The 'Evita' industry As seen by Mrs Briggs, 330 times

Evita premiered in the Prince Edward Theatre in 21 June 1978, starring Elaine Paige. The role of Eva Peron was later played by Marti Webb and then Stephanie Lawrence. The show ran for 2,913 performances.

The New York production, starring Patti LuPone, ran for four years. LuPone won a Tony in the role and went on to star in Sunset Boulevard.

The soundtrack to Evita reached No 4 in 1976 and stayed on the UK album chart for 35 weeks. Madonna's version is due for release next Christmas.

The most famous song from the show has to be "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina", which was a UK No 1 for Julie Covington in December 1976. "Another Suitcase In Another Hall", recorded by Barbara Dickson, charted in 1977.

Contenders for the film role eventually won by Madonna included Michelle Pfeiffer, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep, Gloria Estefan, Liza Minnelli and Mariah Carey. The project was associated with the directors Ken Russell, Sir Richard Attenborough and Oliver Stone before Alan Parker agreed to take it on.

Few actresses seem to have been put off by the fact that Evita is aged 16 in some scenes and was only 33 when she died. Madonna is now 37, and Faye Dunaway was 40 when she played Eva Peron in a 1981 television movie.

During its eight-year West End run, Evita took pounds 23m at the box office and was seen by four million people. One devoted fan, Mrs Maye Briggs of Romford, saw it 330 times. Worldwide, the show has netted close to pounds 1bn.

The rights to Evita - written by Lloyd Webber with Tim Rice - are owned by the impresario Robert Stigwood and their former manager David Land, and do not revert to the composer and lyricist until 2001. SH