This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] James Olivas: My name is James Olivas, and you're listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[0:15] William J Connolly: Hello, and welcome to Eleven, the official theatre podcast that brings the biggest stars and creatives together in one place to discuss life in the arts. He's the soaring star of Jamie Lloyd's thrilling new production of Evita that's taken the London Palladium by storm. But what's it like leading such a retelling of this classic Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical, something he describes as a dream come true, particularly through the lens of a more rising celebrity-focused narrative, with an extraordinary leading lady like Rachel Zegler serving it up each night? Balcony performance and all. Well, let's find out. As direct from his dressing room backstage at the Palladium, we dive into bringing this new telling of Evita to a modern, perhaps younger audience.

Why he's embracing breaking casting norms to this usual 40-something age bracket to bring on a younger take to Peron and blending onstage live performance work with camera and video to make the perfect musical experience. Plus, how he's fighting the online love and exposure of a certain balcony scene to keep distance for his character, and why Rachel Zegler's leading performance as Eva Perón is one of the finest castings of all time, and why he is so in awe of the force of nature that she is. It is the incredible James Olivas here now on this, the next episode of Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[1:41] William J Connolly: Please help me welcome to this, the next episode of Eleven. He's the soaring star of the London Palladium stage that's helping to bring in a fresh take on the legendary hits Evita that's about to become all of your obsession and mine in this electric new Jamie Lloyd production. And I'm thrilled to say that he's here to tell me all about it. So I say very good morning, right now to James Olivas. Hello, James, how are you?

[2:02] James Olivas: I'm doing well. Good morning, right back to you, William. Thank you very much for being here.

[2:05] William J Connolly: I say live from the London Palladium backstage. That looks like a very fancy dressing room.

[2:09] James Olivas: It is a very nice dressing room. This is mine, Diego and Aaron's dressing room. And they treat us really nice here. We get spoiled in this one. We have like a TV, we have multiple couches that turn into beds. We brought in a switch. I got a speaker, we have an American football, a frisbee, a woboba ball, anything we might want to do to pass the time.

[2:31] William J Connolly: I mean, at this stage, do you even want to go home?

[2:33] James Olivas: I mean, at this stage, I could use some more time at home for some sleep because we're in previews. So we're in shows every night, and then we rehearse every day from 12 to usually about 4:45, and decide all the things that we're gonna change from the night before and all the different implementations we're gonna make the following night. So it's constantly mentally exhausting space to be in, to always be open to adjustments. So if you're gonna be locked in, at least it's a cute space. So it's good to know that the Palladium is being kind and it's a very, very special space.

[3:06] William J Connolly: And we'll talk about the Palladium in a second, but just for context, you are, as you mentioned in previews for this incredibly, incredibly much anticipated, very exciting production of Evita. At this point, right now, when we're recording this, I think you've done. Are you on performance three or four? How many have you done so far?

[3:22] James Olivas: Tonight will be performance three. So we've done two.

[3:24] William J Connolly: Okay, so you are very much at the beginning of this journey. Before we talk about specifics and how you got here, how are you feeling? You don't look tired at all. You look very excited, like you've got a lot of energy.

[3:33] James Olivas: So I feel like it's going well. I seek out projects I think of my life that can fuel me artistically in the same way that I put in energy to something. And these audiences, I was prepped beforehand saying that, well, you know, UK audiences are very different than American audiences. They're going to be a lot more reserved, a lot more polite, they're not as raucous. But I in my life have never experienced an audience response like we experienced both nights, both the first night and now the second night at the curtain call. Just a wall of people going crazy. And it was so special. If I was excited to be part of this before, then hearing the response from the people and talking with them after the show, it has made me all the more elevated about it.

[4:21] William J Connolly: It's interesting you mentioned about British audiences supposed to be reserved, particularly in a very sacred space like the Palladium. But I've never experienced that. I don't know where this comes from because I feel like now British audiences have sort of said two fingers there. They're just crazy now. They just scream, chant and go mad, right?

