ACT ONE
Buenos Aires, 1952. Terminally ill, Evita addresses the people for the last time from the balcony of the Casa Rosada.

SCENE 1 Evita's Farewell
The descamisados (the masses, who were known as "the shirtless ones" and whom Eva lovingly called "grasitas") erupt in a frenzied response to her speech

CHORUS
Perón, Perón, Evita,
Evita, Evita, Evita

EVA
My dear grasitas. My beloved people.
It's my heart that speaks to you.
You are the source of all my pride and strength.
Today I sense in my soul that my end is near.
But, how could that matter?
I'm just one more fighter in Perón's cause.
Like you, I love him with all my strength.
Only he can give meaning to our struggle.
So, I say to him:
mi general, your cause is our cause, forever!
And I ask you, my grasitas,
to carry on the struggle:
our ideals will never die.
We will never, never be defeated!

CHORUS
Perón, Evita,
give meaning to our struggle.
The people, united,
Will never be defeated!

EVA
I will be with you forever
in your struggles,
to shine the light of Perón's message
on rich and poor alike,
to shout to the four winds
his call to arms to the oppressed of the world.
When I'm gone
our glorious cause will inhabit your hearts.
I will live in a million souls!
Love Perón and honor our cause,
as I have.
God bless you all.
God bless and keep
our beloved…Argentina.
Viva Perón!

The last phrase turns into not more than a sigh as she falls back into Perón's arms, exhausted.

CHORUS
Perón, Evita, la patria peronista
Perón, Evita, la patria peronista
Evita, Evita, Evita!

SCENE 2 Corpus Returns
Buenos Aires, 1974. The Palace of Congress. A casket with the embalmed remains of Eva Perón. The great hall has been set up and adorned to receive the large crowds of mourners welcoming the corpse back to Argentina after 20 years in Milan. The generals who overthrew Perón in 1955 had spirited away the corpse, to keep Eva's tomb from becoming a rallying point for dissenters. On the wall hangs a portrait of Isabel (who has become president upon Juan Perón's death) flanked by portraits of Eva and Juan. The Doctor, who embalmed her in 1952, is gain getting the corpse ready for public display.

DOCTOR
God knows that I don't believe.
But who else will atone
for Isabel's sins?
To disturb the peace of the dead…
To bring you back, Señora, after twenty years.
To take on your image…!
Who would have thought
that they would resort to this?
It's a desperate move!
But it won't help them.
The crowd needs a leader with fire in the belly.
What the crowd needs
Isabel cannot supply.

CORPUS EVITA
How would you know what the crowd needs?
You and your middle class friends
Always ignored their needs.
This crowd needs hope.
I always gave them hope.

DOCTOR
Maybe. But you are dead.
It is Isabel that speaks to them now.
And she will once again invoke your image.
And they will come
streaming in by the thousands,
To see you resting peacefully
in this glass box.
They'll gawk,
and they'll want you beautiful.
I will make you look as real as ever to them!

CORPUS EVITA
They will not gawk! How dare you?
They are in mourning!

DOCTOR
To the audience
In mourning? Yes, indeed. In mourning!
She died in 1952,
and we are still reeling
from her life and her death!
Enough already!…
Why are we mourning again?
To Corpus
Forgive me. I must hurry,
the Ministro…

CORPUS EVITA
It's been a long time, Doctor, twenty years,
and you haven't learned a thing.
There she is, your creation.
She can't look real, she has no soul.
She keeps shrinking, evaporating,
the wretched thing.
Soon there will be nothing left.
What will you tell the Ministro then?

DOCTOR
The masses will never know the difference.
It will look real enough to them.

CORPUS EVITA
When will you understand?
It was the people that kept me alive;
the people, and not your silly alchemy.
I made them feel that they mattered.
I made them dream like no one else ever had.
I made them fight
for what they thought was right.
I gave them ideals. I gave them hope…
and they opened their souls to me.
It was my fate. No one else could have done it.
No one else…
I am Argentina's great myth,
and I'm alive in their hearts!
But you, the middle class,
You worked with the generals,
you helped them and, like them,
you had no scruples.
You and the generals
deserved each other!

