Evita - "A New Argentina"

The first act finale of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical EVITA is immoral and artistically untenable.  The number, called “A New Argentina” and sung by a rousing chorus, concludes on stage with the election of Juan Perón as the act ends.  The end of an act calls for applause from the audience, especially after a vocally exciting number like “A New Argentina,” but that moment depicted on stage - the election of Juan Perón – is not an event the audience should be compelled to applaud.

Ultimately, I applauded begrudgingly, wanting to acknowledge the talent of the performers, but I remained grumpy for the rest of the evening.  No responsible artist would ever put his audience in that type of bind.