[4:35] James Olivas: Yeah, I mean, it's a lot more akin to like a football match. I think people, and you know, if for those that come see the show, there are elements where we definitely lean into the concert elements and even like the football match elements, like really trying to engage that energy from the audience.

[4:54] William J Connolly: So for like the two people in the world that maybe have never come in contact with Evita before, for a little bit of context, literally one of the most famous names in history. But how would you introduce people to this rather new telling of Evita under the incredible stewardship of Mr. Jamie Lloyd?

[5:08] James Olivas: My elevator pitch for this version of the show would be it is the story of Eva Perón chronicling her humble rise from small town girl to global icon through the lens and metaphor of a pop music icon. So much of the show as opposed to here's the set, here's the walls, here's how it happened, it is kind of removed itself from the specifics of the technical logistical elements of history and instead chosen to try to seek a more deeper understanding emotionally between characters and between what that struggle is like and told through metaphor, which I find makes it potentially even more relatable. It's something that we can watch in 2025 and think like, oh wow, I feel this way, or oh wow, I see, you know, I know celebrity, I know musicians, I've seen that rise, I've seen the pitfalls and what happened, and like what is that attention look like, both positive and negative?

And you get to see that not only told in this modern lens, but playing Eva is Rachel Zegler, and she's incredible, she's phenomenal, and who also has her own home history with the public. And it's so beautifully done and it's so perfectly cast that I think for a lot of people, you can't help but really understand more than you ever would. And it's so different perhaps through that lens to the more traditional take on Evita, but when you explain it, it makes so much sense to an audience now.

[6:48] William J Connolly: And I wondered, was that something early on in the process when you knew that this could be something that you could be involved in? Were you aware of the fact that Jamie was gonna take this approach? And perhaps what was it like when you learnt that piece of information to make the rest of it makes sense?

[7:01] James Olivas: What's it like when you go, right? I understand what we're doing now because it is so different, but I feel like this different is exciting.

[7:06] James Olivas: Yeah, it's very exciting. I think I knew it was different from the jump. I think when I saw the audition for Juan Perón in my inbox, I would never in any other production of the show go in for this role. It is a role usually played by 40s, 50s. And that was like the first signal with like, oh, this is going to be very different. Seeing that it's being cast by Jamie Lloyd, I saw Sunset on Broadway and loved it. When I watched that, the biggest thing I thought of was I want to work with Jamie so badly. Like it's such a beautiful show. I want to be in that show. I want to do that. I want to do work with him. And so when this opportunity came up and this role came up, it for me was like a sign that we're going to be doing theater that is new and exciting and is pushing the boundaries and is throwing so much out the window and deciding to focus on other things. And I love art like that. I love new works like that.

[8:03] William J Connolly: So how easy was it for you to suspend your own disbelief and preconceptions of Evita before? And for you, as you say, even down to the age difference of the character where it's traditionally played versus you, how easy was it for you to sort of submit to that? Or did it take being in Jamie's presence to really lean into it?

[8:18] James Olivas: You know, I haven't had the easiest time for me as an actor in understanding where I fit and kind of like why am I doing this here and now? And it was finally once I started work like this. This is early on in the casting process. But once I had my work sessions with Jamie, I had on my own, you know, come to a lot of realizations and had a lot of thoughts and choices that I thought were present in the character. And then in talking with Jamie, that really settled me because it seemed that we were very much on the same wavelength of how we wanted to portray this. And you know, talking with him is like talking with such a real collaborator. He's so open and he listens, and it was everything I wanted him to be and more.

I was like, wow, this is someone that I feel like I can really trust. And it was kind of like we were able to just fire back and forth, and everything was really clicking and making sense, and we were agreeing with each other and building upon it. And it just felt like, oh, there's so much here. There's so much to find, there's so much to play with. And we are very much on the same page. And he's a very collaborative person.