DOCTOR
Señora! Those were difficult times.
I tried to protect you.
But I had to do as the generals told me.
They didn't know how to hide a body,
how to make a corpse disappear.

CORPUS EVITA
But they've learned…you'll see.
Those bullies! They couldn't leave me alone,
even after death.
They knew I'd give them trouble.
They understand the power of my myth.

SCENE 3 The Ministro's Plan
The same location. Loud bangs on the door. Startled, his daydreaming interrupted, the Doctor looks toward the door. Corpus stands in the dark, unseen.

MINISTRO
It's me. Open the door!
The doctor unlocks the door. The Ministro rushes in
Is she ready?

DOCTOR
Not yet, I need more time.
Another day, please.

MINISTRO
Are you out of your mind?
The crowd wants to see her now,
and I'll see to it that they do.
Isabel, our President, keeps her promises.
We can't wait any longer!…
Ah, look at her!
They will adore her. They will worship her.
Speaking to Isabel's portrait
It was the right thing to do. I told her so.
Now addressing the Doctor
And her hair too.
My Isabel even looks like Eva, doesn't she? Doesn't she!

DOCTOR
Eva wasn't a blonde either.

MINISTRO
Isabel will renew their hopes.
They will respond to her,
as they responded to Eva in the old times.
She will tell them
what they want to hear.
She will give them
the old party line.
I'll make sure she does!
She will do as I tell her.
She will not defy my powers!

Turns toward the door, with an imperious gesture, but commanding little authority

Open the doors! Let the mourners in!

Walks to the door and starts greeting the mourners as they filing in, in reverential silence

DOCTOR
These are strange times.

CORPUS EVITA
Desperate, indeed.

CHORUS
One woman
Evita, our saint, we love you!

Corpus and the Doctor turn toward the coffin, startled

All chorus singers
Evita is our saint.
The patron saint of the poor.
She's back to protect us,
she's back to guide us.
Evita is our saint,
and we carry her in our hearts.
Evita is our saint.
Evita, Evita, Evita…

MINISTRO
Evita. Saint. Yes, that's right.
I hadn't thought of that.
That will be my next step.

Blackout

SCENE 4 Isabel in Charge
Olivos, 1975. The presidential mansion north of Buenos Aires. Late at night. Alone in the vast living room, Isabel sits by the huge fireplace and shivers. She lights incense and performs what looks like a religious ritual. She stares at the smoke and despairs.

ISABEL
Alone! There is no escaping it.
I am alone among strangers.
Familiar enemies at best.
Why did we come back, Juan?
Even Spain was a happier place.
Why did you leave me, so soon, so unprepared.
The people don't like me, Juan!
I'm no Evita. I know it well!
And you told me it would be hard.
But without you, it's impossible.
It was foolish. You knew I couldn't do it.
But after so many years
you still couldn't trust anyone else.
I'll never understand.
Now you are gone
and everyone's loyal, but nobody is a friend.
Everyone wants something from me,
and I just want to be left alone.

MINISTRO
Enters , (he lives with her in the Presidential residence) clutching a large leather folder-with the Presidential Decree in it.

Sister Isabel, can we talk?

ISABEL
What is it, Brother José?

MINISTRO
You look so pale. You are shivering.
You are not well!

ISABEL
I'm fine, I just need some sleep.
What's on your mind?

MINISTRO
No! I can see you are not well.
Your health comes first.
The matters of state will have to wait.
I'll handle them myself.
Heads slowly but resolutely for the door

ISABEL
What matters of state?
Brother José, please stay.
I need to know!

MINISTRO
The country needs you more than ever,
Sister Isabel.
Up in the north, in Tucumán,
the insurgents control the mountains.
The are fanning the flames
of a communist revolution.
The time has come to act decisively!
I just met with the commanders in chief.
The armed forces need…permission
to act on your behalf,
to rid the country of the guerrilla.
I have prepared a Presidential Decree
for you to sign.

