Are Rachel Zegler and Evita heading from the West End to Broadway?

Jamie Lloyd’s new production of EVITA is yet to officially open at the London Palladium, but it’s attracting the sort of publicity most producers only dream of.

That buzz is creating a hot ticket for Lloyd’s latest Andrew Lloyd Webber reimagining and, if initial audience reactions during previews are to be believed, the lead of the show Rachel Zegler (Snow White, West Side Story) who plays Eva Perón, is a sensation.

In a rare move earlier this spring, posters were going up in New York promoting the London production of Evita, albeit outside the theatre of Jamie Lloyd’s current Lloyd Webber revival, Sunset Boulevard.

The posters raised some eyebrows, but make more sense in light of yesterday’s speculation from Baz in Deadline that Evita is eyeing a London-to-Broadway transfer.

London-based impresario Michael Harrison told Baz that their current focus is to get Evita officially opened in London first, with the creative team still working on the show night and day. But he also reluctantly said that, “then we’ll consider the possibilities of Broadway. And you’ve got to consider aligning the availabilities”.

So far there’s no official confirmation, let alone a date or venue for a Broadway run of Evita. Baz thinks 2027, given all that’s happening with Lloyd, Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. Jamie Lloyd is directing a Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot with Keanu Reeves, and Lloyd Webber’s new musical The Illusionist; Lloyd Webber has two Broadway shows in the pipeline – Cats The Jellicle Ball and Phantom of the Opera immersive show Masquerade, and The Illusionist; and Tim Rice is working on the new Broadway revival of Chess with Aaron Tveit and Lea Michele.

Rachel Zegler is no stranger to Broadway, having just completed a successful run in Sam Gold’s production of Romeo + Juliet, alongside Kit Connor. However, she has yet to make her Broadway debut in a musical, meaning a New York transfer of Evita would be a pivotal career moment for the Golden Globe-winning star.

Incredibly, Zegler admitted in an interview this week with Jamie Lloyd that she has never professionally starred in a musical until Evita.

Recent behind-the-scenes shots of Rachel Zegler and the Evita cast backstage at the Palladium suggest that she is having the time of her life performing in the show, a long-held dream role for the stage and screen star.

She is also heavily supporting the show in interviews and promotional opportunities, such as today’s appearance at West End Live in Trafalgar Square. All of which bode well for a Broadway transfer.

Lloyd’s marketing masterstroke

A Broadway run does seem like a no-brainer. Harrison admitted to Baz that the show’s sales have “gone through the roof”. The London box office advance for Evita, as at yesterday, is £6.7m ($9 million) for its limited 12-week summer run – none too shabby.

Clearly Jamie Lloyd’s idea to have Rachel Zegler perform Evita’s signature Act 2 opener ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina’ on the balcony outside the theatre has proved a marketing masterstroke, with clips of her performance going viral.

Whether “the best show in town is the crowd outside the Casa Rosada” – sorry, London Palladium, has been debated intensely this week, with all kinds of media, from social to mainstream, from UK to international, weighing in on whether the show outside is trumping the show inside (spoiler alert: it isn’t).

The crowd has grown considerably since the first previews, where the backs of the heads of the crew were shown. Now, the cameras actually scan the hundreds of people outside the theatre on Argyll Street, realising Lloyd’s vision of the descamisados getting to see Evita address her people. Basically, the decision has paid off!

Michael Harrison also seems to have learnt some important marketing lessons from last summer’s London Palladium musical, Hello, Dolly! starring Imelda Staunton. He told Baz that the box-office success of Evita is based on “pure word-of-mouth that’s nothing to do with normal advertising.” Maybe.

The Hello, Dolly! campaign had a slow, protective start, with particularly uninspiring advertising creative that continued throughout the build up and run.

The Evita campaign is in stark contrast, kicking off early and strong, with striking visuals and engaging social marketing, and is reaping the rewards.

Michael Harrison: West End impresario

Harrison has risen to become one of the West End’s biggest producers, vying with Cameron Mackintosh, Sonia Friedman, Jamie Wilson et al for the crown.

Since Lloyd Webber stepped back from producing his own shows through his The Really Useful Group — following his Cameron Mackintosh era — Harrison has managed to take over from David Ian and the late Bill Kenwright to become Lloyd Webber’s preferred producer.

Current Harrison-Lloyd Webber productions include the new tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express in London, Sunset Boulevard in London and on Broadway, and forthcoming new ALW musical The Illusionist.

In a theatrical coup, Harrison has also managed to court Cameron Mackintosh, and is co-producing the major new Miss Saigon tour with the Phantom and Les Miserables producer. Oh, and he also produces the London Palladium panto, and pantos across the UK. A busy man, with no signs of slowing down.