Christina DeCicco Fills in as 'Eva' in Broadway's EVITA, Now thru 7/19 and 8/11-18

Christina DeCicco, the "Eva" alternate in the new Broadway production of EVITA, performs the title role for 14 performances, beginning tonight, July 12 and running through July 19, followed by performances running August 11–18, while Elena Roger is on vacation. With the exception of Saturday, August 11, when Elena Roger will perform the matinee, Jessica Lea Patty will step into the role for the Wednesday evening and Saturday matinee performances during these periods, performing July 18 & August 15 at 8pm, and July 14 & August 18 at 2pm.

Elena Roger will return to the role, and Christina DeCicco to her original playing schedule, on Friday, July 20 and Monday, August 20.

Christina DeCicco has toured the United States starring at Glinda in the Stephen Schwartz smash WICKED. In New York, Christina was most recently seen on Broadway in the original cast of SISTER ACT. Off-Broadway, she joined the final cast of the jukebox hit The Marvelous Wonderettes as the role of Cindy Lou Huffington. Other favorites include Eponine in Les Miserablès (Walnut Street Theatre) for which she received a 2008 Barrymore Award, Elmire in Tartuffe (Dog Run Repertory, NYC), Hope in Urinetown (Gateway Playhouse), Maria in West Side Story (Walnut Street Theatre), Belle in Disney's Beauty And The Beast, and Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard (Ogunquit Playhouse). She received her BA from Wagner College.

Jessica Lea Patty has been seen on Broadway in The Addams Family (u/s Morticia, Wednesday), People in the Picture (u/s Red), 9 to 5 (u/s Judy), A Chorus Line (Cassie), and The Boy from Oz.

Eva Perón used her beauty and charisma to rise meteorically from the slums of Argentina to the presidential mansion as First Lady. She won international acclaim and adoration from her own people as a champion of the poor, while glamour, power and greed made her the world's first major political celebrity.

EVITA tells Eva's passionate and tragic story through Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's most dazzling and beloved score, including "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," "Buenos Aires," "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" and "High Flying Adored," together with "You Must Love Me," the Oscar-winning hit from the film EVITA.

After researching the life of Eva Perón for many years, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber released EVITA in 1976 as a concept album with Julie Covington as Evita and it became a world-wide hit. Soon after, the production debuted on stage in London's West End starring Elaine Paige and directed by Hal Prince. The production transferred to Broadway and opened in 1979 starring Patti LuPone, who went on to win one of the seven 1980 Tony Awards the show earned. A major 1996 film of the musical was made starring Madonna as Evita and Antonio Banderas as Ché. Michael Grandage's production of EVITA, which opened in 2006, took London by storm and garnered critical acclaim for the show and its leading lady, Elena Roger.

Tickets range from $67-$142, and are on sale now. Purchase online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or by visiting the Marquis Theatre Box Office at 1535 Broadway (entrance on 46th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue) in New York City.

More Articles by This Author...