Ana Isabelle stars in EVITA

Evita is the opening play of the Asolo Rep season and opens November 18 and runs through December 30 in the Mertz Theatre, located in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. Ana Isabelle is a petite Puerto Rican actress of considerable beauty and talent, as well as a very endearing personality. In the years of writing about matters artistic, it has been a pleasure (usually) to interview many performers. Ana Isabelle was still in Puerto Rico when the interview was scheduled. She was trying to assist her family, all of whom live there in her house, but though safe, the hardships are still unbelievable. Yet, here she is, portraying Evita, whose meteoric rise and fall in Argentina requires all of her skills as a dancer, actress and singer.

Ana Isabelle has lived in New York City for four years, but her heart and concerns are with her family in Puerto Rico. Ana has been acting since she was 5 years old. She continued to perform all through school and college in Puerto Rico. Her family is artistically oriented and talented--her mother directs a choir and her father is a trumpet player and a teacher of over 30 years. They always encouraged her to perform.

Ana won a competition in Miami in 2009, has cut three albums and dreams to conquer the U.S. market. Ana is doing television work in New York now. She has not played Evita previously but hopes to take it on the road. She started as a back-up dancer in show business and now sings, dances and acts which depends on the moment and what she wants to do. She has a good manager and admits that ‘doing it on her own’ would be very difficult. Her manager has much energy and led her to this role. The cast and director are great here. “I am in love with this area. Siesta Beach is so beautiful. Sarasota is a very cosmopolitan small town.”

“There is so much history out there with this play. It tells a story of a woman who made it. I love her story. I try to play it in a way people can judge her. I make her vulnerable. It is an honest role about her decisions and how hard she worked to escape the slums and poverty of her childhood. My research shows she was basically a good person. I don’t play her as a whore or horribly greedy.”

“I too have worked very hard to get my career going. There are many sacrifices on my road here,” says Ana. Miss Isabelle is without question the most sincere and thoughtful interviewee I have ever spoken with. It must take powerful acting skills to portray Evita Peron, who was not one of the ‘good guys’ of her century, but was known as an international evil creature.

Dear reader, be sure to see Evita. Ana Isabelle with her many skills is worth the price of the ticket for sure. Show runs until December 30.