[9:23] William J Connolly: I've had the pleasure of speaking to leads in The Tempest, Much Ado, and of course, Nicole with Sunset, and all of them say the same thing. Jamie hires you for a reason. He wants you to have input. And obviously, it is his vision. We want to make sure that he leads from the front. But I imagine it's not all that common, right? That directors say, what do you think? How are you going to bring yourself to the page? Why does that make a difference to the performance that we see?

[9:44] James Olivas: I think specifically with the casting of this show, Jamie's style lends itself so perfectly because you have choices and presence on stage that is so genuine. They come so organically to who has been cast. You don't look on stage and see, oh, this is the person that was told to go here. This is the person that was told this is I can see them acting, or I can see them being told it being directed to do this. But instead, it's coming from a very real place for each individual person, and down to every person in the cast is their own individual and has a story and has depth and is allowed to be themselves in this production and allowed to be individual and kind of stand out a little bit. And I think that you just have a very you get to see people up there having fun and being able to engage with each other in a very authentic way. And that I think makes it very special.

[10:42] William J Connolly: You also get to be a student at the school of Jamie Lloyd, which is something that as a leading man you don't get to do all that often for a teacher that's so specific about his decisions. What's it like when it's just, and I know there are instances in the show when it's just you and Jamie together in a room, getting to be able to see sort of the light bulb go on and the magic happen, something that has been discussed so much in the industry and more importantly has also been very much celebrated. What's that moment like?

[11:04] James Olivas: For me, you know, it's kind of a dream come true. Honestly, working with this entire team, Alan and music director Fabian Alois, our choreographer and Jamie, you know, everybody working together is such a dream. I think you get to see real artistry come to life through what they do. And with Jamie specifically, because a lot of my stuff, I don't dance too much in the show. I do dance, but I don't dance that much. So most of my stuff and my work and my scene work is done with Jamie. And yeah, it really is kind of for me, I felt myself actively growing as part of this. We had even a conversation most recently last week about, you know, I think I was struggling and feeling lost in like where do I belong in this show and is what I'm doing working?

And I think having all the I'm a big overthinker, and so having all the self-doubts that one might have, it was through conversation with Jamie that, you know, he even then said things that seemed very basic but for me could resonate so much as an actor and like things that I will continue to remember and I think that will continue to serve me. And I think that from that conversation onward, I was able to access so much more. And so he just has a lot to offer both me and the world, and I think that I'm so glad that I just get the opportunity to be a part of it.

[12:37] William J Connolly: Now for anybody that hasn't seen the show so far, I feel like we need to tread around spoilers. I want to make sure that everybody has that experience in the theater, but just to talk about a few specifics so we can get as close to as possible without giving anything away. People may have seen pictures online, good ones and some slightly naughty ones. Obviously, there's been a lot of teasing around the production imagery that's come out of rehearsals as well.

[12:56] James Olivas: So everything looks like it's on the staircase everything looks incredibly huge and big but also incredibly intimate.

[13:02] William J Connolly: Talk to me about some of the differences that people see in the show because we know that Jamie is a director first and he loves to create a lot of scenes that don't have set that maybe have stripped back costumes, which I do believe we see in the show as well. So what are the things that will really set this production apart that you get to be a part of that you think that's something that I would never have envisioned for a production of Evita but that's something that makes Jamie Lloyd so great. What are the things that are really stand out that you would get to experience each night with Jamie's projects in general I feel that he you know in the in the there's there's the technical like yes we strip back it is more it is more bare stage it is more um you know like you don't have the traditional costumes don't have the traditional set pieces um which is funny in in a way because it is not to say that the the money that I'm sure has gone into actually what is in the show I could easily believe is far greater than would have been if we had walls and if we had the you know the traditional like there's there's make no mistake like when you come see the show you don't feel like it is an empty stage.

