Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 27

-I 1 -i a' VJ rr EVENING STANDARD FRIDAY APRIL SO 27 1 1 1 11 'm jm wy1'1 -r -VA-' -V I' v- 4f ''w 1 44 -i- in town ittOM -t1 'V theatre with the Richard nEdwaifl pairing Mvj PRINCE and -A erackerjack personality doing lerdal ommc IS fee nature of said Angela Down with only the slightest trace of resentment keep getting long stints out of work" It seemed an inadequate excuse for the recent absence of a provenly gifted actress like Miss Down but she Was adamanfc true I gave up trying to Phut a career in my early 20s and I have had ho reason to change my mind The good- news Is that Miss Down now 35 who was widely -Udmired-for herTY 1 Take Three Girls War and Peace and Glittering Prizes and equally so for her theatre work like Jonathan Three Sisters will be back on fee London stage on Monday do you mean he fedriy growled! Just Star in waiting Romeo and Juliet UIbib of the Community Hie Alchemist Macbeth wife fee beet feea oonmony In the world AS She is patently enjoying herself I love a challenge always have and boy is this show a challenge Bat here Bd to find as rather I get some tooest an deed to the couple of a read-iM jwfev lies With olved he dea of a an too play may he Court The Prtde he takes In fee RSC was evident before that and nowhere better displayed fean when he talked about fee tour he led to areas when theatre was a real novelty That was fee best job had In my life not A- BABE functional" Ye-hearsal room 45 floors up above New Min-skoff Theatre gives a great view across the Hudson river This week It also gave a first sighting of fee American Evlta production feat Hal Prince now has in preparation there It is just over a year since London went through the 1 publicity contortions of who would get fee Evita role and history has Just repeated itself in New York Two hunched girls interviewed 50 short-listed for Mr Prince to audition The winner was a 29- year- to a bit disagrees I am and gonna bo doing the best I can my family background I was 1 weaned on music all my training was In classical music out I was also interested in drama Now I almost feel I was destined for this show as though it was inevitable It is fee perfect We had afl lead fee Time magazine review of Evita In London and knew it was already booked hot it seemed chance to miss gister with me that I would actually ever get it for a play too good a It re-that I it ever talking in terms of achievement as an actor but I enjoyed grappling with al fee problems we had to solve fee challenge of It simply enjoyed being with the people we had on that tour It was completely satisfying In every nturad to be back on taking she did Satire Friday People eek in iyway? dx moi month She is the new girl in the east of James highly praised play Bodies which arrives at the Ambassadors Theatre next week following its hit season at Hampstead Theatre last year Not unnaturally she is pleased to be back' I love working In the West End Not only are you able to get home every night but you Set all the mates coming round see you after the show Miss Downhas other new -responsibilities since she was last seen in: London Married to actor -Tim Hardy' she is now' the mother of a year-old i daughterDaisy going to be a bit trial and error 'at firstworking and looking after Daisy at the same time But hundreds of actresses do it and I see why I But you do get a bit tom Tim and I got -married we celebrated-by both being out of work for a year Then Daisy was on the way and the offers seemed to have dried up completely It was a bit disappointing Still we had moved Into a new house so wo had plenty of time to get on with the Or O' is first ado production by welcome new producer Archie Stirling Patrick Mower will take over from John Thaw in Tom Night and Day He wm move in at the same time as Maggie Smith takes over from Diana Rigg old singer-aetress from Long -called Patti LuPone first name conies from eat grand aunt the -celebrated prlma donna' Adelina PatuT Behind her- clear framed glasses she has the deceptively unexceptional looks of an American sophomore until fee starts to sing I arived as fee was belting her way through Rainbow High'' It was sensational She also has a erackerjack personality feat even Mr Prince was having some trouble trying to control during' fee morning rehearsal session Time to put it mildly1 -Is short The production Union has an return Cambridge lettering Titer IIal: Prince spears to have put himself on fee -rack again dividing his time between the London and -American productions of Evita while his Sweeney Todd show is now thriving at fee box office He- does not seem to notice He said: nor- mally like going back to shows already done but this is different There is something about Evita I have a very affectionate 1 feelfnv about it this new east we are beginning to find more comedy value in it than -there was in London1 By-the time we get on stage I -think there will be political satire to It and "a bit more play his theatre -f 21 with 1 Hodge rring ROCK HUDSON to take a break from movies when he goes back on stage hi America to lead the road tour of the recent Broadway hit musical On The Twentieth Century New York Metropolitan Opera wooing with seme' success it seems Birgit Nilsson to end her six-year absence from New York and return to sing Ekktra them in Los Angeles on May 8 plays another season in San Francisco then 'arrives on 1 to star la comedy ANGELA Working i Broadway for the start of fee new season Mss LuPone is not one to1 be fhaed by soch efH West: A 1 ji i tour It HJ "if -5 4 i i at MS tt I 'll' i' '-f With bedroom furniture from Selfridges -youTl lie back and savings! 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