Brooks (Eva Perón), Matthew Kurzyniec (Che) and Zachary Joel Smits (Perón) discuss the story and music of Evita, and how each prepared for the roles. Marketing director Janet Gover explains what goes on behind the scenes in preparing a large musical-opera for the stage at the Civic.

Cara Lieurance is the local host of NPR's All Things Considered on 1021 WMUK and covers local arts & culture on Let's Hear It on 89.9 Classical WMUK weekday mornings at 10 - 11 am.
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