[14:01] James Olivas: You feel that it is actually quite full and there's so much going on. Um, but I think that where where instead of of those things where Jamie chooses to focus is kind of the exploration of of the character and and of like who we who we are as as humans and through the use of camera work um that people see in Sunset. Um, and that we also we also have um uh you know playing around with in this production, uh it's kind of allowing you access in in ways that you couldn't really get in in other, in in other on on stage work.

[14:37] James Olivas: It's blending this on stage and and on camera uh work so beautifully, and I think is done so well in this production specifically. Um it kind of allows you access, uh, like it gives there's two, there's over two dozen people in this theater, you know, you're not going to see just logistically the same performance from the front row that you are from the back row. But if you have moments where you have where that where it's very specific where you want to portray this very subtle emotion that that you know characters feeling, then it it is so engaging, it's so poignant. And I think that in my opinion, it's really what is the next step for theater in general is is having a live performance and being on stage, but also incorporating elements that become more accessible for for everybody.

[15:30] James Olivas: It's interesting that people do kind of generally have an issue with the introduction of video into theater. It's it at the volume that it seemed to be going, but yet with Jamie Lloyd, it feels so right. And it feels like he's found the sweet spot of being able to marry the two. What's it like for you then being part of that? Do you get to learn a scene together and then the introduction of video, or does the video come along? And I guess how does that affect what you would do traditionally without the video versus what you do then with it being included?

[15:55] James Olivas: It's interesting. We we've had stuff in this production that and we still are in the developmental stages that we thought this is going to be filmed, and it is not. And then we have other things that were like this will not be filmed, and now it's now it's on camera as of like today, you know, it which like everything is is constantly in flux, and that's kind of part of what I love is that Jamie isn't tied to anything. He didn't come to this project saying, like, I will, you know, like I will incorporate film into this or this will happen. Everything is has, you know, the you know, the images that have come out, the pictures, everything has been subject to like if it necessitates it, if the if the moment necessitates it, if it makes sense, that's why it happens, but nothing has been said like, oh, I need this as like to like check check off that we have this in this in this production.

[16:42] James Olivas: Um, and so to that, when we are learning scenes and we're learning, you know, moments, it it is not we don't really know what to expect. We kind of perform it as authentically as possible for what we think it might be. And then if it ends up changing, and if it ends up, you know, being a moment that is that is filmed, then there's like some logistical differences um that change um as far as you know, like framing, how much can you move? Um and but I think for the most part, as long as you stay rooted in the authenticity of your feelings and emotions, all you have to do is kind of like a logistical adjustment, like how big am I playing this versus how how tight? But but but learning where that sits emotionally can stay the exact same. And I think that's a that that's also could be a big difference between theater and film in general.

[17:27] William J Connolly: What's it like getting to command a space like the Palladium with its history involved? I imagine you're always probably very much aware when you're on stage, you are at the Palladium. Like this is the most famous theater, I think, arguably in the world. It looking looking out, and the structure is really good. It feels that there's not really any bad seats in the house because it's so like vertical. So we look out at this wall of people. And so yeah, when when our show really lends itself to the venue that is the Palladium, where it is, it is the it is so concert-oriented. Think like Beyonce uh Coachella performance. Like it is very catered to being big and to playing to the back row and playing to the row that you know, like right like immediately in front of you.

[18:09] James Olivas: Like we have such a blend, and I'm constantly, you know, finding myself on stage, just soaking in like all different levels and like trying to really connect with with everybody because you can you can cast your energy kind of anywhere and there will be people there waiting. And so it's in many ways, there's there's almost like no limit to how large you can be on on this stage.

[18:31] William J Connolly: Talk to me about what it was like on those first few days of rehearsals. How much time did you get to spend with your co-stars perhaps before that? Did you get to know Rachel before, or were you aware of her, I guess, in the lead up to it?