ISABEL
Reads and re-reads the decree
Is this, then, what you think must be done?

MINISTRO
It's what the generals advise, Sister Isabel.

ISABEL
Yes, but what do you think?

MINISTRO
Feigning a smile
It's for the good of the Fatherland.

ISABEL
Innocently
I hear that the people in Tucumán
support the subversives.
That they harbor them and give them food.
I know them. I met with them!
They were once the promise of our movement.
They are young and bright,
middle class kids, really.
Pauses, looks at the decree again, confused
How did it ever get to this?

MINISTRO
The subversives are stealing food
from the peasants.
The people in Tucumán are being terrorized.

ISABEL
And who will assure me that the army
will not terrorize the people?

MINISTRO
Will you let communism
overtake Evita's dream?

ISABEL
No, no!...But I don't trust the generals.

MINISTRO
Getting very close to her and
staring right into her eyes
But you can trust me, Sister Isabel.
Have I ever led you astray?

ISABEL
Averting her gaze, confused, and very uncomfortable
This isn't right! Perón taught me that
I should always ask for alternatives.
Trying to regain her composure and sounding more presidential
What are our options?

MINISTRO
Evita gave the people
a dream without..."options",
without compromise.
Will you compromise with the communists,
Sister Isabel?

ISABEL
But these are our own people.
The kids that Perón expelled
from the Plaza de Mayo!

MINISTRO
They are traitors, Sister Isabel!
They are waging a war against us,
against Evita's dream.
There can be no mercy for them.
You must consent!

ISABEL
But how could I ever consent
to the murder of our young?

MINISTRO
I see, Sister Isabel,
that the flame of Evita's dream
no longer burns in your heart.

ISABEL
You would accuse me of disloyalty?

MINISTRO
I want what's best for the fatherland.
You... have doubts.
Starts walking toward the door

ISABEL
Glances again at the decree, shakes it in the air
No, this is wrong! Perón and Evita
would have never consented to this!

MINISTRO
May their spirits guide you, Sister Isabel,
in this difficult moment.

ISABEL
Looking away from him, frustrated
I have indeed sought their guidance.
But they are silent…
Ever since we brought the corpse back.
Nobody can make them speak now.

MINISTRO
I can, Sister Isabel. And I will,
if you feel that it would help you
make up your mind.
She turns and looks at him, incredulous. He approaches the fireplace and prepares to conjure up the ghosts of Perón and Evita.

Blackout

SCENE 5 Perón and Evita
Same location. Perón and Evita, dressed in their finest clothes, smile pleasantly. As a fanfare rings out, Perón approaches Eva, offers her his arm, and they walk waving at the imaginary crowds. The members of the 1950 diplomatic corps stroll in, in formal dress, and chatting animatedly. The lights go up to reveal a luxurious ballroom. Perón and Eva glance back and smile, amused.

PERÓN
See, Chinita, nothing has changed.

EVA
I guess so. They still bore me to tears.

PERÓN
Come on, Chinita, be nice.
You look so beautiful this evening!
Have I told you?...
She just stares at him
We need them, you know...

EVA
What for? We are the ones with the ideas.
We are the people's choice.
We are in charge!

PERÓN
They can be our allies.
They can carry our message
back to their own lands.
Chinita, a country can't exist in a vacuum.

EVA
Oh yes it can! Just look at us!
We did it.
With a regal gesture
When we ruled, time stood still!

They dance a waltz and sing.

PERÓN AND EVA
Those were the good old days
when we ruled unchallenged.
Gold piled in Central Bank,
so how could we not manage?
Built homes for our loyal workers,
doled out champagne and panettone.
Controlled every seat in Congress,
even the Church was our supporter.
With the unions on our side,
we controlled the masses.
We bought and nationalized
and subdued all classes.
Nationalized, nationalized!
We did what felt right.

CHORUS
Nationalized, nationalized whatever they liked!

EVA
The Pope received me

PERÓN
And Franco praised me!

