Students of the school during their performance on Sunday. Picture by Karchoong Diyali

Gangtok, Oct. 28: Karen Carpenter came alive as the first strains of Don’t cry for me Argentina wafted through the auditorium, making the audience shed silent tears for Eva Peron, immortalised by Andrew Lloyd Webber as Evita.

Adeline Wangmo Simick as Eva, the wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron, mesmerised a packed gathering at Tashi Namgyal Academy auditorium last night.

Speaking after the show, Adeline, who drew comparisons with the Carpenter star, the original Eva, said there had been moments when they had felt like calling off the show because their music teacher had taken seriously ill. “But his determination saw us through,” she said.

School captain Ayush Man Shrestha, who played Che Guevera, backed up his acting prowess with his vocal skills as he sang High Flying Adored. Karma Pintso Wangdi played the role of Colonel Peron.

The music, which won the audience over, was arranged by Albert Gurung and Suraj Khati.

The musical portrays the grit and determination of Eva Peron who took charge of her destiny when she was only 15. Her struggle to become a model, singer and actress and, later, the first lady in Argentina’s corridors of power at the age of 27 and her eventual death at the age of 33 was displayed by the talented students of the public school.

The play opens with the announcement of Eva’s death and the narrator then takes the audience through her life.

The performance by the Dramatics Society of Tashi Namgyal Academy was all the more creditable because the 65-member cast had only three weeks of rehearsals. Many of the actors had to play double roles as a minimum of 150 people is usually required for the musical.

“Although the play has been staged successfully for two consecutive days, there has been a demand from the public to hold more shows,” said a member of the chorus.

The Tashi Namgyal Dramatics Society started a few years ago when four teachers — Parvinder Kaur, Lenny L’Fevere, S.D. Bhutia and T. T. Wangdi — got together to form the club. Their debut musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, yet another original Webber-Tim Rice production like Evita, was staged last year and drew large crowds.