[18:42] James Olivas: I mean, I I I think most people are are somewhat aware of Rachel. I never I never met anyone uh well I met that's not true. I'd met one person uh from the cast, Sal, who's uh the partner of uh friend of mine, uh Mason, uh Xander Park. Um, also uh uh we'd we've done a show uh American Idiot with Def West over in LA. Um, but I didn't know anybody else. I didn't really know the team. I was here um kind of just the only person I knew in the city uh for the first time in in the UK. And then, but me and Diego actually are staying in the same place, and we have since become uh the best of buds.

[19:17] James Olivas: And we started really spending a lot of time together, both going to rehearsal and from rehearsal. Uh, and so we formed a fast friendship. And then in the works, and then I I think we started like the the the most of the cast started with a lot of the big ensemble numbers at Coreyo and I kind of had very separate calls a lot of the time, usually focusing on my music stuff on scene work things. So I kind of had that more like isolated track at the beginning.

[19:49] James Olivas: I truly I I feel so fortunate to work on something where everyone is is as they're just such good people as a separate note for being so talented. But yeah so it was it was kind of like it was it was a slow introduction to everybody but once once we started getting to know each other you know like very fast friends going out and spending time together and engaging with each other outside of rehearsals. So yeah very they they've been so wonderful and welcoming to me being here in London. Me and Diego it's our first time here. So they've had suggestions and taking us places and Rachel's been so so wonderful too because she spent so much time here. So she's been taking us on on tour separately um yeah so I feel like I have a lot of lot of friends from this one.

[20:34] James Olivas: I've had the pleasure of spending some time with Diego and I feel like the world is about to fall madly in love with him finally after under studying in Sunset. I feel like this really is about to become his time.

[20:42] William J Connolly: Yes.

[20:42] James Olivas: Diego I you could not ask for you know a a a better like more kind soul and just so spontaneous and fun, you know uh like off stage and and on stage is just is able to live so authentically as himself and make choices and and be so alive and just be and be constantly excited. I think that's that's uh I something I would associate with Diego very much is is his excitement both on stage and off uh that he's very curious he's very he's very like engaged and you never are not like interested in and watching him when he's on stage because he's just like so captures your attention um and is such a good choice for this role I think he does it so well it's just a perfect narrator because you just you're hanging on every word that he says he's got a beautiful voice he's he's such a wonderful actor and and and I'm I'm I feel very fortunate to to get to sit right next to him in this room and get to perform with him on stage and get to get to call him a good friend.

[21:41] William J Connolly: Talented and nice damn you that's not fair.

[21:44] James Olivas: I know I know he people people really will will fall fall out of her heels for him it's interesting about having Rachel play this role because it feels like we've all watched her collective and very quick rise to success very very publicly I know that people from the very beginning always talk about the girl from the social media videos singing so eloquently as she does now to literally being in some of the biggest films, the biggest roles and now of course playing one of the most famous characters of all time it's must be amazing to have a leading lady that I guess that has a linear lived experience of that rise to success but also to know that the fans who have been with her through that journey that will have a connection to her really will also know what that's like and also show up for her.

[22:27] James Olivas: It feels like there's a an interesting reality versus storyline here that that feels almost true to life.

[22:33] William J Connolly: No I that that was made apparent to me so often I mean like and Rachel and I have have who who is also is also a good friend uh we've had long conversations and I've gotten to speak with her a lot about like her personal life and and her journey um and it she I think is one of one of the coolest like most most wonderful people and and is such a hard worker and has a very specific position.

[22:59] James Olivas: I mean I think like you're right it it is a very linear like like like almost like a parallel uh uh movement in in so many ways as as Ava Peron and I think that that like you've never heard this music sung like this and not just because she has I think like one of the greatest voices of our generation um but you're you're she is has has had such a specific trajectory and is like you've never heard don't cry for me Argentina like you've heard Rachel sing you've never heard you must love me you've never heard like any any given song in this show is now coming to you from a place and a lived experience that so few people have gotten you know like like exist in and so everything is coming from such a real place.