PERÓN AND EVA
And in the streets everything was fine.

CHORUS
And in the streets, everything was fine.

PERÓN AND EVA
We jailed a few dissidents,
we helped a few fascists.
They all deserved it!
We did what felt right.

CHORUS
They ruled the land with an iron hand.
They reigned like kings over people and things.
They forced their way,
maybe took more than they gave.
We now understand the game they played.
As the others dance, Isabel gets up, mesmerized. She walks toward them, tentative, but they don't seem to notice her. She finally works up the courage and calls out to them

ISABEL
Juan! It's me, Chabela.

The waltz dissipates. The guests look at her in shock, as if she had done something very inappropriate. Murmurs spread through the crowd

I am confused, Juan. What should I say to the generals?

Somewhat embarrassed, Perón looks back at his guests, flashes a smile at them, then responds

PERÓN
Power is brutal, Chabela.
To hold on to it, you must be prepared
to do whatever it takes.
The hand you've been dealt is a losing hand!
Who will help you to stay in power
if the people don't like you?

EVA
The test of a leader is when things go sour.
You either have what it takes,
Or you don't survive!

PERÓN
Chabela, my child, no one can say
that you didn't try.
But eagerness and knowledge
are two different things.

EVA
Don't trust the generals, Isabel!
They betrayed us before,
and they probably will betray you too.

PERÓN
The people around you give me pause.
Looking squarely at the Ministro
They fill your head
with black magic and nonsense.
Be careful Chabela, be careful!

PERÓN AND EVA
You're alone at the top,
that's the way it works,
you're alone, you're in charge!,
all around you danger lurks.
Let the generals loose,
and they may go astray.
Even though you are in charge,
you too might fall prey.
If in terrorist hands
Argentina should fall,
everyone will remember
that it was your call.

CHORUS
You're alone at the top,
that's the way it works,
you're alone, you're in charge!,
all around you danger lurks.

PERÓN
Ay, Chabela!
These are your mistakes to make.
You might as well learn something
in the process.
Don't let anyone...

MINISTRO
Progressively delirious
They have spoken!
They have spoken through me.
Tomorrow, sister Isabel, when you're well,
you will announce the construction
of the Altar to the Fatherland,
a grand mausoleum
for Perón and Evita:
one...a prophet, the other...a saint.
There they will rest,
there I will channel them,
and they will guide the movement
through me!…

CORPUS
Appearing from among the people present at the reception
How dare you take on the mantle of Perón!
His legacy is what matters.
He doesn't need to speak through you.

MINISTRO
Turning to the terrified Isabel, opens the leather folder in front of her and stares into her eyes

Perón and Evita are dead now.
Only I can give them a voice.

After a moment's hesitation, Isabel signs the decree. An audible gasp is heard from the guests. He addresses the ghosts

Begone. The séance is over!

The ghosts disappear with an otherworldly scream.

Blackout

ENTRACTE Thirty Thousand Dead

ACT TWO

ORCHESTRAL INTERMEZZO

SCENE 6 Isabel's Atonement
Winter of 1990. The living room in Isabel Perón's apartment in Buenos Aires. The room is large and musty-looking. On the wall hangs a large official portrait of Perón. A large window with drapes half open, allows a partial view of a balcony with plants. Isabel, dressed like a retired schoolmarm, sits in the armchair and reads. She has a white knit shawl over her shoulders. Her hair is gray and gathered back in a bun just like in her official portraits. She's wearing half-frame reading glasses. There is lightning and thunder and the noise of rain tapping on the window. Her concentration interrupted, Isabel puts down her book, gathers the shawl on her chest, and walks to the window

ISABEL
Endless winter. Relentless rain…
Sixteen years of rain!
It was raining, Juan,
the day when you died. That fateful day,
when my life changed forever.
The heavens turned dark
and wept with me.
And they haven't stopped since…
It was raining Juan,
when the crowds lined up in Congress,
to say their final good byes to you.
And the darkness never left my heart.

