Review – EVITA at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Tuesday, May 6 to Saturday, May 10, 2014.

THREE decades on and umpteen productions all over the world the musical Evita shows little, if any, signs of losing its appeal.

Its arrival in Malvern has sparked a flurry of demand and tickets have been hard to come by. Hence an opening night full house roared its approval with a standing ovation and the following night the applause was equally rapturous.

It was fully deserved too for this is a show with few blemishes and one that will continue to stand the test of time.

Evita is the story of Eva Peron, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron. It follows the journey of an ambitious and manipulative woman from humble beginnings through to extraordinary wealth, power and eventually iconic status.

She is ultimately heralded as the ‘spiritual leader of the nation’ by the Argentine people.

Along the way Evita has collected more than 20 major stage and film awards with some of the most iconic songs in musical theatre, including Don’t Cry For Me Argentina and Another Suitcase in Another Hall.

Once again they were the highlights but there is so much more to admire in this latest tour offering from the Bill Kenwright stable.

The choice of the hugely talented Madalena Alberto, for a start, is a first class decision. What a gem!

The Portuguese songstress was a hit when she appeared as Fantine in Les Miserables and in the lead role in Piaf, and her Eva also dazzles us here both in voice and movement.

She has an exquisite vocal range and the mesmerising Don’t Cry was a sheer delight to listen to, as was Sarah McNicholas’ Another Suitcase when she was cast aside as Peron’s mistress.

Peron himself is played with considerable style and conviction by Mark Heenehan.

Former Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow's brooding and impressive Che, who is both narrator and seemingly Eva's cynical conscience, leads us through her rise to fame as well as providing the mood of the Argentinian population.

Everything about this show is tried, tested and successful. The roller-coaster story - about one of the great social climbs of the 20th century - sells itself, so does the music, and providing you have a strong cast, and this does have, with first rate musicians, then it can’t really go wrong. And nothing did.

There’s the bonus of strong direction, as well as a quality set.

So if you are lucky enough to see a ticket on offer - grab it!