[23:46] James Olivas: The words mean more everything is so impactful. Rachel means everything that she says when when she sings and you can tell it and you can feel it and and it is also beautiful but it is so truthful in in and she's she's able to to access this character and I think is is one of the one of the finest castings of all time for for this role.

[24:13] James Olivas: Like part part in the industry she's she's a small brown woman and she has had to to put up with so much simply for being a small brown woman this industry and and I I'm so glad that she has this this demonstration of her talent, which any any criticism one might have, or or you know, whether like I I loved her as Ava, I hated her as Ava, I love her voice, I hate her voice, you know, whatever that might be. It's like you cannot watch this show and not be so in awe of the force of nature.

[24:49] James Olivas: She is so undeniable in this. You you kind of, I think even her biggest haters, if in the presence of this performance, would have to like tip their hat.

[24:57] William J Connolly: It's it's something else.

[24:58] James Olivas: Make them gag Rachel, I think is the best response to that.

[25:00] William J Connolly: Exactly.

[25:02] James Olivas: You referenced it a second ago, but it would be amiss of me not to mention the restaging of Don't Cry for Me Argentina, which I think the internet has very much got a lot of opinions of. I think people are just obsessed with the fact that Jamie has been bold enough to do it with kind of the synergy of having all, you know, quote the rich people inside watching it and the opportunities for the people outside, which is very much in the way that Ava navigated the world without talking about specifics because I want people to enjoy that moment to see something so iconic staged in that way, to see Jamie lean into the bravery of why don't we do something that means more than just singing a very, very, very lovely song on stage and also Rachel's performance, which even if you watch the blurry phone footage is undeniably extraordinary.

What was it like the first time you knew about that moment in the show? And again, I want to tiptoe around it as much as we can, but what was it like when you knew that that was actually going to happen?

[25:51] William J Connolly: And have you stood down there and watched her do it yet? Because it feels like the Palladium's almost like humming when she's still getting it. It feels wild.

[25:58] James Olivas: I have not had the opportunity to be outside. And actually, I don't think I ever will. I think there'll be few people in the world that will potentially have access to that performance, or they won't have access to that performance, with the exception of Rachel, who's doing it. And the specific staging of the show, how it's done is I actually don't really have access to it in that moment. And I kind of like that I could potentially be the only person that could never see that. And so I've almost wanted to stay away from that because I had this image of it in my head. I've of course seen clips and versions of it in rehearsals. But once we've started performances, I've made a very conscious decision.

Like I want to stay away from what it is, because part of I think my character, my track is having this version of it for myself. Without getting without spoiling too much. But yeah, no, I for one, you know, with again everything's subject to change, like the thought of like a public performance. Again, even that has been edited so much since its original inception and is so subject to continual adjustments. So I could not tell you in any confidence if the thing that you see on one night will be the same that the following night. I for one, I think it is so in the spirit of the character. And I think that the people that understand the person that Eva Perón was, I mean, love her or hate her, and say with Juan Perón, the work that they did in Argentina at the time, like there were objective, like such powerfully good measures done that I think can absolutely stand criticism and you can have as I myself as a student of politics and history have my own criticisms of that socio-political time and movement.

One also has to be very conscious of the work that is done for accessibility for the lower classes, for unionization of workplaces, for women's suffrage. And I think that that moment as a public performance is kind of like embodying the spirit of this accessibility, of this allowing this, you know, what we in the industry could look at with ticket prices and whatnot as like this very high value thing is not just, you know, a ticket but also it's Rachel Zegler. It is this, you know, it is this person as something that is could be very cherished to be so exclusive to get into is potentially being opened up for people to have access for free I think is beautiful and wonderful. And to a more pragmatical point like the people that are upset literally go every other night of the run and watch like what are like what is the actual issue with it like you're not losing you don't lose anything you could if there is the thought if it is what happens then like you could access it whenever you want that's kind of the point is what I was saying.