I never thought I would long for Spain.
But I see now that life was good there.
The big house,
the endless stream of guests,
our circle of friends.
Spain was a gilded cage.
But, oh, how I miss it now! How I miss it!
Uncomfortable
Oh, God! How can I go on?
I know of no love toward me
on this Earth.
No friends, no concern for me,
and no respect.
Not even my enemies have been steadfast.
Everyone has forgotten me.
Pauses, as though it was a sudden revelation
A presidential pension!
I've traded my life away
for a presidential pension!
That's all that's left…
I am alone!
No one speaks to me now.
And the spirits, my guiding lights
in this vast emptiness,
have abandoned me too.
No more dreams, no more voices…
No more hope!

MINISTRO
Appears looking old and hunched over, but still feisty. Sings as he walks slowly toward her
You're mistaken, Sister Isabel.
I am still with you.
After all, I am a part of you.

ISABEL
Recoiling, but not particularly surprised, as if seeing the specter of the Ministro was a fairly common occurrence
You! A part of me?
You misled me, you pushed me
to condone the murder of your foes,
and then you abandoned me
at the worst possible time.
No part of me could be so wretched!
What could you possibly want from me now?

MINISTRO
Nothing, Sister Isabel, nothing...
We all made mistakes, and paid for them.
I am here to remind you,
that our cause was just.
You believed that too, didn't you?…
I shone a light on your path.
The light of divine power.
You were fascinated by it, weren't you?
almost whispering
spellbound…
I just tried to guide you.
But you were weak.

ISABEL
Weak? I wasn't weak,
I was decent!
I couldn't stomach it!
All that violence,
those senseless deaths.
Why did I ever listen to you!
Perhaps you're right, I was weak.
I should have stopped you!…
but I was too weak.

MINISTRO
Power came to you, Sister Isabel,
as a divine gift.
Others, I know it all too well,
wait in vain for it, forever.
You were chosen,
yet you squandered it.
You missed your chance.
Now you torment yourself,
but the traitors deserved to die.

ISABEL
Nobody deserved to die
because of your opinion of them.
That is all I've learned, sad to say,
from my long association with you.

MINISTRO
We were in power. We should have fought.
Had you been stronger,
we could still be in power today.
My mistake, was to expect too much of you.

Isabel turns from him in disgust, walks away and pretends to stare out the window

PERÓN
Appears looking old and feeble, but still dignified. He shuffles along with a cane. He addresses the Ministro in a warm and avuncular tone. He speaks as though Isabel wasn't in the room. When she hears his voice, she turns quickly and stares at him silently

That was my mistake, too.
Nature leads from strength, you know.
They call it evolution.
When Eva crossed my path,
I did what a leader must do:
I imitated nature. I made her play from strength.
She was my providential gift.
I made her into a great myth. She was a natural!
And she was glorious, glorious!
When Isabel came to me,
I couldn't find her strengths.
I tried to make her into another Eva.
How foolish of me! She was weak.
Nature can only lead from strength.
A weak leader can never survive.

ISABEL
So I couldn't cut it! Who cares anymore?
Those were impossible times.
How can you still be obsessed with power?
Addresses the ministro, with contempt
You died alone in jail, and
nobody even came to your funeral.
Power didn't suit you.
Addresses Perón
Oh, Juan. How I wanted you to respect me.
I worshiped you.
And you didn't suffer well
the indignity of being upstaged by Eva,
even twenty years after her death.
I remember it well, Juan.
It was so demoralizing
to watch your decline:
an old patriarch with a bruised ego.
Was there ever more to life for you
than just lusting for power?
But it's all over now. You are both gone.
And, again, I have to face it all by myself.
My only regret are those deaths…
It all started with us, Juan.
I brought in the generals.
Twenty thousand dreams,
twenty thousand broken promises.
How will I find peace?

PERÓN
Tenderly
Chabela…don't worry anymore.
These things have no answers.
You did what you could.
It was the generals' fault.
There's no turning back the clock!
We all made mistakes.

