(DEAL PARK, NJ) -- The Axelrod Performing Arts Center (APAC) will present Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita for 16 performances from May 31 to June 16, 2024. Asbury Park-based rock and soul singer Remember Jones will star as Che and Gaby Albo, fresh off her starring role as Gloria Estefan in the National Tour of Broadway's On Your Feet, takes the title role of Eva Peron. The production is directed by José Zayas with choreography by Kelsey Burns and music direction by Michael Gilch, who will conduct the live 10-piece orchestra.
Director Jose Zayas, best known in NJ for curating the Crossing Borders Latino play festival, shares, "I'm thrilled to be doing my first show at the Axelrod and collaborating with this remarkable group of artists to bring a new and thrilling vision of Evita to life. Evita's remarkable storytelling still resonates decades after its original premiere. Its message feels prescient, as a warning for all countries. Her tragedy is that of an entire nation. Her contradictions made her impossibly human, and her final fate made her into both a devil and a saint.”
New Jersey native Remember Jones returns to APAC, where he has starred in numerous theatrical productions, including Tommy, Jekyll & Hyde, Hair, and most recently, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. A semifinalist in Mexico’s The Voice, Gaby Albo, whom international critics have called “dazzling,” “sensational,” and “captivating,” makes her APAC debut. She previously appeared in A Chorus Line, Aladdin, Cats, and the North American tour of West Side Story.
(LEFT) Remember Jones (RIGHT) Gaby Albo
In other leading roles are Samuel Druhora as Argentina’s President Juan Peron, Jorge Echeverría as Argentine tango singer Augustin Magaldi, and Madison Figueroa as Peron’s mistress. The production team includes Christopher Annas-Lee, scenic and lighting designer; Emily Verilli, costume designer; Lindsay Jorgensen, associate choreographer; Jackie Robinson, production stage manager; and Gil Mason-Butch, production manager. Axelrod Executive Artistic Director Andrew DePrisco and Remember Jones serve as co-producers.
Tickets are $32-65 and are available by calling 732-531-9106 ext. 14 or visiting AxelrodArtsCenter.org. The Axelrod Performing Arts Center is located at 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park (Ocean Township), just five minutes from downtown Asbury Park, with plenty of free parking.
“It’s an honor to present this legendary musical and take on such a challenging role,” said Remember Jones. “I am proud to be among a team of such creative and ambitious artists, designers, and performers who are passionately involved in bringing this challenging piece to life.”
The winner of seven Tony Awards in 1980, including Best Book, Best Score, and Best Musical, Evita is the smash pop musical about Eva Peron, a desperately driven woman who went from the slums of Buenos Aires to the height of international fame as first lady of Argentina. Set in Argentina between 1934 and 1952, Evita follows young and ambitious Eva Duarte on her journey from poverty to ambitious actress to, as the wife of military leader-turned-president Juan Peron, the most powerful woman in Latin America, before her death from cancer in age 33. The dazzling score includes such favorites as "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall," "Buenos Aires," and "High Flying Adored."
The ensemble includes Gabriel Argate, Libby Blubaugh, Maggie Cantwell, Ricky Cardenas, Daniella Castoria, Jerrod Ganesh, Abby Harnum, Olivia Jones, Jadon Lopez, Olivia Miranda, Elle Ouimet, Max Sherman, Justin Sudderth, Ryan Torres and Carly Garcia Walton.
The Axelrod Performing Arts Center produces its own professionally staged musicals and ballets for the Jersey Shore in collaboration with Broadway directors, choreographers, and designers, showcasing professional actors, dancers and singers. Axelrod Performing Arts Center fosters artistic excellence by showcasing varied and distinct cultural programs which enrich the imaginative, intellectual and creative soul, inspire Jewish journeys, and cultivate an appreciation of our diverse communities through the pursuit of the arts.
