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West End 'Evita' Begins Performances Today

A limited 55-performance limited run of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical Evita begins previews tonight at the newly refurbished Dominion Theatre in London, with an official opening September 22.

A last-minute casting announcement revealed that Matthew Cammelle (Three Phantoms, South Pacific, The Phantom of the Opera) will play Perón in the musical, which tells the story of Eva Perón, from her humble origins to the pinnacle of charismatic power as wife of Argentina's dictator Juan Perón.

Lisbon-born Madalena Alberto (Fantine in the 25th anniversary staging of Les Misérables, Edith Piaf in PIAF at Leicester's Curve Theatre) reprises the demanding title role from the recent successful UK tour. So does Marti Pellow, longtime lead singer of Scottish band Wet Wet Wet, in the role of the narrator figure Che.

Pellow's casting continues a mini-tradition of pop stars in the role (Ricky Martin filled those shoes in the last Broadway revival). Ben Forster, Superstar's 2012 winner, plays Agustin Magaldi, Eva's first love.

Evita gave the world such well-known songs as "Don't Cry For Me Argentina," "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" and "Another Suitcase in Another Hall."

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