Evita the musical: why playing Che has been one of the most challenging roles for actor Jonathan Roxmouth
Roxmouth is no stranger to the stage, but his version of the wickedly cynical narrator has been one of his most vocally gruelling roles to date. The beloved rock opera is in Hong Kong until June 10
Of all the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals that he has performed in, the character of Che in Evita has, by far, been the hardest vocally, says Jonathan Roxmouth. The stage actor likens his latest role to running a “five-kilometre marathon”, adding that his role as Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, was like a 100-metre sprint in comparison.
“[Playing Che] is emotional, it’s angry, it’s fiery, and you can’t play it safe,” explains the 31-year-old South African singer who is in town for the Hong Kong leg of the show’s Asian tour. It will run at the Academy for Performing Arts until June 10. “You have to be commit to it and just be reckless,” he says.
Roxmouth is offstage for less than 22 minutes in the two-hour performance. When Che is not singing, he is standing or sitting on stage, smoking a cigar and observing, which still requires commitment and energy, he says.
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Evita, which premiered on London’s West End in 1978, tells the story of how an ambitious young woman rose from poverty to become Argentina’s first lady. The formidable Eva Peron, later known as Evita, was an admired political leader in the 1930s and 40s. Her story still lives on today in the rock opera known for hits such as Don’t Cry For Me Argentina and Oh What a Circus.
Che is the key to the show as he takes the audience through the ups and downs of Peron’s life with his bitingly cynical commentary that pokes at the hypocrisy of Peron’s angelic public image.
With unruly hair, a bushy beard, and a black beret, the role was first conceived to be just an ordinary narrator by lyricist Tim Rice, but his character was later recognised as Che Guevara, the famous Argentine revolutionary, by renowned Broadway director Harold Prince.
