Nearly a week after watching the opening night performance of Webster Theatre Guild's "Evita" I still can't get the songs out of my head. Of course, much of that credit goes to the aural crack cooked up by Broadway's mad scientist, Andrew Lloyd Webber. (Clearly something supernatural is involved with the man's career; how else do you explain the success of shows about trains in love or aged glamour cats being sucked into a spaceship?) But WTG does a more than respectable job bringing Webber's words and music to life, and the troupe's "Evita" is one of the best community theater productions I've seen in Rochester. In fact, it's better than some of the professional theater I've seen in this town.

"Evita" tells the story of Eva Peron, Argentina's first lady/vice president/official spiritual leader up until her death in 1952. Eva is a fascinating figure in history, considered by some in Argentina to be a modern saint, and by others to be a ruthless Machiavellian power bitch. If Webber's take is to be believed, there's something to both claims. The show follows Eva from a fetching Lolita desperate for a way out of her tiny town to a social climbing radio star in Beunos Aires to an important political figure who affected great social change but left a complicated legacy.

Kudos to WTG for even attempting this show, instead of rolling out one of the old warhorses for another wheezy spin. (Who really wants to see "The Music Man" or "Bye Bye Birdie" for the 5 billionth time?) True, "Evita" isn't exactly a new musical - it debuted in 1978 - but it isn't often performed by local theater groups, mostly because it's hard, y'all. This is an exceedingly ambitious show, featuring complicated dance numbers, a sizable chorus, numerous scene changes, and the quasi-operatic musical numbers that are Webber's stock and trade. And the fact that WTG pulls it off as well as it does is a real testament to the talent in this group, both in front of and behind the curtain.

Leading the show is Laura Marron as Eva. I've seen Marron perform before, and she possesses that "little bit of star quality" Eva sings about in the beginning of the show. She has a strong, bright voice and undeniable stage presence. However, on opening night, she seemed tentative, even uncomfortable, throughout Act I, where she failed to convey the raw, unfettered ambition that defined Eva's early life. I have it on good authority that she was battling illness, and that showed in her difficulty reaching the show's many high notes (later in the show some songs were taken down an octave to accommodate her). But by the second act she seemed to have found her bearings, and her Eva had guts, grit, and pathos. And ultimately she brought it where it counts, completely owning the show's big number, "Don't Cry For Me Argentina."

Local theater stalwart J. Simmons plays the role of Juan Peron, Eva's eventual husband and president of Argentina. Simmons has all the ingredients for a leading man: good looks, great voice, and powerful masculinity. His role is less flashy than Marron's, but no less important, and he ably holds up his end of the bargain.

"Evita" can tend to be clunky, although WTG's production keeps a nice, brisk pace. That's due in part to the excellent work by Reynaldo DeGuzman as Che, the show's omniscient/omnipresent narrator. DeGuzman is still young - he's only a college sophomore - but is talented beyond his years. He has a fantastic tenor voice, impressive confidence, and a charming stage presence.

The chorus acquits itself nicely, and several scenes feature some clever direction (I was especially charmed by the staging of "Goodnight and Thank You" and the male dance troupe's section of "Peron's Latest Flame"). But it must be said that the orchestra, led by Ron Bowks, really lets the cast down. At times some of the instruments were so shrill and out of tune that it actually distracted from what was happening on the stage, rather than enhanced it, as a good orchestra should.

Evita

Through January 31

Webster Theatre

Webster Thomas High School, 800 Five Mile Line Rd

Fri Jan 30 7:30 p.m.; Sat Jan 31 1:30 & 7:30 p.m. | $14-$17 | webstertheatreguild.org