[29:03] William J Connolly: It's so true. Also damn you Debuloy for being so clever and having so much thought and depth into it. It's like it's almost too much. I'm like man you just need to be a bit stupid like cover bring it I know he's I'm I'm he he is what's next. I think Sunset Boulevard really really allowed people to turn and look at him and be like oh this is this is like the next big deal and so I think that this is this is a wonderful wonderful example of the work that he can do especially working with like old texts. I find myself not being drawn so much to older works because they've been done and redone so many times and oftentimes people just love to see what they're used to and what like the tradition is and I love this reimagining.

I love being able to look at something and make it relevant for 2025 and think like, well, we are we are we have a responsibility as artists for it to be topical, for it to be engaging two audiences in 2025 and bringing in new people. And because there are things and themes within the story that are just as relevant today as they were when it was initially written. I also saw a great conversation. Some people were talking about the costumes and like the comparison between wearing the more stripped back costumes versus the more traditional costume that you expect with this show, being that which one is more palatable, which one is more acceptable to you, which one do you expect of a young female versus a more mature female at what point in her varying degrees of success?

And it's like you're actually almost projecting your own bias on how a female, particularly a female pop star should be. And that's also the point as well. It's like it's quite literally as obvious as it sounds.

[30:37] James Olivas: Yeah, yeah. It's the elements of design in this show, you know, and again, like it what I think something that people don't know that they don't have access to, but they will see when they see it, is like the choreography of the entirety of the show. It is far more choreographed than any other version. And Fabian Aloise is talking about the next big thing, Fabian Aloise, the work that he has done on the show, will be talked about by everybody. I think that it is such the heart of the show, and it is so beautiful. And I'm so fortunate that I get to watch, I get to engage because I'm actually not doing it. I watch, I watched this incredible cast just put their heart, like leave their heart out on that stage.

And I get to watch this amazing tapestry of dance throughout the entire show. Moments that might have in the past been like dull or a little like slower to get through, are now so engaging. Like the vision of the team is so good, and everybody's working so well together that that I think that we beyond like individual performers or you know, like specific things that people had have heard about, it is that is actually what makes this show really special and really engaging and I cannot wait for people to just be able to come to the theater and to see the show and for it to take the world by storm.

[31:55] William J Connolly: And you in the stairs they're very steep are you still friends at the minute?

[31:58] James Olivas: Listen those stairs I am friends with them until the first time I take a tumble during one of our many many performances. All man everybody's joints everybody's knees just going up and down they're beautiful but they certainly make you yearn for a raked stage. Is there a particular thing in this journey so far? And I do appreciate we're very much at the start of the performance side of it but I know that there has been a lot of preparation rehearsals and build up to beginning your time at the London Palladium but is there a particular thing that you're very very conscious of about this moment in time that you're like I want to make sure I'm present for that particular thing and often it's the sort of backstage three-way conversations that you're having at the minute that shows great friendship that will lead onto the stage or perhaps something that you're getting to share with audiences. What's the thing that's really sort of turning you on and making you tick at the minute that makes you very present in this what I imagine is a very special chapter in your life?

[32:54] I think beyond just being in, you know, a place I've never been I've never been in the UK prior to this this contract but I think the what I seek out so often as an artist is work that is divisive. The comfortable. And I think that when you're doing work that has been done a lot in the past, I think that if you have no if there's nobody hating on it, then you're not going, you're not pushing the envelope enough. And I'm very conscious of, you know, the peep people reacting to things that they can see and everybody wanting to share their opinion. Everybody's saying that it's never seen the show or never seen this this production, talking about you know why they think this is bad or why they think this is bad.

And I love being a part of that. It is something that makes me feel so so fortunate to be here and to be now, to be working on this production of it. Because it feels like it feels groundbreaking. It feels like we are we are put continuing to push the like the front lines of what the art form will continue to develop to be. And I love that people don't like it. I love I love that there's there's there's people out there because that's what I think I think that's what good art should be doing. It should be it should be challenging your preconceived notions about what you think that you want, and instead giving you what you don't think you want. And I think that that is that is where that's where change is made.

