Harold Prince 'Determined' to Bring Evita Back to Broadway; Knocks Recent Revival in Upcoming Memoir

The iconic musical Evita could be headed back to the Great White Way. Harold Prince, who directed the original 1979 Tony-winning production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice work, reveals his plans for the show in his upcoming memoir, Sense of Occasion. Broadway.com has secured an excerpt of the book, which outlines Prince's hopes for a future Broadway Evita and his disappointment with the most recent Great White Way revival.

"There's a revival of Evita in the works exactly as originally produced and directed. Larry Fuller is on board choreographing, and Tim O’Brien and Tazeena Firth’s scenery and costumes are being replicated—identically. Dan Kutner, who has been in my office for over a decade and is a director in his own right, is preparing it for an opening in Johannesburg in October 2017," Prince writes in the memoir. "Fuller and I will catch up with it during rehearsals. From Johannesburg, it's set to open in Cape Town and tour Southeast Asia, Japan, Taiwan, and possibly China. Then it will be recast in Australia for an extended run at the Sydney Opera House."

The tour referenced by Prince will begin in Johannesburg for a run from October 14 through November 26, followed by a Cape Town engagement from December 1 through January 7, 2018. It will play Tokyo beginning in October 2018. Actress Emma Kingston will kick off the tour in the title role opposite Jonathan Roxmouth as Che.

"I am determined to persuade Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian, its producer, to come back to Broadway. It will have been some time since the most recent revival, which didn’t serve the material well," Prince writes. "I’m certain that our audience is ready. Evita has always been one of the most satisfying experiences of my career."

The most recent revival (which Prince cites above) was in 2012. Directed by Michael Grandage, the production starred Elena Roger as Eva with Ricky Martin as Che and Michael Cerveris as Juan Perón.

Prince's memoir, Sense of Occasion, is slated for release by Applause Books on September 5. Prince is co-directing (with Susan Stroman) the current bio-musical Prince of Broadway, set to open at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on August 24.