Published in the April 29 – May 12, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Lexie Dorsett Sharp performs in the starring role of Eva Peron in Gavilan College’s production of the musical “Evita.” Photo courtesy Gavilan Community College
The Gavilan Community College theater stage will turn into the world of Eva Peron’s Argentina with the production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock opera musical “Evita” showing for seven performances in May. The show is a collaboration with students from Christopher High School in Gilroy.
Gavilan theater director John Lawton-Haehl cast professional Los Angeles-based actress Lexie Dorsett Sharp in the lead role as “Evita,” the Argentine political leader who rises from the peasant class to become the First Lady of the nation with her husband President Juan Peron.
“It’s really amazing music that tells a really fascinating story,” Lawton-Haehl said.
Eva Peron was a pop musical star in Argentina. She helped the ambitious military colonel Juan Peron rise to power, seducing not just him but the Argentine people as well, Lawton-Haehl said. The musical is an ego-driven political tale of complex personalities wrestling with love and power, he said.
“It’s a really interesting, compelling story,” he said. “She died tragically when she was young. She’s a fascinating character case study.”
Sharp came into the role almost by serendipity, he said. The Gavilan theater team was having a difficult time finding an actress to play this demanding part, and Lawton Haehl’s associate theater director Dennis Beasley mentioned the problem to Jesse Sharp, a friend from graduate school. Sharp in turned told his actress wife that Gavilan was looking for someone to play Eva Peron. She sent an audition tape to Lawton-Haehl, telling him it was her “dream role” and she would volunteer to come up from Los Angeles to do it in exchange for free lodging. Jesse agreed to play the role of Juan Peron.
At the beginning of the rehearsal period, Director Beasley and Lexie talked about the importance of the role to make Eva human and flawed.
“That is what makes the role so interesting,” Lexie said. “Eva was worshipped as a saint, but at the end of the day she was human. I have worked hard in my performance to portray her with both reverence and honesty.”
