Prince indeed "co-authored" Evita as a stage musical. He edited the material (Che's insecticide sub-plot, and material concerning Eva's children), pushed for restructuring (the introduction of Peron earlier than the fundraising concert), introduced crucial concepts (the fickleness of politics as experienced by the participants in it - the musical chairs scene, which mirrors Eva's revolving bedroom door, and its implications, in the scene immediately prior), and developed subtext through visual metaphors not present or indicated in the text of the concept album (the tango couple, the double bed in act one which has become isolated single beds in separate rooms in act two, and many more).
Evita's success as a text is due to Prince as much as to the composer and lyricist. His work to help it operate effectively as a piece of art is far greater here than, say, in Sweeney Todd (monumental as his work for that show was!), because he had to find ways to connect a series of episodes into a unified dramatic throughline, beyond merely telling a biography. |