That's how that's how we continue progressing. It's like you don't, you don't we don't know what the next thing is. We don't know what the next exciting movement or shift in the art form is until someone does it, and there's going to be I always a huge contingent of people that are that are you know traditionalists and want things to be the same that are very reactionary to new steps. And so it feels heartening to know that that people people feel can potentially feel strongly against this because it feels like we're right where we want to be, because so many people I think love it. The people that are showing up and seeing it are are going crazy. And the support that I've seen also online far outweighs the detractors.

[35:13] William J Connolly: And I said I'm very disappointed that your answer to that question wasn't that you get to wear that little tie.

[35:17] James Olivas: Oh my that tie is so small. It's also because I have such a long torso. It's just it's the it's not like I wear I wear a couple small ties in the show, but they're kind of slimmer. That last tie just sits just wide enough that it just looks like a little comical there at the end. So listen, I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna own that small tie. Now that people are really becoming attached to it.

[35:43] William J Connolly: Well, yeah, exactly. I've seen as much commentary about the tie if I have Diego in the glitter and blood, like hello. It's like the battle we didn't know we needed. It's gonna be Halloween costumes for the next 10 years of your life. You do know that you're gonna be like I'm so grateful. Thanks so much for saying how you're 10, 15, 20 years ago. I would be so honored if they if people were wearing some little ties. I might start wearing some little ties.

[36:02] James Olivas: Please wear a little tie in the opening night. When I see you on opening, if you're not wearing it, I'm gonna be very disappointed.

[36:06] William J Connolly: That's a nice, just a nice little yeah, just longer than a bow tie. Um very finally, and this is always my favorite question, but do you remember the very first Andrew Lloyd Webber show you ever saw?

[36:15] James Olivas: Ooh. Yes, I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I saw my sister in it at Broadway in the Park in LA. And I loved it. I wanted to be, I wanted to be a brother so badly. I was like, this looks like so much fun. And she would talk about just how much fun it was to do that show. And that actually ended up being my first professional credit was doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat out in LA. Yeah, which I listen, man writes some bops, man writes some good music.

[36:49] William J Connolly: What age were you when you saw your sister in that?

[36:52] James Olivas: I started I started later. I think we all got in the theater later. So I must have been even just like watching the show. I must have been like 15, I'm gonna say 15. Yeah, not too young.

[37:01] William J Connolly: So 15-year-old James watching the Andrew Lloyd Webber Joseph production with you, as you say, with your sister involved in it. When you think back to then and now being in this principally new, reimagined, totally unseen Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Evita. What do you think the James back then would think of the James that sat here now, rediscovering something in a way that has never been seen that I imagine probably not even you can quite fathom at times that this is your life, that this chapter has come to you?

[37:29] James Olivas: That James would be so confused because that James was gonna be in a mechanical engineer. So that James would would would be very I think I think very would need a lot of catching up to the long journey that it has been to to adjust. I think that I don't know. I think that I I don't think I could appreciate the gratitude that I could really feel like in this moment to to be here to be to be part of this. I think he'd be very happy. I think I think he still would be very happy.

[38:03] William J Connolly: Here's to being happy, small ties and lots of stairs. Let's do it.

[38:07] James Olivas: Let's do it, absolutely.

[38:09] William J Connolly: James, thank you so much for your time. I do genuinely really appreciate it. And most importantly, congratulations. I know you're only a few shows in, but this really is the show of the year. This is the one everyone wants to see. So thank you so much for your time, and most importantly, good luck congratulations on the journey ahead. I think it's gonna be pretty wild.

[38:17] James Olivas: Thank you so much. I have no doubt that it will be.

[38:28] William J Connolly: You've been listening to eleven, the official theatre podcast. Find out more about eleven at elevenpodcasts.com or via the Broadway Podcast Network.