Singer Ricky Martin has been cast as
Che Guevara in the Broadway revival of Evita.
The new production marks the first return of
the Perons to the Broadway stage since Evita's 1979 Tony
Award-winning New York debut starring Broadway diva Patti LuPone as
Eva Peron.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice
production is based on Eva's dramatic rise from poor schoolgirl to
first lady of Argentina. Argentine actress Elena Roger will star as
Evita.
Martin follows in the steps of Mandy
Patinkin, who played Che in the original Broadway musical.
This is first project for the
38-year-old Martin since
announcing he's gay on his website in March.
“I am proud to say that I am a
fortunate homosexual man,” Martin wrote. “I am blessed to be who
I am.”
Martin said writing his memoir had
prompted him to come out of the closet: “Writing this account of my
life, I got very close to my truth. And this is something worth
celebrating.”
The Puerto Rican star, who became a
father of twin boys born via a surrogate in 2008, had previously
denied rumors about his sexual orientation.
The revival of Evita is
scheduled to open in spring 2012, the AP reported.