Rachel Zegler’s balcony performance in Evita sparks awe—and a bit of controversy

In a striking twist in the new production of Evita, one of the most memorable moments happens offstage. Midway through the performance at London’s iconic Palladium, Rachel Zegler — starring as Argentine first lady Eva Perón — steps out onto an exterior balcony and sings “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” to the crowd gathered below. The powerful moment is livestreamed back into the theatre for the audience inside.

Since previews began this week, word has spread quickly. Each night, hundreds of people have gathered outside the West End venue to witness the surprise serenade from the Snow White star — no ticket required.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has called the balcony performance “an extraordinary moment” in the musical, which tells the story of a woman who rose from humble beginnings to become a beloved and powerful figure.

“Within the theater, it’s really exciting because suddenly you see her with a genuine huge crowd, which you can’t do onstage,” Lloyd Webber told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I think there will be people who are disappointed that she hasn’t sung it live in the theater, but I think it’s goinag to be greatly outweighed by the theatricality of using film in that way.”

The decision by director Jamie Lloyd has sparked some grumbling from ticketholders who paid up to 245 pounds ($330) for a seat, only for the musical’s most famous number to be sung offstage.

It’s a technique Lloyd has used before. He had a character in “Sunset Boulevard” perform a song while walking down the street outside the theater, and his production of “Romeo and Juliet” saw star Tom Holland play a key scene on the theater roof.

Theater blogger Carl Woodward told the BBC that he could understand why some theatregoers who’d forked out for a ticket felt “a bit aggrieved,” since “a trip to the theater for some is really a once-a-year occasion.”

But Lloyd Webber cited an opinion piece in The Times of London noting that the gesture is “kind of what Eva Perón would have wanted — that people are actually experiencing her big anthem, as it were, for free.”