Snow White’s Rachel Zegler lands West End role in revival of huge musical

A West End revival of a well-known musical that will debut this summer has Rachel Zegler in the lead role.

Later this year, it has been announced that Rachel, 23, will play Eva Perón in an Evita-themed 12-week run at the London Palladium. For its upcoming revival at the London theater, director Jamie Lloyd, 45, will “reimagine” the play. Rachel, who previously starred in Romeo & Juliet on Broadway just months ago, confirmed her involvement by expressing her excitement. She described the project on Instagram as “I couldn’t be more excited.”

In the comments section, she was also greeted with enthusiasm for the post, which featured a headline announcing her role. Samantha Barks, a former Broadway performer, wrote, “This is beyond exciting; I’ve already purchased my tickets.” Before her West End debut, others congratulated Rachel on the news.

Elaine Paige and Patti LuPone, who have previously portrayed Eva, also known as Evita, on stage, follow Rachel in the footsteps of these actors. The political leader’s life, which included serving as Argentina’s First Lady from 1946 until her 1952 death, is the focus of the program, which features Tim Rice’s music and lyrics from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Evita, which first aired in 1978, returns to the West End on June 14. The revival, which was announced in December of last year, follows Sunset Boulevard’s 2023 revival at the Savoy Theatre. Nicole Scherzinger, who had also won Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Norma Desmond, was the star of the new production, which Jamie had also directed and had also reimagined that musical, which also had Andrew’s music.

LW Theatres teased: “Surprise! SURPRISE! #Evita will be performed at The London Palladium for a 12-week run in summer 2025 by #TimRice and #AndrewLloydWebber. The visionary award-winning director #JamieLloyd will reimagine the legendary musical @officialevita, which was produced by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals and @jamielloydco and features an iconic score like Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.

As Rachel promotes Disney’s Snow White in advance of its UK release the following week, it was announced that Rachel would lead the cast. The actor appears alongside Andrew Burnap and Gal Gadot as the lead in the live-action remake, which has drawn a lot of controversy.

Before production started, the movie, which is a “reimagining” of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), received some criticism. Peter Dinklage, a dwarf actor in the TV series Game of Thrones, claimed that having “seven dwarfs living together in a cave” was “f***ing backward.”

He claimed in a WTF with Marc Maron podcast episode that “they were very proud to cast a Latino actress as Snow White.” However, you are still retelling Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Take a step back and consider your actions. I find it to be illogical. You’re progressing in some ways, but you’re still telling the f*cking backward story of seven dwarfs living together in a cave.

Disney later addressed his remarks to the Hollywood Reporter and other outlets in a statement. We are changing our approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community, according to a Disney spokesperson at the time.

The seven dwarfs would then be called “magical creatures” in place of “magical creatures,” according to a report from 2023. Additionally, there has recently been criticism of the choice to use CGI instead of displaying dwarf actors, which one critic described as “discriminating in a sense.”

Rachel’s portrayal of Snow White as an actor of Latina descent sparked a backlash as well. However, the casting has been defended for offering diversity, and Rachel stated to Variety in 2022 that “you don’t typically see Snow Whites of Latin descent.” You don’t typically see people who resemble me or who act in similar roles.

In recent years, she has received criticism for her remarks regarding the animated original. In 2022, she stated to Extra TV, “The first cartoon was released in 1937, and very obviously so. Her love story with a man who snives on her is at the forefront of the discussion. Weird . Weird . We didn’t do that this time, then.

Rachel’s first acting role on stage, Evita, is different because of her theatre background. She even made her Hollywood starring role as Maria in the West Side Story movie adaptation alongside Ansel Elgort in her debut role in the movie, West Side Story, in 2021. Her other acting credits include Snakes, Shazam, and The Ballad of Songbirds &. The Gods’ Fury.

This story, do you like? Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Threads for more latest news and gossip.

Source: Mirror