ISABEL
As she talks, the Chorus of the Souls of the Disappeared enters and stands in the dark
I can't help it. So many people…
How did I ever let the generals…!
But it is too late now.
Nothing I do can change things.
And I find no rest.
On the edge of tears, like a little girl
I harbor them in my soul, Juan.
I carry them with me, every waking hour.
And at night, they inhabit my dreams.

SOULS OF THE DISAPPEARED
Isabel…Isabel… Isabel!

ISABEL
Despairing, she stumbles about, covering her ears like a mad woman
Ah!, Ah, Aaaaah!
Frightened, points at a dark corner of the room
No, I won't listen!
Juan, tell them to go away.
I won't listen!

Then progressively appearing mesmerized by the voices, and indeed listening and staring intently

SOULS OF THE DISAPPEARED
Isabel, Isabel, I-sa-bel!
How will we find peace while we wander
in this endless labyrinth?
Who will shepherd us out of darkness
and oblivion?
Who will atone for the sins of the generals?

ISABEL
Desperate, pleading through her tears
It wasn't my fault.
It wasn't up to me. I didn't know
what they were doing!

SOULS OF THE DISAPPEARED
Isabel, Isabel, Isabel!
Who will give our families rest
from their never-ending grief?
Who will nurture our orphaned children,
and show them the way?
Who will bring the guilty to justice
and heal Argentina's open wound?

ISABEL
Hysterical, eventually screaming the last words out
No! I didn't do it!
I never agreed.
I didn't know what was yet to come!

MINISTRO
Perhaps you didn't want to know.
But you agreed. And you knew.
Isabel, exorcise those ghosts from your life!
You can still choose
to be proud of what we did.

SOULS OF THE DISAPPEARED
Isabel, Isabel, Isabel!
Who will atone for your sins,
and bring forgiveness to people's hearts?

ISABEL
God, give me peace!
Restless, tormented souls, I wish I could
give you life once more,
and right the wrongs done to you.
I carry you in my heart,
every day of my life.
But it's too late to beg for forgiveness,
for my role in this great injustice.
Everyone has forgotten me.
Nobody listens to my penance.
That will be my burden, as long as I live.
Exits, followed by Perón and the Ministro

Blackout

SCENE 7: Evita Eternal
A setting beyond time and space.

SOULS OF THE DISAPPEARED
The grief of Isabel
is Argentina's pain.
Till Truth is told, our orphaned souls
in darkness must remain.
The horrors of those times
we must confront at last;
and exorcise them from our lives;
we must resolve our past!
For evil comes from our own midst;
we must resolve our past!

The Souls of the Disappeared shed their spectral looks and mutate into the Chorus of the Evita's Million Souls

CHORUS OF EVITA'S MILLION SOULS
Evita, Evita, Evita.
One woman
Evita, our saint, we love you!

CHORUS OF EVITA'S MILLION SOULS
Evita is our saint.
The patron saint of the poor.
She's back to protect us. She's back to guide us,
And we carry her in our hearts.
Evita is our saint.
Evita, Evita, Evita!

EVITA
Appears, radiant, youthful

I carry in my ears
the most beautiful music in the world:
the sound of your voices calling my name.
I chose your path, the path of the people.
I preferred to be simply Evita to you,
rather than the president's wife.
And though I left this Earth
a very long time ago,
Evita's myth is within you forever.
When a child calls my name,
I'm the mother of all children.
When a worker calls my name,
I'm the comrade of all workers,
When a woman says "Evita"
I'm the sister of all women.
I am everybody's dream of justice.
I embody all hope.
I'm Argentina's great myth
for the rest of time,
no matter how different
no matter how distant.
My only glory
is to have known you, my people
and to have loved you.
No one in this world
has respected or loved you
more than I have.
That's why I know
that I will remain in your hearts,
even as I leave.
Eva se va.

CHORUS OF EVITA's MILLION SOULS
Brighter than the sun,
larger than all things,
Evita's myth lives in a million souls.
She guides our steps.
We are the myth.
Evita is eternal.
Evita, Evita, Evita
EVITA!!!

Blackout